They went on to say that this had been stated ad nauseam and that, anyway, it was in line with the Qui-Si-Sana development brief. This free parking is certainly not in line with the development brief.

Sections 6.2.2 and 6.3.3 clearly refer to a nominal fee in respect of residents participating in the RPZ scheme. Moreover, Minister George Pullicino, who is responsible for the brief, once strongly implied that residents could even be charged a fee for a space allocated to them in the car park itself, although such a fee is not mentioned in the brief regarding the car park.

The only thing that has been repeated ad nauseam is Mr Pullicino himself saying that the government is committed to ensuring that the terms of the brief are strictly adhered to, “no more, no less”. So the fear that Sliema residents are going to be charged a fee for participating in the RPZ scheme is fully justified, unless, of course, things change.

C.A.L. Dunkerley

Sliema