Plans to privatise car parks have infuriated Rabat residents who argue that it would negatively affect business and cause them unnecessary financial strain.

Gathering at the Anton Agius parking area, Labour MPs, local council members and a spokesman for the residents said they had never paid for parking and were promised it would always remain free.

Mayor Sandro Craus said that the situation would badly affect thousands of people who came from small, neighbouring villages to use the locality’s services.

It was unfair that residents had to pay for parking, especially as they had had to wait some 60 years for the Anton Agius area to be developed.

He asked Land Minister Jason Azzopardi to let the local council administer the land.

Mr Craus said that in the coming two weeks they would gather signatures for an anti-privatisation petition and present it to Parliament.

Labour candidate Marlene Mizzi, who owns a shop close to the car park, said it was wrong for the Government to refurbish the area using public money and then hand it over to a private contractor.

“I think we’re really going overboard now,” she said, calling for the area to remain public-owned.

Mr Craus said the announcement to privatise car parks was made behind their backs with no consultation with the local councils. He added that it seemed councils were only considered local government when it was convenient for the Government.

The Ministry of Infrastructure said the residents would continue to enjoy free parking. This was confirmed in a letter sent to residents and contradicted what Mr Craus said during the press conference. The mayor and the MPs were not there to defend their constituents but to gain a political advantage, the ministry charged.

Privatising the car parks aimed to regularise the areas and ensure transparency, financial control and safety. This was not the case at present, with some parkers abusing their position and taking advantage of tourists.

The Government believed parking should be open all day everyday and users should know the exact cost, with the area being equipped with CCTV cameras, insured, clean and well kept, the ministry said.

The Labour Party said that no consultation was carried out before the decision was made and the privatisation would bear down on families who already faced financial burdens.

The forum of Maltese unions said that workers were paying about €35 a month to park their cars and were suffering from an abusive system led by the parkers who raised fees without notice.