What has your ministry worked on in the 100 days since the new Cabinet was sworn in? What has been done so far and what is in the pipeline?

Well, the bulk of the work this ministry is involved in is embellishment projects which, unfortunately, were mostly farmed out to private contractors in the past. My main focus so far has been on restructuring the Works Depart-ment, under the ministry’s responsibility, in such a way as to maximise the use of its human resources. It is hard to change work ethics and practices that have been in place for so long but we are getting there. The idea is to instil a sense of productivity among all the workers. If a person gets paid Lm20 day than that person must give Lm 25 or Lm30 worth of work to the department.

We have engaged the workers in re-training and have introduced performance-based promotions. We have trained our people in the skills needed for the department’s work – such as tile-laying, stone masonry and the like. We have also launched courses in rubble-wall building and now we also have workers who are skilled in this trade too.

The reform we are implementing is across the board and not only directed at the workers. The architects employed with the department also have to be accountable. Before we begin a project, the architect in charge makes an estimate of the materials and man-hours needed to carry out the project being undertaken. He then has to make sure that the work follows the original estimates.

In this way, a number of projects that were previously given to private contractors are now being done entirely by Works Department employees, except where the work requires equipment that the department does not own. These projects have included the Upper Barrakka, Paceville, the Xarolla windmill, Bugibba and, on a different note, improvements to the Marsa and Burmarrad watercourses. We have purchased equipment that is used on a regular basis but it does not make sense to invest in specialised equipment which is only used occasionally. In such cases, it makes more economical sense to work with a private contractor.

Does the government have plans to extend this effort to other areas, such as roadworks?

Roads do not fall under this ministry’s responsibility, as you know. This system makes sense for the Works Department. I would not know if it were applicable to road construction and I cannot tell you whether other ministries have plans to adopt a similar system.

Can you give some concrete examples of the work that has been carried out by the department – possibly listing examples where money has been saved?

Paceville, for example, would have cost us over Lm1 million, had the contract been given entirely to private contractors. Some of the work had to be contracted out because the department does not have the necessary equipment and, as I explained earlier, it does not make sense to buy it. However, the project ended up costing Lm800,000 instead – delivered on time and according to the specifications laid down in the designs. Even the street furniture was designed and produced in-house.

Paceville was a complex project because it had to be split into three phases, so as not to disrupt business in the area unduly – something that was agreed during the consultation process we had with those involved before work started. In this connection, the GRTU helped a great deal with coordinating the business community at the consultation stage.

The project was well-planned and took into account numerous factors that were missing before, such as accessibility for disability carriers. Another example of cost-saving projects is the re-paving work just finished in Mdina.

Now that the Paceville project has been finished, there seems to be a number of problems with the management of the area. The ground is already filthy, some of the street furniture has been vandalised and the large delivery trucks that usually service the area are finding it difficult to manoeuvre because the pavements have been extended. As a consequence, they sometimes drive over the pavements and damage them. How do you feel about this?

Well there certainly must be a management plan drawn up for the area now. I believe that talks are being held on the matter between the local council and the respective authorities. The plan should include provision for adequate security and law enforcement in such a way that vandalism is reigned in. There should also be plans for maintaining and cleaning the place regularly. As for delivery trucks having problems with the new pavements, I think that special equipment should be used in the area. In places like Mdina, special (small) construction vehicles have to be used because of the size of the streets and the same should be done with delivery trucks entering Paceville. Furthermore, there should also probably be a specific time when the place is serviced. Delivery trucks and other delivery vehicles should be allocated a specific time after which they are no longer allowed. This will facilitate better management and law enforcement over this sort of service. This principle applies to every embellishment project. However, the public must also cooperate, both with regard to vandalism and general cleanliness.

Another project similar to the Paceville project, and also involving a large input from the Works Department, was the paving work at Mdina. Apart from repaving, the city was treated to an overhaul of electrical and drainage services. To put you in the picture, we installed 600 manholes in Mdina. Basically, every house has a manhole for its electrical services. It was a delicate process, given the nature of the place and the fact that the services laid there were old. However, now the project is ready and the result is good. The manhole covers were designed, constructed and laid by government workers, as was the rest of the paving. Some processes were contracted privately, but for the most part the work was done by our people. The laying of the manhole covers alone would have cost an extra Lm100,000, had it been done by contractors, over and above the Lm500,000 that the paving cost. There were also some unexpected hitches in the project, such as faulty drainage pipes in two places that had to be replaced. This not only added to the expense, to the tune of Lm30,000, but also complicated matters logistically. In fact, the hardest part of the project was to coordinate the different processes involved – preparing the trenches, re-servicing the electrics and the drainage, laying the manhole covers and then the tiles – and keeping the work going at all times. The project was also delivered on time and within budget. Both the residents and the council were very cooperative throughout the project.

Another project that followed these lines was the restoration of the Xarolla windmill and the surrounding area. This was another extensive project. In fact, besides restoring the mill itself we dug and landscaped the surroundings. This was done for two reasons: on one hand it enhanced the mill’s prominence and improved its surroundings aesthetically and, secondly, we solved some problems with damp patches that used to form inside the mill because it was on the same level as its surroundings and used to hold water whenever there was any rain. Now the mill itself is on higher ground and rainwater will flow past it. Moreover, we also worked on a number of ancient graves that were damaged some years ago. We could not do anything to repair them without altering them irreversibly so we simply brought them back to life and devised a system by which they are permanently on display. We constructed an elevated footpath that passes above the graves, so that passers-by can walk over the graves and enjoy seeing them without damaging them. This footpath is connected to the other paths in the surrounding area. We introduced a number of old and modern textures such as wood, stainless steel and glass, and lighting effects, which put the historic elements of the building into relief. The graves, for example, have been covered in acrylic panels, and fitted with special lighting that produces a spectacular effect when they are lit at night. We also did some work on a nearby roundabout and the connecting roads so that the traffic leading up to the site is managed better.

Bugibba was treated similarly. There, we made extensive use of rubble walls. Some of the people who worked on the Bugibba project had attended the rubble walls courses mentioned earlier. The project had already been started before I took office and a contractor was commissioned to build the bridge-like structure on one of the top terraces. The Works Department terraced the area and created footpaths all around the site. The total cost reached some Lm400,000. During the rubble wall course, the students restored a number of such walls in Rabat, Dingli and the surrounding area. The course is obviously very hands-on, so apart from the learning process, there was also the benefit of having parts of the countryside restored

What funds is this ministry voted?

This year the government voted Lm20 million in wages and Lm6 million in capital. Considering the kind of projects undertaken, this is really not much. That is why we have to devise ways to make the best use of it and produce more with what we have.

Apart from the embellishment projects, I think the biggest project this ministry has undertaken so far is the work on the Marsa and Burmarrad watercourses – both intended to mitigate the flooding problems we have seen in the last two years. Both areas had a network of watercourses and catchments areas designed to dispose of excess rainwater and avoid flooding.

In Marsa kilometres of watercourses have been widened and cleaned. It took so long because this has not been done for at least 30 years. Some of the paths, especially in Burmarrad, were completely covered in rubble and soil; in certain parts rendering them unidentifiable from the rest of the fields. These courses will remain the responsibility of the ministry and there will be a special team assigned to their maintenance on a yearly basis. This maintenance should start around May and will probably take a small team of men some two months to complete. That way they will be ready for the following year.

The channels running through Marsa have been considerably widened, especially those behind the Lowenbrau factory. There, at one point a new path had to be dug in order to avoid pulling down an old bridge. In this way, the water will flow from underneath it and from a separate channel next to it. Water flows down from Siggiewi and the surrounding high land, down through Marsa and straight into Marsa harbour. In fact, the harbour has also been dredged, so that the water will flow better. Large parts of the watercourses have been given a concrete bed, also intended for better flow, and the supporting walls have also been rebuilt in many parts, using the traditional incline. Apart from being more aesthetically pleasing, the structure is actually stronger this way.

In Burmarrad, as well as clearing the water paths as has been done in Marsa, we have also restored a number of dams.

These were built concurrently with the Chadwick lakes and help replenish the water table underneath the fields.

The water is trapped in a number of points where it is given time to seep to the aquifer below.

When these catchment areas are full, the water flows into a succession of dams, and any excess after that is flushed into Salina bay.

The watercourse, in fact, comes all the way from Dingli, down to Ghajn Rihana, Burmarrad and then to Salina bay, through a channel that goes round the salt pans.

The soccorso – the channel around the salt pans – is being dug up. However, it will be connected to the Burmarrad watercourse next year. Work on the Soccorso is moving fast – in fact half of it has already been dug up and in the coming months the section next to the road will be dug up. This is another channel that has not been maintained since 1979. It was built by the Knights, who sought to exploit the tide as a flushing mechanism for the salt pans.

There are other embellishment projects in the pipeline, such as plans for the promenade area at Wied Babu in Zurrieq. The proposals are ready and have been submitted to Mepa.

I believe that this is the way forward and, all in all, I think a lot has been accomplished – thanks to the good work done by the Works Department.