The Board of Local Governance has found PL Lija councillor Marc Sant not to be in breach of ethics after he took to Facebook to air his frustration over a "disservice" which is allegedly being provided by Waste Collection Ltd, the company which handles the collection of rubbish in the locality. It is understood Dr Sant made the motion he presented to the council public when he posted the details on Facebook.

It all started when Dr Sant was informed by residents that the rubbish collectors were doing anything but a good job. On being informed, both Dr Sant and another Lija councillor presented a motion to the council.

Adrian Muscat, the owner of the company, retaliated by filing a complaint to the Governance Board against Dr Sant for having (Dr Sant) posted the details of the motion on a social networking site. The Facebook page attracted a lot of attention which saw the page inundated with comments by residents.

The board argued that Dr Sant was not found in breach of ethics due to the fact that councillors have all the right to present motions to the council over services provided to the locality through the council, especially when they feel that the level of service provided is inadequate. The fact that Dr Sant posted a message on Facebook, making the issue public, in no way breaches ethics since such motions can be made public so that residents can be informed of the situation anyway, the board continued.

"Residents have all the right in the world to know what is happening in their locality," the board said.

The board added that if someone feels aggrieved over comments or allegations made in his or her confrontation, there are always other legal avenues one can turn to.

A copy of the decision, seen by this newsroom, was sent to the director of Local Government, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for local councils Stefan Buontempo, the Opposition spokesperson for local councils David Agius, consultant Michael Cohen and last but not least the executive secretary of the Lija council.