On Saturday, Swieqi residents, as in a number of other localities, are being asked to go to the polls to elect their council representatives for the next four years. While certain surveys show disillusionment by residents with the way certain councils were managed over the past years, councils are being given an ever more important role in the running of the different localities, especially after the reform earlier this year.

The civic centre, with its limited space, should become a hub to launch various events for residents...- Mauro Miceli, Swieqi

I am proud to have been given the opportunity to provide my time and experience to the residents of Swieqi, St Andrew’s, Ta’ l-Ibraġ and Madliena. As a person born and raised in Swieqi, I have seen the village and its population grow. I have come to realise that the needs and requirements of the community are continuously changing and the next council is going to need to take important decisions on the future of the locality.

The Nationalist Party, on whose ticket I am contesting, has always attached importance to Swieqi and over the past years we have seen various national projects on roads in the Madliena area. I believe that roads in the Swieqi area should be next on the list, especially Triq il-Keffa. These could be included with the civic centre project. The civic centre is an important investment for residents as it will finally give residents a breath of fresh air and an open space to enjoy.

My campaign has focused on the slogan Proud To Be From Swieqi and over the past few weeks I have had the privilege of meeting people from different walks of life who have expressed their willingness to be more involved in the locality.

This is what Swieqi needs, for residents to be more active in the day-to-day activities of the council. If elected I will ensure that a number of sub-committees are appointed to empower citizens to take ownership of events and activities. The civic centre, with its limited space, should become a hub to launch various events for residents and for organisations present in Swieqi.

Residents and I have a common goal, that of ensuring they get an efficient and effective public service and a council that really works in the interest of their needs.

Residents don’t need much apart from the basic needs of any locality: tarmac on the roads, safe pavements to walk on, clean streets, safety from thugs who vandalise vehicles and front porches after nights-out in Paceville.

Apart from all this, I also envisage Swieqi as a hub for EU-funded projects to ensure that, apart from the resources provided by the government, we tap into other funding programmes to ensure enough financial resources for an ever better Swieqi.