There have been times when I’ve often wondered why on earth I am a councillor in the locality of Valletta.

While always keeping in mind that Zejtun, Birzebbuga, Qormi, Ta’ Xbiex, Vittoriosa and Mellieha are not frequented and visited as much as Valletta, more than once I have noted how quickly they get things done while the excuse of “bureaucracy” in Valletta keeps cropping up time after time.

But is it really “bureaucracy” that keeps us from getting things done or is it the lack of initiative and apathy that seems so apparent in councils being run by a Nationalist majority?

The embarrassment of reporting a crane parked in Old Bakery Street preventing an old lady stepping out of her own home has been reported for years on end and yet there is no solution in sight.

The fact that so many elderly people, so alone, so miserable and so frail are still seeking the light at the end of a long dark tunnel by having an old people’s home in their locality makes me feel as helpless as they are when I remember how many times I sought refuge for these people and found no solace from a Nationalist majority in Valletta.

As for those old derelict flats and houses being left to crumble while young people are having nightmares about where to live when they get married, this one makes me want to scream.

Why is Malta being won over by Labour-led councils? Why are Nationalist-led councils decreasing, as I hope will continue to happen during these forthcoming elections?

The answer (and there could be just this one) is that Nationalist-led councils are behaving like the government of the day. The government of Dr Lawrence Gonzi is paying no heed to the people’s cries of employment, social welfare, education, the disabled, a multitude of taxes and more taxes and if the “leader” is deteriorating in his thoughts and actions, his followers in the form of a Nationalist-led council will, as surely as the sun rises every morning, follow suit.

Nationalist-led councils have a grotesque way of dealing with the residents of their locality by not taking steps to improve the broken pavements, falling buildings and grimy streets?

Surely one only has to step inside Valletta to find the answer: a city supposedly built by gentlemen for gentlemen. It is no use groaning and moaning about one’s pitiful locality after years and years of a Nationalist Party dominance.

It is high time people took a long hard look at the great improvement brought about by staunch Labour-led councils and decided to hit Nationalist Party-led councils where it really hurts – and opt for a Labour majority.

Valerie Borg

Valletta