Thank heavens for the barrier in Mdina Road, Attard, which serves its purpose whenever traffic accidents occur. However, it needs attention as it poses a danger to pedestrians using the pavement. Residents have been reporting it for a number of weeks, to no avail.

Road hogs

The area in front of Michael Debono Ltd in Żebbuġ, adjacent to a major second-hand car dealer, is full of vehicles with expired road licences. Some of the cars, with licences that expired in April 2012, had contact numbers proudly displayed on the windscreen. Instead of chasing petty traffic offenders, wardens and traffic policemen should visit the place and remove these vehicles.

Endemic bottlenecks

Double parking in various parts of St Joseph High Road, Ħamrun, continues with impunity. Delivery vehicles double parked next to a store close to the Cannon Road junction, notably during the morning rush hours, and stationary minibuses near St Paul Square (Pjazza Fra Diegu) cause bottlenecks and serious problems when big vehicles, such as buses, are passing through. Is this a matter of ‘everybody’s business is nobody business’? Does the local council have any say? Is it completely toothless?

Public accountability

Will the public ever know who the government officer in charge was who should have assured that water and electricity bills of premises used by carnival enthusiasts were settled regularly and not allowed to accumulate, as they in fact have? Also, why did Enemalta not do what it does with John and Mary Citizen and suspend the supply when the bills remained unpaid? Is there such a thing as public accountability in this Malta tagħna lkoll [Malta for all]?

Palatial shabbiness

Does the President’s Office not have cleaners and gardeners to tend to its palace gardens? Or is it trying to cut down on costs? Participants at a conference held at Verdala Palace on Friday were greeted with garbage littering the palace grounds.

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