My friends and I have been calling various ministries, and the local council, regarding the sad state of Buġibba, which is the one of island’s leading holiday resorts.

Yet our complaints have got nowhere, and promises of action are soon forgotten.

Here is a small list of what needs fixing.

The boat jetty, where every day tourists board boats to Gozo and Comino, was repaired a couple of months ago.

The new bits, however, have already fallen into the sea – such a fine job! Huge lumps of concrete are missing, waiting for an accident. At night it is in total darkness.

The pavement along the promenade is used as a rubbish tip by all the shops and restaurants.

Every night till the following morning it is oozing with food leftovers and drinks from the kitchens on the red bricks, now turned black due to lack of hygiene.

The pot plants are in cheap plastic containers that break in the sun; plants are left to die, without water, placed across the way from rubbish bins to block the road on the footpath.

Large signs by various restaurants placed in similar fashion to create an obstacle course.

Near the jetty part of the Roman Salina there used to be a handle to get into the water but it has not been fitted this year. And why, on weekends and public holidays, do the salt pans become a car park/barbecue area? Some bright spark has also drilled into the pans to anchor some rubbish bins.

Some ‘cowboys’ come to drive their noisy cars, stereos blaring, at weekends, park on bus stops, double yellow lines, zebra crossings – the wardens can make a fortune. There are no shelters on bus stops or electronic timetables.

One year later, Arriva hasn’t delivered.

The toilets at the sandy beach near the Dolmen Hotel are closed at night in summer; the air vent from the waste pipe is level with the street… what a lovely smell!