Complaints the St Julians council does not heed

I read with interest the letter by Edgar Montanaro (September 4) in his capacity as a councillor for the St Julians local council. Mr Montanaro was replying to a letter by John Schembri who vented frustration at the performance of the council.

Mr Montanaro has praised the work carried out by the council; he has reminded us of his "free time on a voluntary basis towards the well-being of St Julians for the past seven years" and that "I, as all other councillors, will remain at the disposal of all, including Mr Schembri, to listen to their complaints and suggestions".

I regret to have to contradict Mr Montanaro on his last statement. And I speak from a recent personal experience. During the past months I have been trying to get hold of mayor Peter Bonello to complain about the way works on the paving at St Elias Street, were progressing. The mayor could not be reached. I left a message with his secretary to call me but I received no phone call. This prompted me to write to The Times, once, twice, three times. But still, there was no reply. As a last resort, I wrote to Chris Said, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for local councils and copied the Prime Minister and asked him to intervene.

It was then that the mayor decided to finally reply publicly in The Times to my complaints, abdicating responsibility for the delay in roadworks stating that this was beyond the control of the local council. Again I replied to Mr Bonello in The Times asking several questions, but there was no reply from the mayor or the council.

During this period there was no communication whatsoever from the council apologising for the delay in the completion of the paving works or giving residents an explanation for the delay.

So how can Mr Montanaro speak so proudly about his council and its performance - I ask him, why weren't you all there when I pleaded for an explanation? Why wasn't I heard when I called the local council and begged the officer on duty for the mayor to call me?

Mr Montanaro appeals to "all those who complain about matters on which, I am sure, they have no inkling, to come forward at the next council elections and offer their names as candidates to contest and to ameliorate matters". Believe me, Mr Montanaro has hit the nail on the head - if the St Julians residents are treated in the manner I was, then we really need to appeal for new blood and for enthusiastic persons to put forward their names as candidates in the next election.

Incidentally, the road paving works at St Elias Street have finally been completed. I sincerely thank Dr Said since works progressed at a faster pace after his timely intervention.