Salvinu Zerafa, Mosta
Sliema promenade is being spoiled
Along the Sliema promenade, from Għar id-Dud to the Love Monument, one encounters a large number of sellers of all sorts of foreign goods. These range from trinkets to wooden arms, besides services on offer that include henna tattooing and hair braiding. They take up whole rows of benches and large spaces to create their own little shops.
The Sliema promenade is being degraded and deprived of its natural beauty. The sellers are obstructing the serenity which once used to prevail when coming to Sliema for a nice stroll. Lately at the Birżebbuġa promenade, there was written specifically that “no one is allowed to sell anything on this promenade”. So why can’t we follow their good example and take the initiative to bring back our Sliema promenade instead of reducing it to a marketplace?
Obstructive billboards are also being put up along the promenade showing menus and other services that may be acquired from the opposite side of the road.
BBQ smells have become synonymous with the Sliema promenade. At Għadira, which is not as popular with strollers, they are no longer allowed. So why does Sliema have to become the victim of such polluted air at night?
To top it all, on one of the Sliema beaches, a big carpet is being spread out for shisha lovers.
Let’s not let our lovely seaside promenades degenerate in this manner!
27 Comments
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Steve Mercicea
Aug 26th 2010, 12:34
Oh stop living in the 80's! its 2010 - The Sliema promenade is getting more attractive day by day! Its nice to see these things rather than a plain boring empty Sliema front! I live on the front and I admire it day by day! Haven't you ever been abroad? La Ramblas in Barcelona is infested with these kind of things and its one of the nicest walks in Europe! The tourists like it this way! The younger generation like it this way! We are the FUTURE so get used to it! Your constantly grumbling about Sliema yet more more of you come here to walk every evening!
Joseph W. Galea
Aug 25th 2010, 01:48
At one time I heard someone that we should make Malta a Monaco in the mediterranean.
Well, forget about Monaco, how about Morocco?
Sabrina Borda
Aug 24th 2010, 19:16
Well done Mr. Zerafa, you are 100% right.
Franco Farrugia
Aug 24th 2010, 18:25
Mr Zerafa, so much grumbling! It seems that everything is catching your attention the wrong way, it seems. Are you trying to turn the clock back, by any chance?
Anyway, if there really is a problem of congestion on the promenade, then, the Local Council of Sliema, when it starts functioning normally - which it is not! - should decide on a number of pre-arranged sites on the promenade, marked by a number, and licenses should be temporarily issued with reference to those pre-arranged sites. However, I find nothing wrong with the presence of what Mr Zerafa mentions.
A.Vella
Aug 24th 2010, 22:15
So much grumbling, basta mhux tal hobz jew tal haxix jew xi hadd Malti ghax imbaghad halli ghalik..
Edwin Mifsud
Aug 24th 2010, 16:39
Maybe the Mayor that the Sliema people elected, is turning a blind eye because he is getting a comission from all these vendors.
LOL!
Dylan Olliver
Aug 24th 2010, 16:30
besides all this, there are now pigeons breeding profusely at Ghar id-Dud and between the Torri and Surfside. I have also heard many tourists complain about them too
C Cassar
Aug 24th 2010, 16:23
remove all of the tacky street hawkers, remove all ofthe illegal posters/flyers on public property such as telephone boxes/bus stops etc (at least twice a week), remove all of the outlet advertising signs that have mushroomed on the promenade, remove all of the time share touts that roam along the promenade especially opposite the Preluna, close the beaches after sunset to stop dog owners taking their animals making the rocks filthy with their mess and stopping the filthy barbecues, stop all of the cyclists along the promenade since it is a FOOTPATH not a cycle path. Just a few basic measures that would see a start to a large improvement in the quality of the this promenade.
Peter Gee
Aug 24th 2010, 23:47
Yes and while your at it put a curfew in place and fine anyone seen to be having some fun.
J. Spiteri
Aug 24th 2010, 15:43
One does not have to be a Sliema resident to realise the eyesore these sellers are creating. This abuse has to be eliminated, or, at least, be brought under control. What if a Monti seller decides to set up shop in the same place? Would the authorities allow this? Do these sellers enjoy some sort of privilege because they are foreigners? And do VAT inspectors ever call, as they often do at other business outlets?
Adrian Borg
Aug 24th 2010, 15:38
Are these persons licensed to trade?
Do they issue a VAT receipt?
Do they pay tax on their earnings?
If not it is a police matter, action is to taken. They are paid by the tax payer to safeguard their liberties. Black economy corrodes communities.
I.Cilia
Aug 24th 2010, 13:27
Excuse me but are you actually complaining about air pollution from a BBQ? on the Sliema promenade which is one of the most traffic polluted areas on the island? In fact for this reason I often ask why do people actually go and walk/jog here with so much vehicular pollution..
and what is so polluting about a bbq may I ask? we actually cook our food on it... as long as they people keep the place clean what is so wrong about it
i think personally you need to get a life and be more tolerant about things...
i do agree with the cleanliness bit and the fact that peope should not start setting up shop anywhere they please though... they should be at least regulated...
Charles F. Grech
Aug 24th 2010, 13:23
Maybe Sliema Local Council can wake up and do the job it was elected to do. At the monent all we hear is that the Mayor had trouble, a councilor refused to resign and the oppsition is happy to go for a stroll.
Come on SLC wake up and get your act together !
Joseph E Briffa
Aug 24th 2010, 13:23
Anybody who has been to other places than the Sliema promenade will tell you that these buskers are found all over Europe, in Trafalgar square in London, on the steps of Trinita' dei Monti in Rome, in the big Plazas in Madrid, Piazza Navona in Rome, Piazza dell'Arena in Verona, under the shopping Arcades in Milan, near San Petronio in Bologna, in Torino, in Berlin etc etc. I see nothing wrong; indeed I think they liven up the place.
W Spencer
Aug 24th 2010, 18:30
There is an old saying " give someone an inch and they will take a mile ", so what message does that send to other would be foreign entrepreneurs ? Do these people have Hawker Permits, do they pay Ground Rent, and do they keep audited Accounts, the same as Shops, etc. If they do, then no problem, as Malta, being an EU member, wants to promote multiculturalism.
alan cox
Aug 24th 2010, 12:29
I totally agree with what has been commented.This lovely promenade is being really degraded.The authorities concerned should take notice , remove and stop this practice. Business should be done the legal way thru shops and outlets.This has become and eyesore and an inconvience. This promenade is part of our cultural heritage. Well loved by us Maltese and tourists alike.
. Please do not spoil it do something about!!!!
Neil Sant
Aug 24th 2010, 12:28
The main threat is the mass of ugly apartment blocks sprouting everywhere. Concrete monsters they truly are.
Joseph Ellul - Sydney
Aug 24th 2010, 12:14
What is SHISHA ? I remember my dad used to tell me about " Tal-Habba Ghaziz ". To me it seems that Malta is becoming the new Tripoli. I would imagine that in a few years all the shops will close and everybody will be hawking his whatever in the streets, corners, water front or cave. There will be no vat to pay and the government will have hell to find these people as they can up and move in 2 minutes flat.
I do not think that this situation augers well for tax collecting purposes.
Beware: the black economy is BACK.
anthony borg
Aug 24th 2010, 13:44
@Joseph Ellul - Sydney "To me it seems that Malta is becoming the new Tripoli."
A good point to ponder!
We boast of our independence, political or otherwise. But it seems we easily fall prey to other dominions, be they cultural or intellectual.
Peter Gee
Aug 24th 2010, 10:59
The trinket-sellers should not take up benches but otherwise I think they add atmosphere to the place. I disagree that they should be sanctioned. Surely there are regulations concerning billboards and notices, the police ought to take note. I do not think that one should be a killjoy and ban BBQ's outrightly as the Mellieha local council has done, as for the carpet, I have never seen it myself although I think I know of the place concerned, is it placed only in the evenings and removed during the day, if so what is the problem?
margaret psaila
Aug 24th 2010, 10:56
How pathetic, to see the promenade, so popular with locals and visitors, degenerate to this state. We are being deprived of the pleasure of strolling along freely as we have to zig zag our way to avoid these 'service providers!! ' who seem to be mushrooming day by day. The promenade has offered a relaxed ambience for thousands of families over the decades ~ it is part of our culture, but it seems another culture is taking over.
M Psaila , Sliema
R.Borg
Aug 24th 2010, 10:33
Rightly so!
And it is the same with Republic Street in front of the law-courts just below the Great Siege Monument which is being restored.
And it is not fair with the Monti Hawkers.
They were asked to move their stalls down Merchants Street
And these?
IS IT ANOTHER CSAE OF TWO WEIGHTS, TWO MEASURES?
Anthony Borg
Aug 24th 2010, 10:25
Noticed that you are from Mosta Mr. Zerafa, or at least reside there. But you took the initiative to write. If overlooked, nuisances become problems! Sliema residents, more than others, need to take up the matter with their Local Council, to curb any abuses before they take root.
e busuttil;
Aug 24th 2010, 10:23
Forget the sellers!
The stretch of promenade mentioned is utterly filthy and in urgent need of washing.
The first heavy rains (if they come!) are still some weeks away.
And this is considered as a prime tourist spot!
Karl Consiglio
Aug 24th 2010, 10:18
I have to disagree, for as long as its not overdone, I find these things to actually enhance the pleasure of taking a stroll along this promenade.
Sergio Vassallo
Aug 24th 2010, 09:36
Agree with you Mr Zerafa. We must not let the promenade degenerate with these sellers and shisha smoking.
Mario Zammit
Aug 24th 2010, 10:38
The lovely Sliema promenade has indeed been taken over by too many buskers. This has changed the character of the promenade from one of quiet and beautiful surroundings to something more in keeping with a very cheap North African bazaar. I urge the authorities to take appropriate action to stop the degradation of this enjoyable place into a revolting venue.