An endless chain of letters has tried to wake the authorities up about the desperate situation Valletta has been cornered in. We also hear a chorus of distinguished personalities begging for immediate action not to let our city suffer in these desperate times. But nobody seems to listen.

Both as resident and businessman, I feel that the promise of an astonishing awakening has washed away with the January rains. Many have fallen and will not rise to see this promised rejuvenation of the city. Many businesses have closed down or are up for sale, to be taken up by others and suffer the same fate. Feasibility studies are being drawn up to lure those who have no clue of how bad the situation is.

Those who have fallen already are in their thousands, both employers and employees, and many more will follow, sadly reminding themselves that, come election time, when these projects are scheduled to end, they will not be present for the harvest and they will definitely not vote for the group of hardheads that have shoved them into this mess.

So while the cake is still half spoilt, let us save the other half by taking popular and beneficial actions before project’s end.

Here are some at the top of the list: Give Valletta-goers and tourists another two alternative routes to access South Street from Castille Place; rethink the traffic management leading from Marsamxett to Hastings; offer tourists block tickets to visit all venues in Valletta; get Arriva to shape up or get out; reconnect the City Gate even with a metal footbridge like the one connecting the breakwater to nowhere; limit works on private properties to a few hours and leave the site before 9 a.m; finish restoration the projects within a respectable time and educate wardens on duty in Valletta to be able to give proper direction to places of interest without giving that Muppet show expression.

Do I need to go on? I guess not, we’ll just have to wait and see what Labour’s proposals for this mess are and then decide whether to expect a last-minute salvage.