In her letter There is Still Plenty Of Life Left In Valletta, Monica Muscat, in reply to my previous letter entiutled To Kill The City of Valletta, asked me to enlighten her with regard to the figure of 11,000 CVA-exempt vehicles. As a member of Parliament I am able to ferret out information from government ministers, which would otherwise not be public knowledge.

I refer to the reply to parliamentary question 4205, which states the number of CVA exempt vehicles is more than 11,800. Furthermore, from the same PQ one would note that, contrary to what Ms Muscat has stated, that there are only 1,300 Valletta residents’ vehicles which are CVA exempt, the number of such vehicles is 4,154! No wonder the CVA system is not working since Valletta has only a provision of circa 2,000 car parking spaces.

As a professional with an office in Valletta, I have a different opinion with regard to the effect of lack of car parking facilities on Valletta businesses. The facility to park there certainly does not mean more clients but it surely means existing clients find it difficult to visit offices in Valletta.

I strongly believe Valletta can be given a renewed lease of life if better access is provided. This should not only include more parking facilities on the periphery of the capital but also alternative means of transport including public transport by sea.

People are discouraged from visiting places that are not easily accessible. To avoid such a situation the government must proceed immediately with implementing the various projects meant to improve accessibility to Valletta and which have been on the drawing board for far too long.

(The author is the Labour Party’s spokesman for infrastructure and public works.)