With the inevitability of Greek tragedy, the government has successfully veered public discussion away from job insecurities, problematic bank loans, contracting purchasing power, hefty utility bills and the spiralling cost of living. Community anger is now being vented on Renzo Piano for his blueprint of the much-needed major makeover of City Gate and part of its immediate environs; and on parliamentarians - the greedy pigs - for shamelessly and capriciously seeking new work premises when people are losing their jobs.

Mr Piano was given a brief to redevelop City Gate and the site of the opera house and also to include a building to house Parliament. The Cabinet is responsible for this brief. Mr Piano spoke of a ping-pong session where ideas were thrown at the government, discussed within Cabinet, and then volleyed back at him. Therefore, it is not Mr Piano's fault that the government chooses to work in this piecemeal way instead of embarking on a master plan for Valletta including areas such as the bus terminus eyesore.

A master plan for Valletta was initiated by the 1996-98 Labour Administration and has remained untouched for over 10 years. It's also not Mr Piano's shortcoming that the government has ignored the traffic problem in Valletta. Surely the less parking spaces there are, the less cars will enter Valletta, that's logic. And, of course, it would be much nicer to have the minimum amount of cars possible in our capital. But if the government isn't working on projects that would make Valletta accessible other than on foot we can put paid to reviving economic and cultural life in Valletta, especially in the evenings. This is not to speak of the difficulties people who work in Valletta will face. Criticism should, thus, be hurled at the government for not addressing these problems.

The second major gripe is - as I said - at us parliamentarians. I sincerely hope that these sort of complaints will keep pouring in as many of us would rather continue working from the grand President's Palace where we are today. It is the Cabinet that has decided to build new premises but we are all getting the flak. And if we have to move, I'd much prefer Parliament to be located in Fort St Elmo or the Auberge de Baviere, as has been touted. On those sites, parking will be less of a problem and, if flowers don't grow, we would at least be able to smell the sea, not the coffee. So, contrary to what some are thinking, members of Parliament are not drooling over the prospect of a new workplace on Freedom Square. The members of Parliament I have spoken to have no great wish to move there. What is very telling is how some people are using this opportunity to spit nails at the people's representatives.

Another thing. I don't know if it's just me but I consider it somewhat rich that Victor Ragonesi (who used to be private secretary to former Prime Minister George Borg Olivier) has to tell us now to keep our hands off City Gate. Didn't Dr Ragonesi have an important role in the 1960s Nationalist Administration, which put its clumsy hands on City Gate to give us the fascist-style garage entrance which I, and all those my age, have had to enter through all our lives with our eyes closed?

Reading the parliamentary debates from that period, one finds that when the plans for the new City Gate were presented by a Nationalist government, Mable Strickland had shot down the project. Dom Mintoff also spoke on the proposed project and it was one of those rare occasions where he agreed with Ms Strickland and rubbished the plans for City Gate. So here we are now, over four decades later, being told by someone involved in the conception and birth of that monstrosity to keep our hands off City Gate. Incredible.

Something else I observed was a headline in the Nationalist Party daily which said: Let us restore dignity to Valletta. Same thing here. It's the dignity which the PN had taken away in the 1960s. The PN taketh; the PN giveth back. Thank you very much.

Let's hope the City Gate project will finally materialise after the necessary adjustments have taken place following the essential ping-pong sessions with all the stakeholders. I understand the point of view of many of my constituents who, at this moment, are preoccupied about bread and butter priorities such as employment and cost of living problems. They are asking: Why now when the money could be injected into the economy to create jobs? Will this project start at €80 million and then end up costing much more, like the new hospital? Will it drag on for years and years beyond the proposed finishing date? And so many more questions, which come to the mind of those struggling to make ends meet.

All this should prod the government to get on with the project quickly in a transparent and accountable manner. It ought to use as many human resources available on its pay roll in the public sector as possible. Already good architects within the public service have been ignored with regard to the implementation of the Piano plans because this government has this fixation of trusting capital projects solely in the hands of contractors. Citizens will be scrutinising more closely than ever and expect to be given value for their hard-earned money.

Dr Dalli is a Labour member of Parliament.