It is certainly a shame that the new stairs at the entrance of Valletta have been marked by oil stains but they are not the only parts of our capital city which need the attention of the cleansing directorate. If anyone looks at the surface of Merchants Street, they will see it is quite disgracefully filthy, no exaggeration. Drains have been covered up with old wood and pieces of carpet, water and other stains are all over the whole central area (and, please, don’t blame the market) and parts of Republic Street are not far behind.

The other area covered in filthy stains is the new bus station concourse. Just have a look at the lower end at bays 13 and 14, near the overflowing litter bin. One assumes it has not been scrubbed or washed since opening day. Now, the area in front of the opera house remains is fast catching up, with tyre marks, oil stains and chewing gum everywhere.

Do the mayor and other officials in Valletta walk around with rose-tinted spectacles? How have these recently-renewed areas of paving ever been allowed to reach this condition?

The key to good civic appearance is maintenance, a term which we in Malta seem not to understand. We are superb in creating new structures, few can surpass the Maltese in working with metal, wood or stone, but once created those creations are ignored and left to rot.

Our city streets need to be thoroughly scrubbed regularly; an occasional hose down does nothing. Money can’t be the problem – a major ‘art’ installation is being created next to the bus station. Can we not get our priorities right and sort out the basics first? Then we can aim to be a ‘City of Culture’ with clean streets, a restored covered market and renovated empty properties.

I love Valletta more than many Maltese, hence my comments.

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