From Mr M. Aquilina

Marisa Micallef hit the nail right on the head last Sunday with her article “That place with all the ugly buildings”. I am no Einstein, but I have wondered so many times at which school our architects studied. These days you don’t need to travel abroad to see wonderful buildings. A press of a button on the Internet will show you the world.

The authorities in Malta are mostly to blame. They let most people get away with it, as they do themselves. Take the Housing Authority as an example. It builds unfinished apartment blocks and sells cheaply as if it were some kind of charity. With these blocks unfinished, and I am talking about the common parts, whether it’s the block itself or the garages underneath, they leave behind a whole range of problems. Most buyers do not agree on anything – no committees, no lights, no cleaning schedules, lifts that don’t work half the time, and so on. The list is endless. The condominium act is a waste of time; the regulations are ignored, the Housing Authority knows the loopholes, and just let’s everyone fend for himself or herself. These problems have been around for years, and it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

The contracts they issue with each apartment is full of fancy rules and regulations, but when was the last time that the authorities ever bothered to listen to our complaints and take the necessary action against the likes of those who keep a dog or two, and the ones that use the garages for business purposes, such as panel beating and spraying.

Getting back to Marisa’s subject, this is what I would call eyesores. Look around you, and the most noticeable thing on most buildings is the lack of maintenance, plus the I don’t care attitude. Take your lawyer, Dr R. Zammit and two of your managers, namely Lorna Pavia and Paul Sciberras whom I have met three times over the last three years, as well as some of the ones in your establishment with the I couldn’t careless attitude. Have you ever wondered how much taxpayers’ money is going down the drain, with you lot turning a blind eye.

Back in July 2005, Dr Zammit answered my letter entitled “Housing Authority washes its hands of apartment blocks once they are sold”, which appeared in The Malta Independent on Sunday. His last paragraph read, “There are, however, other appropriate State organs and legal means intended to offer solutions in these type of cases”. Those were his famous words. I now ask him, “Why is it that over the last two-and-a-half years, you have never bothered to answer my lawyer’s letters and also my own?”

Practise what you preach sunshine!

Mario Aquilina

QAWRA