Notte Bianca was definitely a huge success in all respects. On Saturday, 14 October, Valletta really was the lively and vibrant city it used to be years ago. The range of activities held in various parts of the city attracted thousands of people who experienced the marvellous atmosphere that was created.

Many had the opportunity, maybe for the first time ever, to admire the beauty and unique character of our capital city. No wonder that people have expressed a desire for a repetition of Notte Bianca or similar events. Well done to the Malta Council for the Arts and Culture and the Tourism and Culture Ministry.

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The projects carried out during the last three years in Valletta, namely at the Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens and Hastings Garden, through the Valletta and Floriana Rehabili-tation Project, are highly appreciated. One also looks forward to the new paving of St John’s Square and Merchants Street, because such projects and the implementation of the pedestrianisation zone that is to be introduced shortly, will definitely help make Valletta more attractive and a crowd-puller for leisure and commercial activities.

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A few weeks ago it was announced that the government will be carrying out infrastructural work on 400 residential roads. No doubt such work will be welcomed, because it shows the government’s commitment to improving the general environment and the island’s road network in the various towns and villages.

As a Valletta citizen, and as Valletta deputy mayor, I cannot but express my disappointment that the government did not include any residential roads in Valletta in its plans. There is a need for their upgrading, but the local council alone cannot do all the work.

Two such residential roads in the capi-tal, which are in need of infrastructural upgrade, are Old Bakery Street, which is heavily used by vehicles as it leads to the city centre, and Old Theatre Street between West Street and Merchants Street. In this street is the Manoel Theatre and the side entrance to the Presidential Palace. In addition, they are both used heavily by pedestrians. These roads need to be rebuilt.

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Everyone agrees that karozzin stands should be available in the city, and these provide adequate shelter for the horses. But it is definitely not appropriate to have a karozzin stand and shelter in front of the Presidential Palace. They are adding to the congestion and confusion at the corner of Old Theatre Street corner and Republic street.

Neither is it acceptable to have karozzin at the corner of St Christopher Street and Republic Street. In this case, the karozzin are creating a problem for the flow of traffic and are a danger to pedestrians. The police and/or the Transport Authority should tackle the problems which karozzin are creating in the city and perhaps re-organise the whole service.

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While the Malta Tourism Authority is carrying out a number of projects in various tourist areas – on its own initiative and/or with local councils – the authority has done little in the capital, Valletta, even though Valletta has so much to offer to tourists as it can safely be described as an open museum that can be appreciated at all times. But above all, Valletta is a residential city and has to cater for thousands of locals and visitors alike every day.

Therefore it is definitely appropriate that the Malta Tourism Authority should give its attention to the city by carrying out infrastructural projects that help to complement the beauty and uniqueness of Valletta. This could be done through the cooperation and synergy of the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry, the Roads and Urban Development Ministry, Valletta local council, the Valletta and Floriana Rehabilitation Project and the MTA.

This would be in the best interests of Valletta and its residents, and also in the interests of our country, because Valletta is one of the country’s

main attractions.

Valletta, a World Heritage Site, should be marketed on its own and not wrapped and squeezed in just one whole marketing brochure. Unfortunately, visitors who want to buy a souvenir of Valletta, find it almost impossible to do so. This is the opposite of other cities in Europe, even those smaller than Valletta.

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Once again the Labour Party is using the same tactics as it used in the run up to and during the 1996 general election campaign. The MLP, led by Dr Alfred Sant, is once again promising everything to everybody, while it creates as much dissent as possible towards the Nationalist Party and the government it leads. This tactic became more evident in Dr Sant’s reaction and reply to the budget.

No doubt the promise of reducing the water and electricity surcharge by 40 to 50 per cent brought back to people’s minds the promise of Dr Sant and the Labour government to remove VAT in 1996. This led the country to an economic disaster because the promise was made for vote-catching purposes and nothing else. Dr Sant and the Labour Party did not have a clue about an alternative.

This time around, the Malta Labour Party and its leader are repeating the same strategy by saying that they will reduce the surcharge – doing away with some Lm39 million – without saying from where they will get that amount of money.

This is the sort of cheap and easy promise for which Dr Sant and the Labour Party are famous.

Joe Spiteri is Valletta deputy mayor