Unannounced road closures in Swieqi are the latest example of “discrimination” against the locality, according to mayor Noel Muscat.
An exasperated Mr Muscat yesterday told this newspaper that he was at his wit’s end, as different government departments were either overlooking the locality or not working with the council.
“The council is mostly Nationalist and so is the locality. I will leave it at that,” Mr Muscat said when asked to expand on his claims.
He was contacted for his reaction to complaints of previously unannounced road works in the valley leading to San Ġwann which prompted a wave of criticism from residents over the weekend.
“We got several calls from residents who were rightly angered to find access on both ends of the valley closed. And then I had to look like an idiot and say, ‘Sorry but I don’t know what is going on’,” he said.
The council is mostly Nationalist and so is the locality. I will leave it at that
The Wied Għomor Valley was temporarily closed to traffic ahead of roadworks to widen the road as it is transformed into a main access route during the construction of the Kappara junction. Mr Muscat, however, said that not only had the authorities closed off the valley without informing the council but had also rejected a request for a pavement to be constructed for pedestrians.
“The valley is very popular with walkers and all a pavement needs is 90cm but the authorities said no to that too,” he said. Mr Muscat questioned why other localities were being prepared for increased Kappara traffic with newly paved roads but the same did not apply to Swieqi.
A Transport Ministry spokeswoman yesterday categorically denied any political interference, saying: “Transport Malta denies without hesitation the statement that this is being done intentionally to undermine the council, and rebuts that it is the local council which is turning it into a political issue.” She said San Ġwann council had been consulted earlier this month regarding traffic management but did not say whether the Swieqi council had been informed. The authorities did contact the Swieqi council, in May of last year, informing it that any footpath works were the council’s responsibility.
“The authorities will be expropriating parts of land adjacent to the bottlenecks in the valley in order to widen the road and enable two-way traffic. If a footpath had to be constructed along the whole road now, this would defeat the objective of the widening and hinder traffic flows,” she said.
The spokeswoman later added that Swieqi would ultimately benefit from the works.
Mr Muscat said the council was being overlooked on many fronts. “This isn’t just about roadworks. We benefit from nearly no government measures and services. We don’t even have a square,” he said.