People urged to report abusive use of public property

The government today announced the launching of a freephone service where people can report anyone making abusive use of public land or property.

The service was launched by Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi, who said it was part of the drive to return public land to the people and deter abuse.

He said that since the beginning of the year, the Government Property Division carried out more than 160 enforcement actions, of which 44 involved the removal of street furniture placed illegally by restaurants on public land.

Dr Azzopardi said the new freephone - number 1577 - is accompanied by a webpage - www.1577.gov.mt.

He said the idea for the freephone stemmed from the huge interest which the enforcement actions generated among readers of timesofmalta.com who submitted comments to the website.