I congratulate Times of Malta for raising the issue of the stained surface of the Valletta paving forming part of Renzo Piano’s project. On the same day the article appeared, the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure held a press conference to remind the public that the 70 workers recruited on the eve of the European Parliament elections with the Cleansing and Services Directorate (CSD) were to be deployed in various tourism zones around the island.

The need to recruit 70 personnel to be added to what is a considerable workforce at the CSD is questionable. Such a move seemed odd particularly in view of the fact that many a council, at the request of the CSD, have in recent years phased out the services of this department’s cleaners and gone private. In Sliema, a private company sweeps all the inner streets. The company recruited is delivering an excellent service and the young sweepers in red are a regular sight.

The council did, however, retain the services of the CSD to clean the promenade and coastal areas, the main reason being that the CSD have the best machinery available. The management team of the CSD are also highly motivated and professional.

We are now in the peak of summer and the reality is a far cry from that conveyed in the press conference. The programme to wash the promenade has been random and entire days pass with no washing being done. During the PN administration, the council had an hour-by-hour timetable which was rigorously adhered to. Why has the ministry, armed with more personnel, now switched to an occasional presence?

The CSD are to be commended for moving quickly to remove the stains on the stairs at the entrance to Valletta, but did it have to be a newspaper to point them out? What about the rest of the paving? The side of the Pjazza Teatru Rjal (a misnomer if ever there was one) on South Street is still full of stains which could be easily removed with a simple wash.

They have been a permanent fixture all summer, leading me to conclude that the aesthetically refined paving is never washed. The paving is sadly degenerating into an unrecognisable dirty patch.

Keeping the paving of our capital city’s entrance and other pedestrian areas clean, and ensuring that waste collected is disposed of responsibly, are ultimately a matter of pride in our country

It took us 60 years of discussing how to rehabilitate this bombed-out area of Valletta. When we finally got our act together we were presented with an architectural gem using our timeless stone, the design of which went into minute detail to ensure the quality of the finishing through processes such as acid etching. Following its laying and the gorgeous patterns of red hues created, we appear dismally unable to grasp the basics: that the entrance into a capital city, through which throngs of people pass daily, needs to be washed thoroughly.

The contrast between the care and respect shown towards our stone by a foreign architect and our careless policy of not washing the paving could not be starker, underscoring a failure to live up to the high standards created by the Renzo Piano project.

Could the ministry inform readers of the timetable for the washing of pedestrian zones? Can readers also be told what the situation is with car access to the paved areas around the entrance of Valletta, which at present seems to be a free-for-all?

During the press conference, Minister Joe Mizzi said 500 new waste receptacles were to be installed. Another commendable initiative, but I would be interested to know whether they have compartments for waste separation, as was the trend for receptacles under the PN. My suspicion is that, while responsible beachgoers and pedestrians discard their waste in separate containers, at the point of collection the waste is mixed, rendering the exercise futile.

Other than educating the workforce, all that needs to be done is place colour coded bags in the bins. When the bags are loaded on the same truck the waste can be easily identified from the colour of the bag.

What was once a unified ministry under the PN administration is now divided under several ministers. Wouldn’t it make more sense to place the collection of waste from bins under the responsibility of the Ministry for the Environment, the ministry responsible for waste management and the Sant’Antnin recycling plant?

Keeping the paving of our capital city’s entrance and other pedestrian areas clean, and ensuring that waste collected is disposed of responsibly, are ultimately a matter of pride in our country.

Paul Radmilli is a PN Sliema local councillor.

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