The government’s drive to hand over various properties to local councils has continued with the beautifully designed Casino Notabile being devolved to the Mdina council.
Such initiatives are a pleasure to see in particular because, in the case of the Casino Notabile, this building was not being put to any use whatsoever and now it has been given to the people of Mdina.
Hopefully, the previous situation will change and it will be open to the public for whatever events that the council and the people decide to host there.
Another interesting aspect was that during the ceremony in which it was handed over, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, who is responsible for local government, expressed hope that neighbouring towns and villages such as Rabat and Dingli would also be able to use it. What he was saying was that we should avoid the “It’s ours, not yours” mentality which would totally ruin the thought behind the gesture to give the building to the people.
It was also interesting to note that the government immediately expressed support towards the council’s request to take the building under its wing. Let’s face it, this gem of a building has not been put to any good use whatsoever and at a time when Malta and the Maltese are trying to get back in touch with their culture, access to such a structure is a fine thing.
Many are the people who used to comment that “it’s such a shame that it’s not open” or “I’d love to see what’s inside”. Hopefully that will all change once the council establishes a programme of activities to hold there.
This is only one of 52 properties that the government has given to a total of 38 local councils through a devolution process started a few years back.
The properties involved ranged from gardens, libraries, caves and many others.
It does in fact make a lot of sense, because the government cannot ever hope to administer every building and other area that dots our islands.
The very essence of local councils is to have a form of local government which would know the needs of the area in question.
This in turn leads to the argument that if local councils have a monetary budget, they can afford to give greater attention to a library or a garden, for example.
If we look at the matter more closely, a council can immediately tell if some swings need a lick of paint or if a library needs a copy of a particular book.
Simple logistics one might say, but if these matters were left to the government, it would take a lot longer to get done for the simple reason that they cannot be as in touch with localities as people from the area are.
Another argument in favour of such practice is that local councils tend to be in a better position to gauge what residents want from areas that fall within the locality in question.
For example, the government might have for example come up with a plan to turn the casino into a museum.
The council, on the other hand, might simply do some quick fact finding in Mdina and find that the people would much rather use it as a social hall for instance.
Councils must, however, make sure that they do keep close to the people to find out what they want.
In reality, giving a property to a local council is actually giving it to the people, not the councillors or the mayor.
What the councils need to do is keep in touch with residents and, once such properties are obtained, make sure that they are put to the best and most popular use possible.