Ramblers urge MPs to support opening of countryside campaign

The Ramblers Association praised parliamentary secretaries Jason Azzopardi and Chris Said for taking effective action to clear up the countryside.

The association applauded Dr Azzopardi "for not mincing words in his statements regarding access to the countryside". It equally commended Dr Said's action to clean up the countryside from dumped carcasses of old cars, domestic appliances and rusty oil drums.

Dr Azzopardi has taken the bull by the horns by clearing notorious black spots such as those at Fomm Ir-Riħ, Baħar Iċ-Ċagħaq and It-Torri l-Abjad, the association said.

Dr Said has also been receptive to proposals on issues such as the local councils' reform and directly involving them in the cleaning up and maintenance of green areas within their boundaries, it added.

The association also heaped praise on the Ministry of Resources and Rural Affairs that resorted to direct action and, finally, decided to follow the letter of the law in lowering high rubble walls.

It called on MPs, especially Cabinet ministers, to give their wholehearted support to such initiatives in order to embellish the countryside, where, it said, lawlessness reigns.