The Nationalist Party councillors at Mosta have reduced Wied il-Ghasel to a derelict dumping site, Labour Party leader Alfred Sant said yesterday, pledging that a Labour-led council would make the rehabilitation of the valley a priority.

Speaking during a visit to Mosta in the run-up to the local council elections, Dr Sant said the Nationalist-led council had fulfilled only 55 per cent of its electoral promises. Above all, he accused the council of neglecting its environmental pledges in the last two terms. The Labour leader said the Nationalist Party had promised in its 2001 manifesto to protect the valley while in 2004, the party pledged to obtain EU funds to rehabilitate it.

Dr Sant said no money has been obtained and the valley was as dilapidated today as it was three years ago when the Labour Party visited it during the 2004 campaign. He described how the Drainage Department carried out trenching works without the necessary permits and the work has been abandoned. This has caused irreparable damage to the environment, said Dr Said, adding that the scars of ditches dug for an illegal drainage pumping station built by the government could also be seen in the valley.

The Opposition Leader praised the Labour councillors for putting pressure on the council to protect the environment in Mosta. He accused the Nationalist councillors, especially the mayor, of neglecting promises such as the resurfacing of Triq l-Antenni and the restoration of the pigeon house near Wied l-Isperanza. He said the road should have been ready six to five years ago while the pigeon house should have been restored during the current term.