News | Sunday, 29 November 2009

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Only six warden fines issued in Dingli

James Debono
The rural haven of Dingli has perhaps broken the record lowest number of wardens’ tickets ever issued in Malta: six… a far cry from the 20,000 warden and speed camera tickets generated from contraventions on the roads of St Julian’s this year.
Dingli has now overtaken Siggiewi as the least fined locality in Malta, a reality marked by the low presence of wardens in towns whose local councils do not depend on income from contraventions.
Just six wardens’ tickets were issued up until October 2006 in Dingli, with nobody getting fined anytime between May and August. The reason is because the locality is supervised by wardens for just two hours a day.
But this service comes at no cost for the council, because the system is financed through a pooling system, the locality’s executive secretary Paul Pace told MaltaToday. The pooling system is made up of a group of neighbouring local councils.
Surprisingly, with a population of over 3,300, Dingli’s wardens issued the same number of tickets as in the Gozitan locality of San Lawrenz – population: 600.
Only 14 fines were issued in Siggiewi, six less than the number issued in 2007. This council employs wardens for just two hours a week – and only in the locality’s rural areas. In February 2009, the council voted to retain this system after PN mayor Robert Musumeci blocked an attempt by deputy mayor Karol Aquilina to introduce one hour of warden supervision a day.
A comparison between the first three months of 2009 and the first three months of 2008 shows that nationally, the number of warden fines has increased by 6.5%.
A breakdown by type of contravention shows that one in every four fines were issued for overspeeding.
Of the €5.5 million raked in from the 176,003 fines issued by wardens and speed cameras in the first 10 months of the year, only €3.3 million have been actually paid.

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