As one of the councillors contesting on behalf of the Nationalist Party, I can speak quite frankly about the success story that this so-called experiment has been. I have been involved in local council administration in my locality for the last nine years and I saw the big strides ahead that Birkirkara has achieved under the different councils, always led by a PN majority.

A Labour government reduced funds allocated to local councils, down from Lm7 million to Lm5.8 million. Such a move can hardly be described as a vote of confidence in the devolution process, which the PN wholeheartedly believes in.

This past weekend Justice Minister Tonio Borg once again reiterated the government's commitment to empower local councils in order to give citizens a better service. Although Alfred Sant gives marks according to whether the councils have a Labour or a Nationalist majority, today every Tom, Dick and Harry knows that this is a simple mud-slinging exercise to try and discredit Nationalist councillors who have worked very hard over the past three years to achieve the best possible results in their locality.

The whole question of allotting marks to local councils appears to be a desperate attempt by the party in opposition to try and cover up for underscoring councils with a Labour majority. In fact, audit reports carried out by the Ministry for Local Government hardly substantiates Dr Sant's score cards. Some might view a local council election as a means of sending a message to the party in government . This should not be the case as local councils should be viewed as a means of ameliorating the community each and everyone of us live in. The Labour Party has turned local council elections into a battlefield on a national level, contrary to its declared beliefs regarding local elections. The MLP has changed its policy on a number of important issues, not least local council elections.

A democracy is built on political parties and, as such, there is no harm in political parties taking part in such elections. While the MLP was reluctant to accept this initially, it later came round to field candidates, enjoying the full backing of the Hamrun-based party.

The PN has shown how much it believes in local councils in more ways than one. Not only did the PN increase the budget allocated, but it also assigned a number of workers in order to help the councils be more effective within the community. Today some might view local council elections as taking place too often. It really amazes me how the democratisation of our beloved island is taken for granted. We have come a long way from the times when going to Zejtun for a simple wedding would turn into mayhem, simply because some citizens felt they were a cut above the rest!

The PN has not stood still since the inception of local councils. It has overhauled the law thus making all councillors accountable for any financial mismanagement. Such a move was a huge step forward to show that the party in government expects the highest levels of integrity from each and every councillor, no matter where his political allegiance lies.

I view local councils as an extension to voluntary work.

Nationalist councillors have been a source of inspiration for many, at local level, and their enthusiasm has helped in no small way to make several towns and villages that dot the island a much better place to live in, especially when compared to those dreadful mid-1980s where everything was centralised and nothing could be done other than what was approved a priori by the minister, whose power in those dark days was enormous.

Today, thanks to successive Nationalist governments, our democracy has been strengthened in more ways than one. The PN is proud to have pioneered such a concept in modern Malta, and that the move has been a determining factor in the democratisation process of our island.

The author is a candidate for Saturday's local council elections.