Another unfulfilled government promise?

Last September I wrote to the minister responsible for the issuance of ID cards and enquired when the citizens of Malta may reasonably expect the delivery of a current up-to-date ID card, given that all of them had expired some six months previously, some even longer.

While not wishing to appear ungracious or gauche, and pleasantly surprised, I actually received a comprehensive response detailing precisely when, at the very latest, we may expect the issuance of a valid, next generation ID card.

I was assured that these new cards would be issued by November 2009 in any extreme timeline envisaged.

Perhaps the minister responsible may now wish to re-evaluate this date, as virtually all of our ID cards are now 18 months or even longer out-of-date, and kindly provide details of when we may actually receive them and explain why we have had to wait for such an inordinate amount of time before any possible renewal.

I also wish to remind him that we Maltese citizens are being denied a means of a recognised and accepted travel document within EU member states which an ID card affords, given that our present ones are long expired and therefore ineligible as a valid travel document.