That Malta has organised its first street party to herald in the New Year is commendable, but the resistance from different quarters to the initiative is disappointing to say the least.
It also shows there is something amiss in the health of the collaborative relationship between the country’s local councils and its government which, no doubt, should have seen it fit to intervene to find a workable solution between the inharmonious parties.
Despite objections and refusals to provide ancillary services on the part of the police and public transport workers, the Floriana Local Council nevertheless forged ahead with plans to close St Anne’s Street for New Years Eve.
And although the turnout was somewhat smaller than desired, a state of affairs blamed on the failure of the Public Transport Association and the authorities to strike a deal over the provision of late night transport, the event will hopefully mark the first of many more to come.
Malta, as other countries, deserves to have a New Years street party – an alternative option to the often crowded, claustrophobic parties on offer for New Years Eve revellers.
The Floriana Local Council deserves a tip of the hat for having taken on the initiative and for having seen the celebration through to a fruitful conclusion for all in attendance, in spite of the hardships involved in its organisation.
The troubles encountered, however, show there is something amiss in the relationship between local councils and at least some of the countries’ authorities. While the New Year’s Eve event was organised by a local council, in conjunction with the Malta Tourism Authority, it was nevertheless a national event and a laudable one at that.
It also appears the event will become a recurring one. As Floriana mayor Nigel Holland was quoted as having said in the event’s wake, “We are determined that the street party will, from now on, take place annually. The council now has the experience of organising such a major event and will hopefully eradicate problems which cropped about this year. Such celebrations on New Year’s Eve are not aimed at the people living in Floriana or the town’s vicinity, but intended for the whole population of Malta and Gozo.”
The fact that a late night public transport service was unavailable on the night in question meant not only that the event drew a smaller crowd than would have otherwise been anticipated, but it could have also had more serious repercussions on event-goers’ drives home.
The unwillingness of the police, which was reported to have insisted on the Granaries as a venue, to oversee the event on St Anne’s Street deserves a better explanation than what we have had so far.
The local council circumvented the latter obstacle by bringing in local wardens instead, but the former was left unresolved. The Public Transport Association, for its part, stood its ground after it was offered no compensation for late night buses, as had been the case in likeminded past events, but complained that no offers were forthcoming from the local council, the Malta Transport Authority or the government.
But, having been an event of potential national proportions, one would have expected some sort of government intervention in the matters at hand, especially given that the Malta Tourism Authority had a hand in its organisation.
This is an example of Malta’s local councils taking on greater, more significant roles in fostering civic mindedness – a laudable cause and one that should be supported at all costs. But the fact that the government did not tangibly intervene in ironing out the difficulties encountered by the local council is more worrying and runs against the grain of the messages delivered through the recent local council reform.