The funding formula for local councils should make allowances for those localities whose population swelled because of tourism, Labour MP Joseph Cuschieri has suggested in parliament.
He said during the debate on amendments to the Local Councils Act that councils that worked to improve the upkeep of tourist destinations were benefiting the country as a whole. Yet the formula according to which the councils received their funds was based only on the number of permanent residents in each locality.
During the same debate, Nationalist MP Clyde Puli called for a review of the compensation given to mayors. He argued that while all mayors should enjoy the same status, there should be a grading system with regard to compensation since mayors of large towns had more to do than those of the small villages.
In his speech Mr Cuschieri referred to the composition of the Local Councils Association and insisted, like other Labour MPs, that the representation of the parties should be proportionate to the number of their candidates elected in council elections. Unless the government changed the current anomalous situation, the Labour Party would take the necessary action and, possibly, leave the association, he said.
Mr Cuschieri said that although the MLP had been constrained to participate in local council elections, it was still of the view that ideally, political parties should not form part of the councils. Political pique was often dissuading very valid people from offering to serve on the councils.
The Labour MP said local councils should have real, effective, powers. For example, development applications by the councils should be processed faster by Mepa and the authority should also give greater weight to objections which the councils made to proposed developments within their boundaries. At present the councils were not given any more importance than individuals.
Mr Cuschieri referred to the Qui-si-Sana car park controversy and asked why the government felt the need for this project when another car park was to be built in the area of the Chalet in Sliema. Was there more to the project than this? The neighbours were right to worry. But their objections were being ignored by the government.
Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea praised the local councils for their work over the past decade and said it was government policy to gradually give the councils greater powers and better funding.
Mr Galea highlighted the most important aspects of the bill. It was right, he said, that voting documents would no longer need to be distributed by policemen, and, indeed, in future ID cards would be enough for voting purposes.
It also made sense that shops within 50 metres of polling stations would not need to be closed when local elections were held.
A significant amendment was that which provided that the boundaries of local councils would also be recognised by the various government bodies and corporations. This would, once and for all, remove the differences which, say, the police, the WSC and Enemalta had in the boundaries of various localities.
The minister said one needed to consider the changing needs of the councils brought about by demographic changes. The populations of some localities were practically static, he said, while localities such as St Paul's Bay were seeing rapid population growth, a situation which imposed pressures on them in areas such as infrastructural services.
Labour MP Silvio Parnis said he still believed that the political parties should not participate in council elections. The MLP had repeatedly declared it would back off as soon as the PN did so. It would be suicide if local councils worked on the basis of political lines.
Mr Parnis said the opposition did not agree that councils should start raising taxes, but they should be adequately funded. It was positive that the majority of the people felt local councils made good use of their money. The people, however, were not happy with the way the wardens operated. They needed to give more importance to the environment.
Mr Parnis welcomed the opening of day centres for the elderly in several localities. The time had come, he said, for the country to consider the setting up of night centres for elderly people who did not wish to sleep in their homes on their own.
The MLP firmly believed that neighbouring local councils should work together to provide the best services in the most efficient manner. That was especially the case for social work. Certainly, there could not be a day centre or a home for the elderly in every locality.
Concluding, he thanked Labour councillors for their work and commitment, saying their work had been appreciated by the people, as shown by the fact that the majority of council members were now Labour. Nonetheless, he said, councillors deserved praise and all should work together. The people did not wish to see divisions in the councils.
Anglu Farrugia (MLP) said that now that the Local Councils Act was being amended, it was also time to improve the electoral system for national elections, not least to eliminate gerrymandering of electoral boundaries.
Dr Farrugia spoke about various works in Mosta. He complained about poor traffic management because of road works, and also urged residents to protest over the deplorable state of housing estates.
Dr Farrugia said that while Labour agreed in principle with the bill being debated, it still believed it would be much better for political parties to stay out of the local electoral races.
Clyde Puli (PN) praised the local councils for their performance over the past year, saying they had instilled a stronger community spirit while improving services in their localities. The councils had also been the launching pad for many politicians, himself included.
The amendments being debated, Mr Puli said, reflected the political maturity the country had reached. The fact that the police would not be distributing voting documents but they would be mailed showed that a certain normality had been reached. He hoped this would not lead to apathy in the democratic process.
Mr Puli said he was disappointed that a clause to extend the term of office of the councils did not feature in the bill. Such a proviso, he said, should not be linked to other matters. The ideal council term, he felt, should be five years with one round of elections for all the councils together. That would save costs and yield a higher turnout.
Mr Puli said he did not agree that the mayors should receive the same honoraria, although they should enjoy the same status.
Payment to mayors should be graded according to their responsibilities, in the same way as council secretaries, because there was no doubt that the mayors of large towns had more to do than those of small villages.
Indeed, compensation should be fairer so as not to put off people from holding that post. Although councillors should continue to be volunteers, they should not have to actually fork out their own money. A small, fixed allowance for expenses would not be a bad idea.
Charles Buhagiar (MLP) insisted that councillors should work together for the best of their localities. One of the root causes of the problems this country faced was that certain valid people were not allowed to give their contribution, often for political reasons.
Mr Buhagiar said he agreed with remarks by minister Censu Galea on the benefits of a clause in this bill providing that all government bodies were to recognise locality boundaries as laid down in the Local Councils Act. To date there was a situation where corporations and departments defined locality boundaries differently, creating confusion.
Mr Buhagiar underlined the benefits of neighbouring councils working together on a regional basis, saying this made financial sense while also improving efficiency. Indeed, one should have a new administrative level - the regional level - between the individual councils and the central government.
The Labour MP said the councils had different spending needs, depending on the quality of the infrastructure, particularly the roads, which they had taken over. Some time ago the government had introduced a scheme where it would build roads which would then be paid for by the councils in installments. But this scheme had then been abruptly discontinued. Why had this happened? Of course, it should be the councils which should decide which roads, which were not arterial, were given priority in their localities.
Mr Buhagiar referred to the process by which local councils could award tenders to private contractors and said there was need for a system which was faster and efficient.
The Labour MP also called for better traffic management in Rabat parish square.