Local councils could perhaps be roped in to provide mass transport on activities such as last Saturday's Valletta 2018 ceremony, Justice and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici has told parliament.
Replying to Opposition questions after a statement on the inauguration of Valletta as European Cultural Capital, Dr Bonnici addressed concerns raised by Karl Gouder (PN), who said that Saturday’s success had been somewhat dampened by the “disaster” of the public transport system.
Dr Bonnici said that a fleet of 400 buses had had to cope with a mass of people which far exceeded the number of people who would ordinarily be entering Valletta by bus on a Saturday evening.
He acknowledged that the inadequate provision of service on the night was problematic, and suggested that local councils could be involved in organising special mass transit services for members of the various Maltese communities on the occasion of similar events in future., with financial assistance.
READ: Transport chaos spoils Valletta fun
Meanwhile, Malta Public Transport, the bus service company, blamed a lack of crowd control for the excessive delays people faced outside Valletta the night of the Valletta 2018 official inauguration.
Some people complained they had to wait for three hours and there was a crush whenever a bus arrived.
Malta Public Transport said buses were delayed because the hectic crowd hindered the operation.
The pick-up point for return trips was St Anne Street in Floriana – the St James Ditch terminus being inaccessible because of the night’s performances.
“The company would like to thank its employees who acted professionally and diligently, even if they practically had no bus terminus to operate from throughout the operation,” the company said.
The company also said that the bus service was meant to operate until 3am, but stopped an hour earlier because all passengers had boarded by 2am.
STATEMENT IN PARLIAMENT
In the parliamentary statement, Valletta 2018 Parliamentary Secretary Deo Debattista said that Valletta had played host to 110,000 people during the opening ceremony.
He gave a brief account of the celebrations, thanking all those involved in making Valletta 2018 a reality including former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and former Minister for Culture Mario de Marco, the various artists who brought the celebrations to life and the Valletta 2018 committee.
Dr Bonnici said that for the first time in Malta, culture, was a priority. Record funding was being made available for those involved in the creative industries, and the sector was advancing faster than the rest of the economy.
The platform offered by the European Capital of Culture programme was a golden opportunity to improve several infrastructural voids within the Maltese Islands that should not be missed, including MUŻA; the Design Cluster at the former slaughterhouse; the contemporary art space MICAS; the Rock Hub; and the Malta Carnival Experience were all initiatives aimed at filling such voids.
When he replied to questions, Dr Bonnici criticised the “negativity” of members of the Opposition who had asserted that the lights purportedly commissioned to suit Valletta’s Baroque character had evidently been used elsewhere.
Opposition MP Beppe Fenech Adami said that he had been informed that these lights had previously been used in Bari, and questioned whether proper procurement processes had been followed and whether the lights had cost as much as the originally promised.
Dr Bonnici said the lights were enjoyed by everybody who attended and had in large part been paid for by Valletta’s business community.
Responding to Opposition MP Claudette Buttigieg, who asked why an original spectacle had not been produced for Tritons’ Square, Dr Bonnici said that the event in question had been choreographed and produced by a world-famous Spanish dance troupe which had adapted their performance to suit the location. It had also involved the participation of 60 Maltese acrobats, who had been given the opportunity to showcase their talents on a world stage.
The minister also defended the Festa theme, arguing that it had been chosen as it was an element of Maltese culture with which everybody on the Islands was familiar. Like the village feast, he wished the festivities to bring the Maltese people together under a single banner.