How funny that, one morning in a local newspaper, you read that Sliema Road in Kappara was done up, thanks to somebody’s intervention. Besides the fact that Sliema Road was only done in part – maybe slightly over half of it – its need for repair was extreme. It had been so for so many years. Unfortunately the last part of it was left undone. A job could have become an excellent job, had a further 70 metres been included, once all machinery and appetite of doing things was there.
An excellent gesture that the San Gwann local council was financially involved too as after all, all entities should be contributing to the local and common good. This cost sharing has come out from my latest PQ on a string of PQs on Sliema road, namely PQ no 5781 dated 9 February, just before works started.
Kappara people do deserve this service as a minimum, although on other items such as the traffic within Kappara due to the school there is unsolved, and residents do have to bear with more than a school with school hours.
If funds are stretched to their limit, how about unlocking the funds that lie at MEPA, as money pours in from the commuted parking scheme? These monies, which garner interest, lie there idle when they can be used for the benefit of the community. Yearly, a sum should be allocated to councils for roads to be resurfaced.
There is no visible use of these funds in the future, so using them should be easy. Good roads are a necessity, and we should continue building on this government’s reputation of doing good roads. A good organised scheme can be put in place.
Back to those who wish to be applauded for their intervention. Thank God for marketing.
Readers must be wondering on the discussion being held in Parliament at the moment on the Prime Minister’s motion to regulate business in the house. One has to face facts of obstruction, voting request patterns, quorum calls, pairing and government business abroad. All this has led to the regulating of business and voting dates.
Some two years back, the parliament football team wanted to organise a football match against the German parliament. We did ask some months prior to a September date. The answer came back that on that day in September, they will have a vote in Parliament. And this was six months before. So what’ wrong with planning and organisation? On the contrary, coming from the private sector, I still wish to see more organisation trends and systems implanted in the public sector for a better end result.
The time discussing this could be used in putting our heads together and see how to get Malta as fast as one can on the fast track, again; how we can minimise the recession feeling and effects, how to go by and get business to our shores. I believe our population wants this from politicians elected to parliament.
The St John’s Co-Cathedral situation merits a mention. I would have toed the party line on a vote, although I did express my views on it to the prime minister some months ago. Thank God we do have Dr Gonzi as prime minister, as he listens, values and acts. And that’s the difference. Remember when a different prime minister fumbled a local waterfront issue into a vote of confidence, resulting in a lost vote in Parliament? Those days are over and we have a solid nationalist government that will lead Malta into the next four years.
Robert Arrigo is a Nationalist MP