A tragedy in-waiting

It is absolutely not on that every time there is some heavy rainfall, Marsascala is turned into a tragedy waiting to happen.

the responsibility rests squarely with the government...- Owen Bonnici MP, (Labour), Valletta

There are natural circumstances, like strong winds and gales, where very little can be done to avert damage. However, there are other instances where proper planning and skilfull engineering work can substantially minimise the blockages in the roads, particularly those derived from rainfall and showers.

In the last days Marsascala was paralysed yet again, particularly following the heavy rainfall which occured in the nights of December 26 and 27 with the usual roads in the older part of the village completely blocked for a substantial period of time.

While expressing my heartfelt thanks to the Marsascala local council for the immediate work it undertook to try and do some firefighting with the limited resources it has, I believe the responsibility rests squarely with the government to urgently implement the necessary plans and works in order to mitigate the storm water problem obtaining in Marsascala.

As an elected representative of Marsacala, I have been attracting the attention of the government in Parliament about this problem since the very start of the legislature (vide PQ 460: www.pq.gov.mt/PQWeb.nsf/10491c99ee75af51c12568730034d5ee/c1256e7b003e1c2dc1257456002ad129?OpenDocument) and kept repeating this request up until last November (vide PQ 30186: www.pq.gov.mt/PQWeb.nsf/10491c99ee75af51c12568730034d5ee/c1257881003b3b78c125794f00549f1f?OpenDocument). The matter is an urgent one.

Very recently, Resources Minister George Pullicino informed the public that a national storm water plan will be implemented in the coming days. I genuinely hope that – as far as is humanely possible – by the next heavy rainfall Marsascala does not turn again into a tragedy waiting to happen, as it was in those couple of days.