Illegal parking of government cars in the pedestrian part of Merchants Street, Valletta, would be stopped immediately, a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister said.

Condemning the practice, he said: “Cars parked on Merchants Street are not acceptable and the government will issue a notice for it to stop right away.” He did not indicate when the notice will be issued.

Over the past months, vans and cars, including those used by ministers and government officials, could be seen illegally parked in the upper part of Merchants Street, which is a pedestrianised zone.

Sometimes for hours on end, the vehicles are left in the upper part of the road on both sides in the morning and early afternoon, including in front of the government offices.

Both the Valletta local council and Transport Malta confirmed the parking was unauthorised.

“The council is aware and we are objecting. If we want Valletta to flourish again, we can’t allow cars to park in a pedestrian area,” mayor Alexiei Dingli said.

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