Transport Malta acts on Ombudsman report

Transport Malta has paid €500 in compensation to a Qawra resident whose calls for repairs on a pavement just outside his house had been disregarded.

The case of retired engineer Carmelo Briffa, 70, had prompted the Ombudsman to accuse Transport Malta of sheer arrogance in the way it treated customers.

Mr Briffa had taken his complaint to the Ombudsman because every time it rained heavily or a pipe burst, water was diverted to his underground garages and his front garden, which is below street level, due to bad road works on the pavement outside his garage.

In an article in The Times on April 4, titled Transport Malta’s Saga Of Neglect, Mr Briffa had complained nothing had been done.

However, Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino said Mr Briffa was informed on March 1 – “well before the publication of the feature” – that Transport Malta had accepted to implement the Ombudsman’s recommendations and to carry out remedial works to avoid flooding of his underground garage.

“Details were given to the complainant of the works involved that were expected to be completed within eight weeks from the order to start works. He was asked to confirm within a week whether he agreed with the suggested works as detailed by the architects of Transport Malta,” Dr Said Pullicino said.

Mr Briffa did not reply on time and when he was reminded he had to reply, he said he had not received the letter, Dr Said Pullicino said. Once an e-mail with the contents of the letter was sent, Mr Briffa replied on March 22 that he agreed “with the Ombudsman’s proposal” and hoped the works would be carried out as soon as possible.

When contacted, Mr Briffa said he might have forgotten about the e-mail when speaking to The Times but the rest, including that the works had not been done and the compensation not yet given, were still “100-per-cent true”.

On April 12, after the article was published, Mr Briffa received a cheque as a nominal compensation along with an apology.

“Transport Malta also formally apologised for the incident and for the lapse of time, stressing it would do its utmost to implement the solution recommended by its architects as soon as possible,” Dr Said Pullicino said.

“The Ombudsman confirms that Transport Malta has improved relations with this office and this augurs well for the future,” he said.

Mr Briffa believes this is not enough, however. He asked whether the Transport Minister would be appeased with “just €500, because surely I am not”.

“When one considers the damage it has done to my home and my health it is a very small amount of money,” Mr Briffa said.