Traffic management will be taken seriously by a Labour government, leader Joseph Muscat pledged yesterday as he listed the government’s failings on various issues affecting people’s everyday lives.
He also called on the government to ensure better public order and safety in areas currently inundated by student tourists, referring specifically to the Swieqi area – a Nationalist stronghold which he said was becoming “anarchic”.
Describing this year as an “annus horribilis”, Dr Muscat said the only thing that seemed to work “like clockwork” was the €500 weekly pay rise that ministers had awarded themselves. Everything else was mismanaged.
He started by slamming the new bus service which, he said, exposed Transport Minister Austin Gatt at his most arrogant.
After designing inadequate bus routes which must now be revised, Dr Gatt blamed the public for any failings, saying they did not participate actively enough in the consultation process.
“This is the same minister who, after the public said yes to divorce, still voted no in Parliament,” Dr Muscat quipped during a telephone interview from Gozo on One Radio.
Dr Muscat also criticised the Transport Ministry and Transport Malta (the authority responsible) for traffic mismanagement around the island.
He said road maintenance was carried out in crucial roads at the height of the tourist season, including the road to the airport and the main road of Ċirkewwa (Malta’s link to Gozo).
Meanwhile, poor management was also being seen in the maintenance of other roads. On Thursday, a main road was closed at rush hour, causing a lot of unnecessary traffic at 8 a.m., he said.
Dr Muscat also criticised the planning authority for trying to scrounge money from its customers by charging hundreds of euro for “photocopies”.
The bills, sent to 3,500 people, were withdrawn after Labour party spokesman Roderick Galdes complained about the “illegal charges” earlier this week, with the authority explaining it had been an administrative error.Dr Muscat compared this case to when the water and electricity billing company Arms Limited “illegally” fined customers last year for allegedly defaulting – a fine that was later refunded after pressure by the Labour Party.
He said the photocopy costs were symptomatic of the government’s need to find ways of funding the Malta Environment and Planning Authority after removing subsidies from the authority.
The Mepa reform, he said, left it with higher costs and more expensive employees, while the public faced heftier charges and the service did not improve.
He said those responsible should be held to account, including Mepa chairman Austin Walker, parliamentary secretary Mario de Marco (who, he said, was posing as Lawrence Gonzi’s successor) and the Prime Minister, minister responsible for Mepa.
Dr Muscat said the government must also respond to claims in the press that local councils make no money from traffic fines, which are instead going to contractors. He promised to bring up the matter once Parliament reconvenes and would demand transparency.
He said the government also failed its people by taking so long to enact a law about access to lawyers during interrogation. As a result, many suspected criminals were being freed “on a technicality”, even if the cases against them was extremely strong.
Dr Muscat praised his party’s team that worked on perfecting the divorce law, saying the Labour Party had shown it can give direction and come up with solutions that work. The final vote in Parliament on the amendments to introduce divorce will be taken today.
In reply, the Nationalist Party said this would have been a horrible year had the government listened to Dr Muscat’s bad advice particularly on financial matters, citing the economic situations in Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal.