Paul Camilleri’s letter Punished For Parking Within White Lines (September 20) as well as Eddie Borg’s letter Loss To Ħamrun Businesses (September 21) provide ample evidence not only of the frequent misdeeds of wardens who patrol Malta’s residential streets but regretfully also of the arrogant abuses of power of some local councils.

Mr Camilleri states that parking bays in Valletta are colour-coded so that the local council of our capital city ensures that visitors, including Maltese living outside Valletta and tourists (including EU ones), do not park their cars in most parking bays and during most hours of any 24-hour day. Mr Borg’s complaint is similar in the sense that the Ħamrun local council has likewise reserved the great majority of parking bays for Ħamrun residents so that outsiders may park in any of the remaining handful of parking bays for not more than one hour. Quite ironically, even the residents of such localities are discriminated against; thus, the residents of, say, Valletta/Ħamrun Street A may park any time in the bays of Street A but not in those of, say, Street, B or C, etc.

In these very absurd situations, wardens unfortunately tend to display a ludicrously ravenous appetite for dishing out fines galore. They obviously find countless victims hailing from all over our islands who at one time or another need to visit such localities. And they require to park their cars somewhere…

This blatant discrimination by a few local councils is, in my opinion, unjust and illegal and cries out for some urgent remedy by those in authority. Perhaps, I may conclude by pointing out that MEP Simon Busuttil was informed of this issue a few weeks ago. I do hope that Dr Busuttil thrashes it out very speedily with the EU authorities.