Last Friday afternoon I was, along with another 142 local councillors, invited to the Office of the Prime Minister at the Auberge de Castille for our swearing in ceremony. It was a simple yet dignified affair which culminated with a brief address by the Prime Minister.

Dr Gonzi made much of the fact that this was his first official political engagement since he was returned to office and had taken the responsibility for local councils under his portfolio. The Prime Minister emphasised that he wanted to work together with all local councils to improve the quality of life of people. He stressed that we must preserve the distinction between our political role and responsibilities and the role and responsibilities of the executive secretary and the other local government officials serving their respective councils. To the latter he appealed not to discriminate when it came to serving the elected councillors and the public.

Above all, Dr Gonzi indicated that as a central government his new administration will be taking a closer interest in the work of the Local Councils and will also be seeking to work closer with them.

As if to prove this point, Dr Gonzi along with Mrs Gonzi and his parliamentary secretary Dr Chris Said, himself the former mayor of Nadur, took his time to meet and speak with all councillors present for the drinks which followed the ceremony.

While chatting with me and my fellow councillors from Haz-Zebbug, I pressed Dr Gonzi on an urgent flood relief project we need in the Il-Hofra area of our town. The area, which consists of a labyrinth of narrow streets and alleys in the, geographically, lower part of Haz-Zebbug behind the police station suffers from flooding every time it even rains a bit. As a result, people cannot leave their homes to go to work and children cannot go to school if it rains in the morning. Dr Gonzi seems to have made a mental not of this petition and we will no doubt remind him of it through the normal official channels.

For the time being, however, I must admit that the message that comes out of this first encounter between us as members of local government and the central government, as personified by the Prime Minister, is that, so far, we have received an encouraging signal.

Let’s hope it keeps that way.