A great emphasis is being made on education as the government embarks on another reform, this time that of the local enforcement system. The idea is to have wardens educate, rather than fine, offenders.

The problem with this statement, made by parliamentary secretary Chris Said when the reform was launched last week, is that this was exactly what had been said the first time that wardens were introduced.

It happened a few years ago, when the men in green started to be seen on our roads, stopping drivers to tell them what wrong they were doing and that, for that time, they would not be fined.

But when the weeks started to pass, this “educational” side of the system was lost or started to be ignored, and wardens began to exercise their power with a stiff hand, fining drivers for the slightest contravention and, as a consequence, raising great amounts of money for local councils.

Suffice it to say that year in year out, the amount of money generated in fines has grown to such an extent that now it has reached double the amount of the costs. On their own, local councils make €3 million each year.

The councils are now used to this kind of money, and it is hard to imagine wardens slowing down in their handing out of fines. Making it possible for offenders to pay their dues on site through debit or credit cards will make it much easier for the money to continue pouring in.

One question that needs to be asked is how is this money then used by the local councils. Is it being re-invested in the needs of the community? Is it being used to resurface broken roads and give a layer of tarmac to new ones? Judging by the many roads that are in a poor shape it cannot be said that this is the case. Is it being used on campaigns to educate drivers to be cautious in their driving? Neither.

Therefore the parliamentary secretariat for local councils would do well to look into the matter. In the comprehensive local council reform, local councils supposedly became more accountable on the way they spend their money. Well, this could be the right occasion for the government to exercise this form of control. Using the money derived from fines to embark on education campaigns would also go a long way to improve the level of driving in Malta.

Secondly, this “education” tag may work for drivers who are caught red-handed contravening the traffic laws. In these instances, the warden can talk to the drivers concerned and politely point out what was wrong. But most fines are handed out for parking contraventions, and this means that the drivers would not be around for the wardens to give their lecture.

What is going to happen here? Will the wardens be waiting for the “offender” to turn up? It’s unlikely, and so in these cases the wardens will resort to the old method of slapping a fine.

One good thing in this reform is that tribunal sittings will no longer be held in the afternoons, which means that people have to leave their workplace to contest a fine. The fact that these will be held after 5pm makes it easier for them to attend. However, 5pm might still be too early a time for such tribunals – considering that most people finish work around that time – and therefore it would probably be better to start such sittings at 6pm.