Each year, just before the summer months are about to start, the tourism authorities issue guidelines to restrict construction work in tourist areas to reduce inconvenience and also so that such areas are not left looking shabby.

This is a good initiative, and one that also serves locals well, considering that many Maltese people spend most of their summer days and evenings in such areas, either because they have a summer residence there or just to spend some time enjoying themselves by the sea.

Whether such restrictions are followed to the letter is another matter. But, still, this is a good initiative that should be extended to other areas that are not necessarily tourist zones, but which accommodate people on holiday.

It is not the first time that people – Maltese and tourists – have complained that they were woken up at 5.30am by workmen on construction sites nearby. While it is understandable that workmen prefer to work either early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid the peak hours of the sun, it is also understandable that people who stay out later than usual because they are on holiday are entitled to a good night’s sleep too. A compromise, in this case, is difficult to find.

To go back to the official guidelines, it must be pointed out, however, that what is good for the goose should be good for the gander too and, as such, the government should be the first to lead by example.

What is happening in Merchants’ Street in Valletta is a clear example of the government not following its own guidelines in this respect, and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association is right to complain that “the second most important street” should not be “lying dug up at the height of the tourism season”.

The association also said that the work should not have been undertaken in the peak summer months and, worse still, that it was taking much longer than expected to complete. And this for two reasons – from the environmental point of view, and also because it means loss of business for the shops in the street.

The government has tried to explain the reason behind the delay in completing the work, blaming lengthy tender procedures after the initial bids did not satisfy the requirements. While this is, in itself, commendable because it means that great attention is being given so that the finalised work will be up to standard, at the same time it must be pointed out that the work should not have started in the first place until all the contracts had been awarded.

This is especially so because the work is being carried out in a major business street, in the heart of the capital city and, as the MHRA has said, in the middle of summer. It does give the city built by gentlemen for gentlemen such an ugly look.

A large number of tourists visit Valletta at this time of the year – including the thousands who stop over for a few hours while the ship they are travelling on is berthed in Grand Harbour – and this should be taken into consideration before such

projects are started.

The experience of what is happening in Merchants’ Street should be kept well in mind when the government embarks on its other plans to embellish Valletta in the near future. Considering the amount of work that needs to be carried out to increase the pedestrian areas in Valletta, just to mention one of the projects that will be undertaken, it is hoped that the capital city will not be turned into a construction site for months, perhaps years, on end.