I am a Swieqi resident (and have been for the last 23 years) and am fully aware of the amount of non-Swieqi residents that park here every day and on weekends.

There has been a lot of debate over the last few years regarding the issue of residential parking, and the perceived right that residents think they have on free parking within their own localities. Those in favour of residential parking argue, among other things, that they have a right to park in their locality more than residents from other localities, who are visiting their area.

I beg to differ.

Residents have no right to the streets and road within their localities. When purchasing my home in Swieqi, I, like many others, invested in garage space for my family car/s. Residents who did not make such an investment have no right to complain they have no place to park their car because the spaces have been taken up by non-locality citizens.

Car parks, car spaces and garages are there to be rented or used (against payment) by all, both residents and non-residents.

If a resident who never bothered to buy or rent such a space cannot find where to park his car in his locality, he cannot complain.

The roads and streets in his locality are not his. They belong to all tax-paying residents.

Why should a resident expect to park for free when other residents in the same locality have invested in garages or car spaces?

Offering free parking to residents is discriminatory against those residents who made such investments/payments.

There is no such thing as free parking for some. It should either be free for all Maltese residents or against payment for all.

No discrimination.