Updated
Hamrun councillor and PN council president Paula Mifsud Bonnici has found an unlikely ally in her complaints about not having been informed of a tour of a new Hamrun car park by Labour leader Joseph Muscat this morning.
Luciano Busuttil, the former mayor, has voiced the same complaint.
Writing on facebook, the Labour MP said: "I am disappointed that MPs that are elected on the 1st district were not invited to join in to Dr Joseph Muscat's visit of the Hamrun new underground parking. Personally, I spent 7 years on that project that I created it and that no one ever believed could become reality. Seems that hard work was soon forgotten."
The new car park has been built on public land by the local council.
The land had been passed on to the council in a devolution process, and the council also benefited from an €88,000 grant under a Malta Environment and Planning Authority scheme.
The council together with Parkwell, undertook a €1.2 million investment in the public private partnership.
The car park in Duke of Edinburgh Street, on the site of the old market, will be open for use later on this month.
During a visit to the five-storey 160-car car park, Dr Muscat launched the PL's campaign for the council elections pointing out that Labour was launching the campaign even though the elections' writ had not yet been issued, reflecting the uncertainty in the country.
He criticised the fact that the Labour-led council was not given any additional help from the government. This, he said, would not be the case under a Labour government.
He said that a Labour-led council at Hamrun would continue with its efforts to improve parking, traffic management and reduce pollution.
Mayor Vince Bonello said that the council had to wait between eight and 10 years for the devolution of land, which was unused. He said that in the past three years, the council had worked very hard to finish car park and it planned to start making a profit within four years.
PN COUNCILLORS COMPLAIN
Meanwhile, Paula Mifsud Bonnici, a Nationalist member of Hamrun council, said on facebook that it was 'sheer arrogance' by the Labour Party that Joseph Muscat had inaugurated Hamrun Council Car Park without the Mayor having even informed the PN councillors about the 'whole farce'.
"This is all about the democracy PL boasts off......well I just don't know why I am shocked!!! Cannot expect any better!!!" Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.
A spokesman for the Labour Party said this was not an inauguration but a visit as part of the councils electoral campaign, and Dr Mifsud Bonnici should get her facts right.
(Dr Mifsud Bonnici had based herself on an initial Times report that the car park had been inaugurated by Dr Muscat. The report was corrected shortly after to state that Dr Muscat had visited the car park)
Dr Mifsud Bonnici later wrote that even if the PL wanted to inaugurate its councils campaign - as it was now saying its tour was about - it should not have done so in somebody else's property. Councils should not be used for partisan purposes.
She also held a press conference with the other PN Hamrun councillors. She said that Dr Muscat did not even get his facts right. The project came to fruition thanks to the government - which had provided the land and provided a guarantee to back the bank financing. Furthermore, Mepa actually contributed €168,000 and not €88,000 as Dr Muscat claimed. The project also benefited from government schemes to have photovoltaic panels and a solar water heater.