AD lashes out at ‘one-man show’ in Birkirkara council
Charlot Zahra
Speaking during the launch of the Alternattiva Demokrartika (AD) candidates that will be contesting for the Local Council elections on 6 June yesterday afternoon, AD candidate Mario Mallia lashed out at the Birkirkara local council’s running by Nationalist mayor Micheal Fenech Adami – son of former prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami – as a “one-man show”.
“The participation of the residents in the running of the Birkirkara council has been neglected. It has literally become a one-man show,” Mario Mallia said.
“The residents have not been consulted on how the Local Council is run. I invite you to ask the residents and the other Local Councillors about the matter.
“Having one project after another with the residents only seeing the end product, without being ever consulted, is plain disgusting, and is not conducive to encourage further participation by residents in the locality,” he insisted.
This besides the over-spending by the Local Council as highlighted in the Auditor’ report, he added.
AD was proposing the appointment of area managers from different parts of the locality instead of having a single person, the mayor, who practically decided which areas were maintained and the amount of money spent on each project.
AD chairperson and MEP candidate Arnold Cassola said that the AD candidates that would be contesting the local council elections – Mario Mallia for Birkirkara, Michael Briguglio for Sliema and AD secretary-general Victor Galea for Gharb – had already shown that they could make a difference, as they had already shown both in Sliema and Birkirkara respectively, together with Ralph Cassar in Attard.
“Many times, AD councillors propose Green policies that most of the time, improve the quality of life of residents in the respective localities and manage to bring consensus between councillors hailing from different political parties,” Cassola insisted.
Sometimes there were occasions where councillors from different parties did not agree on an ideological basis. “However, there are other instances where councillors from the same political party disagree because they were allied to different MPs in the House of Representatives,” he explained.
“AD councillors bring consensus in the locality because they are not allied to a specific party or faction, or the lobbies of big business,” Cassola added.
Mallia served in the Birkirkara Local Council in the 2000-2003 term, getting elected at the first count. Mario had managed to bring the council closer to the residents, and introduced various campaigns about the use of bicycles, the use of open spaces, traffic management, Cassola said.
“When I was still in the local council way back in 2003, AD, together with the residents, had objected to the building of an old peoples’ home by the Birkirkara Local Council in the area where the playing field, one of the few open spaces in the locality, was sited,” Mallia said.
Moreover, the local council had still not consulted on the way how this playing field should be development to the benefit of all the residents. “We do not know, for instance, where a number of grounds that will be built in this open space will be accessible to all residents free of charge, or whether a few of them will only be available under payment,” the AD candidate explained.
“Accessibility of open space is a crucial issue for us”.
In the Sliema Local Council, Briguglio, who has been serving since 2003, has introduced the practice that when there are dubious projects, they are contested by the council.
Moreover, the Sliema council, under the insistince of Briguglio, this week introduced the use of solar energy at its offices.
“Despite the fact that I was on my own, I made an impact. If I had not been there, the Qui-Si-Sana car park would have been developed despite the residents’ objections.”
Likewise, the Chalet and the Pjazzetta would have been built if the council under the pressure of Briguglio had not objected.
The third candidate, AD secretary-general Victor Galea, will be contesting the council elections for the Gharb locality for the first time.
“Victor is well-known all across Gozo as well as in Malta about his dedication to the residents’ cause,” Cassola said. “Moreover, Victor Galea’s name is well-connected with the Eco-Gozo concept, which AD introduced in 2007,” he added.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
Download front page in pdf file format
All the interviews from Reporter on MaltaToday's YouTube channel.
