Local councils have been operating long enough to warrant a deep analysis of what works and what does not.

What works is the ability of a group of local representatives who are able to control in a small way the administration of initiatives entrusted to their jurisdiction such as traffic control, embellishments of towns and village public areas, refuse collections, etc.

What does not work is the inconsistency of delivering such services. Too much one day, not enough the next. Overzealous wardens, or not a warden to be seen when one is sorely needed.

The more serious problem with local councils is the fact that they are too politicised. They have a built-in government-opposition element which destroys the efficiencies these councils were designed to create. If the controlling majority comes up with an initiative, the built-in opposition, sometimes with the direct intervention of the political party they represent, do their utmost to hinder, delay and perhaps destroy the project. Not necessarily because the project was ill conceived, but simply because the political party intervention dictates whether or not the project should proceed in a normal fashion. Many a council is rendered ineffective due to internal strife and many a worthwhile project is shelved or delayed.

In the last few months, local councils in Zebbug, Marsascala, Pieta, Rabat and others gave examples of what is not working properly within their circles. Needless to say there are many more but these few are ample examples.

Valerie Borg (TMID, 6 November) makes an interesting read and so far we only know the one half of the story and many readers including myself would like to know the full explanation. Valerie has a good pen, able to come to the point and I suspect that she intentionally gives her writings a certain hue probably to endear herself to a segment of the Valletta residents.

She had a variety of complaints but as usual she did not present any solutions. Every time I visit, I spend lots and lots of time in Valletta since I consider myself a gentleman for whom Valletta was built. Yes, I would not be caught licking an ice-cream while one of the karrozzini horses goes about doing his business as much as I am not thrilled by the hundreds of pigeons dropping (literally) by at Piazza Regina every time I try to enjoy a cappuccino and a cheesecake.

Maybe Valerie should be courageous enough to face the wrath of the karrozzini owners when she votes for horse diapers or better still the outright ban of the karrozzini in the streets of Valletta. Birth control pellets for pigeons would control and possibly thin their population to below the nuisance level.

Valerie sounds as if she is not particularly enthralled by the fact that she is in a minority situation on the Valletta council, but then, with the MLP boasting of winning the majority of local councils elections, would not the reverse be true for every Labour-controlled council where the minority are Nationalists?

Would the complete de-politicising of councils work much better when the quality of proposed projects are judged not by which political party is pushing them but rather by their own merits?

In my opinion there are too many local councils, their are borders too close and the overlap of services too expensive. The government should start looking at regional councils representing larger areas, fewer contractors, better enforcing of by-laws, more consistency of delivery of services and better scrutiny in the financial administration of funds allotted to them by the central government. For a start, would it not make sense to have the same number of councils as electoral districts with the same town/village groupings? Would not the government prefer to deal with a dozen or so councils than with 68?

An agreement should be reached with all political parties to keep their hands (and mouths) off local councils, let interested individuals run on an “independent” ticket and let all members of council concentrate on what is best for their town rather than on fighting each other in order to please (or follow) the party they belong to. There are enough political battles on the national front and filtering them down to local council levels is ludicrous at best

By the way, I certainly do not agree with Valerie Borg that “Valletta lies in a decomposed state”. Traditional folk singers (ghannejja?) will not, in my opinion, halt any further decomposition of the City built for me!

Joe Martinelli

London, Ontario

Canada