The workings of Marsascala council

John Cole's letter entitled "Eliminate Josie to get to the mayor" (The Sunday Times, September 23) is full of insinuations and half-truths.

Mr Cole stated that only 14 bars and restaurants out of 80 signed the declaration of support for me. The truth is that we have always referred only to Marina Street, and not for all Marsascala. It is quite natural that only those owners of bars and restaurants involved and situated in Marina Street who had spoken out. There are only 24 bars and restaurants in Marina Street, and this includes those situated in the playing fields in Mifsud Bonnici Square.

Mr Cole claimed that Dr Josie Muscat has the majority of voters in Marsascala. In this case, I expect that in the next round of local elections, he will be elected mayor and his GIM will have a majority in the council. Only time will tell and not Mr Cole.

Mr Cole also insinuated that a number of councillors have carpet-bombed me because he claimed that I issued illegal permits. Here again he is off the mark. Some councillors took umbrage because they were not consulted.

Mr Cole should know that this took place not because I have any disrespect for my fellow councillors but because this was a routine matter of issuing similar permits according to Legal Notice 119 of 2002. Perhaps I was too enthusiastic to try to help the bars and restaurants out of their difficulties following loss of revenue due to the Jerma Palace Hotel's closure. I can assure Mr Cole that many residents welcomed the move, while - as usual - others did not.

Mr Cole stated that Mr Natalino Attard from the Local Government Department reprimanded me for misusing the Legal Notice in question. Mr Attard never did that; he only advised the executive secretary not to continue to issue such permits regularly. This does not mean that the permits were issued illegally; both Mr Armeni from the Local Government Department and our lawyer Dr Veronique Dalli had different interpretations of the law and are awaiting a final decision from the Attorney General's office. I ask Mr Cole: has anyone pressed legal charges against the executive secretary, Joseph Caruana, or myself?

Another thing which I did not expect from Mr Cole, whom I have always treated as a friend, was that he tried to wrap things up by presenting us with a situation in which his hero won a decisive victory and I, as a mayor, had to suffer a miserable defeat. Are we not living in the same locality with the same aim: to act in the interest of our permanent residents and even summer residents? Mr Cole is more than welcome to see me in my office. Being involved in politics, I have learnt that sometimes people are born with the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde syndrome. They just can't help it.