The much-maligned traffic wardens system has tried to shed its skin by changing its name to LESA but it apparently remains largely a highway-robbery system.

There is a street in peripheral Attard where a LESA-operated camera records motorists who stop at a particular corner, even momentarily, without leaving the car (to avoid double parking) and then a fine is dispatched alongside a photo of the car. This is clearly a money-collecting device for LESA, which plans later to share the gains with the local council.

Stopping briefly without leaving your car does not amount to parking but the camera cannot differentiate between stopping and parking. Law enforcement is correct, but let’s do it fairly. And if these money-collecting devices are a good idea, let’s have these cameras in central Attard where illegal parking is endemic.

Furthermore, the integrity of the Petitions Office system is also apparently dubious.

A year ago, an expat friend and myself parked our cars in the same place at Ċirkewwa close to the terminal building. Parking signage at the time seemed lacking.

On arrival back from Gozo, we both found a €102 fine for “blocking highway”. We both sent in a similar written appeal to the Petitions Office in Gozo. My expat friend was let off but my fine was confirmed.

Is the Petitions Office discriminating against natives?