Malta and Gozo’s local councils have taken an absolute hammering over the past couple of months and it seems that things are only going to get worse with story after story of mismanagement, kickbacks and acting outside the rulebook continue to surface.

The one case which dominated the headlines, of course, was the ouster of Nikki Dimech and his being replaced by former deputy Joanna Gonzi as mayor of Sliema. The whole saga turned into a farce with the PN expelling the mayor after he had admitted to asking cash for favours. He later backtracked and told the media that he had only admitted to doing so because he was under duress in having been denied his asthma inhaler while suffering a panic attack at the Police Headquarters. He was subsequently charged in court and pleaded not guilty. In the meantime PN secretary general Paul Borg Olivier moved to quell allegations by Dimech that he (PBO) had been plotting his downfall. The PN secretary general sent out a letter to Sliema residents to explain why Dimech had been removed while at the same time denying that he tried to coerce councillor Sandra Camilleri into signing a motion of no confidence against the former mayor.

Reading it, one would be forgiven for thinking it was a script from a political thriller (or satire). But this is the way it went in Sliema.

The Local Government Division is also investigating claims of mismanaged funds within the San Gwann local council, and while also potentially serious, it is nothing compared to the soap opera which was Sliema and Nikki Dimech.

But there have been other incidents which have been blown out of all proportion. One councillor got into hot water because he took a laptop back home, from which his daughter logged into Facebook. We stress the point: Things must be put into perspective. Can one really mix allegations of bribery and kickbacks with a person’s child logging into a social networking site? The answer is obviously not.

Those who believe in local councils say that the state of all localities in Malta and Gozo has improved tremendously since their introduction in 1993. Their detractors say that their introduction has allowed for partisan politics to filter right down to the local level, while at the same time giving rise to corruption and inept management.

In truth, both camps are probably right. If corruption means that a person approaches another to speak about, tip off, or discuss any official matter, then by default, the whole of Malta is corrupt. Our whole modus operandi revolves around direct contact with people, hammering out an argument and reaching agreement. If we had to take corruption in the real sense of the word, then yes, we as a people are by default; corrupt.

But again we must put it into context. Speaking to Ganni whose cousin operates a forklifter which could be used to help set up a village fête is one thing. Demanding kickbacks to endorse large scale contract agreements is something entirely different.

While there have only been seven out of 68 councils that have been embroiled in controversy, we are sure that what we have seen so far is only the tip of the iceberg and more cases will emerge soon. Local councils have been a good thing for Malta, but something must be done quickly to restore the general public’s confidence in them. Public opinion about local councils is pretty low right now, and unless the spring cleaning continues, we will see more and more calls for them to be scrapped and replaced by a civil service led local government.