The Naxxar local council fulfilled 46 per cent of the promises it made in its electoral manifesto, Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.

Dr Sant was speaking during a visit to Naxxar in the run up to next month’s local elections.

He said that the Nationalist-led council had not kept several of the promises it had made to residents before the last council election.

Visiting the cart ruts at the top of the Telgha T’Alla w Ommu, Dr Sant said that they had been abandoned and that the council had not given the site and other areas of cultural importance the attention that they merit.

He said that the cart ruts, dating back to the Bronze Age, were not looked after by the present council, even though the Nationalist Party had promised that it would do so.

Even the Roman catacombs had been neglected by the council, he said.

Dr Sant said that the Nationalist Party had also promised to look after the Victoria Lines as well as five old windmills, but these promises were not kept either.

“The Nationalist Party also promised to urge tourism operators to organise tours to visit the cultural sites in Naxxar but this was not done.” The PN had also promised to publish a book with information and pictures of the historic sites in Naxxar, but this book was never published.

He said that the Nationalist mayor expects to dictate how the council should be run and pointed out that council meetings were held between 9pm and 1am.

“The council should meet at a more decent time to be able to take important decisions in the best interest of the locality and its residents.”

The Malta Labour Party, he added, was promising to make an effort to bring more tourists to Naxxar and to collaborate closely with the Malta Tourism Authority. He said that the Labour councillors elected in Naxxar, whether with a majority or not, will ensure that cultural heritage sites in Naxxar are protected.

“The MLP also promises to rehabilitate the Maghtab landfill, upgrade the Tony Vella ground as a recreation area for Naxxar youths, and ensure that the cleaning system used in Naxxar is improved and waste separation taken more seriously”.

Turning to roads, he said that the MLP was promising to repair 50 roads and build new pavements.

He urged residents to vote for all the Labour Party candidates on 11 March.

Reacting to what Dr Sant's said in Naxxar yesterday morning, the town's Nationalist Party councillors said that the council had done a great deal of work over the past three years.

They said that the council had opened a day centre for the elderly and had also improved the service for people suffering from diabetes. The council had also worked closely with organisations and schools in Naxxar to provide services for youths in the field of employment, education and culture.

Every month, the council organised tours to historical sites, carried out the restoration of the chapel dedicated to St Catherine as well as the work on alleyways in Naxxar.

The councillors said that it was up to the residents to judge what the council had done in three years, not Dr Sant, and they therefore urged Naxxar residents to vote for the PN's candidates.