The Malta Transport Authority has indeed repaired the road past the Roman Villa in Rabat towards Bahrija, as Daniela Borg Mizzi promised in a letter to TMID (13 February) in answer to another by me. The authority has also repaired the bit of the Rabat road, near the new fuel station, reported in an awful condition in the TMID’s Odds and Ends column. And apart from others, the authority has also improved the road leading from San Gwann to Naxxar.

But how niggardly the authority is. I wonder, is Minister Austin Gatt aware how parsimonious the authority is being with the tax paying motorist? There are other patches on the Rabat road which need seeing to, especially going past the chapel towards Ta’ Qali and past Ta’ Qali towards Attard. And further up the road on the Attard bound lane, there are two subsidences in the road. Why were all these not done?

The repaired bit past the Roman Villa also left a long stretch that is in bad need of attention but which was not done. Vjal il-Haddiem, a four-lane stretch also in Rabat, has been ignored, too. And the repairs on the Naxxar-San Gwann road are far from sufficient. Though obviously the road is improved, it is far from satisfactory. It still remains a disgrace.

I blame the people, not the authority, for this situation. Motorists see roadworks and their complaints die down, though the roadworks are never enough. Why must the authority do such slipshod repairs? I am sure that if the Prime Minister were to invite some friends over a much better job would be done. Don’t we deserve as much as the friends, for all the taxes we pay?

J. Falzon

Rabat