On hearing Minister Gatt’s speech, when he said that ‘’żmien il-bużullotti spiċċa’’ (the time for funny tricks is over), I was thrilled. At last, this fine gentleman has got hold of the buses and the bus drivers, as he did so well in other sectors. I compared his speech to that delivered by the famous JFK, when the US president delivered his speech in Berlin. Awesome.

But it did not last long.

What started as a Bisazza Street mishandling duet has now grown to be a real chaotic system of affairs, wherein people are arriving late at work or are forced to take the earliest bus to arrive at work on time, meaning leaving home one hour earlier than they used to. It has meant people going on around Malta tours until they arrive at their destination some 80 minutes later. And tourists are taking longer to arrive from Ċirkewwa to St Julian’s than to fly to Rome.

I had never seen, in my lifetime, a bus going down Old College Hill, St Julian’s – il-kirxa for us who live in the area. Some elders told me that, maybe around some 70 years ago, there could have been a route there. Last Saturday, we counted eight buses plus another bendy-bus all converging at the same time (3.30pm) on Balluta Bay. The traffic chaos that ensued was something out of a film.

In Sliema, but in other areas too, the bus stop names are sometimes too short to lend a meaning and some are not linked to the area where they are situated. Transport Malta literally changed geography, locations and landmarks in one smooth transition.

Kappara residents are complaining to Arriva, but somehow nobody answers them. The best customer care from the Arriva service comes solely from the drivers, both local and the doubly-paid foreigners.

We blamed the drivers, the new set-up, the local councils, and now even the general public – ie the clients – of this sad state of affairs. Everybody was to blame.

But the bużullotti stopped. Some 27 routes have been restored, logically after they had been erased illogically. For example, this happened in Gżira, where hardly any bus service was available after 3 July. At least now the D’Argens route has been reinstated. What humble pie it must have been, that after years of study, the experts had to go back to square one. And now we learn that by September all will be well. Let’s hope that this biggest downfall will be rectified more than two months after the new service started.

The districts I represent had many routes reinstated and this after quite a number of tabled PQs, emails by residents, and pages of letters on newspapers. I learnt, from a parliamentary question (in this case it was informative enough) that the circular council buses which accommodated so many residents, were swept away by Transport Malta too. I wonder if the Sliema council accepted such a move. My PQ 27671 refers. The Sliema council did not comment on this route, I was told. If this is so, who exactly is defending Sliema residents’ rights today?

The mind boggles, as I thought that with so much dialogue and consultation said to be going on, these points would have been clear to any non expert, let alone the true experts.

All this has left no space to comment on the decrease in fumes of the new buses, as we were used to breathe with the old buses. The environment certainly took a turn for the better. The air-conditioning system works, except on the Mellieħa Hill, I am told, and commuters feel cold on long stays in the buses. Hopefully these units will continue working as otherwise it can easily turn into a sauna.

The recent unannounced closure of the main traffic artery in Marsa, due to urgent works at 8am, had horrible effects on departing tourists, who barely managed to catch their outgoing flight. Their transfers were arriving late at the airport, some got through via all sorts of village routes, giving a very negative picture of Malta. Hopefully next time, this bużullotta will be better too.

I am also concerned at the state of affairs in relation to another Greek bailout. Malta is playing its part and hopefully we do not overstep ourselves, as the successful defence of our recession could easily be erased by our output to save others. We are surviving and must be vigilant because the return to normality as we know it is not easy, in all sectors. The strength of the euro, especially now that even the US dollar is uneasy, is of utmost importance. Everybody talks of cuts, less spending. Financial stability and austerity measures are the buzz words

But shouldn’t we start from the bottom, by not spending taxpayers’ money uselessly? I am against any form of useless taxpayers’ money spending by any government. I cannot understand why security guards must be paid €5.85 plus vat per hour (PQ27596) to guard a monument. And why would voters and helpers from the 9th and 10th district be invited for the inauguration of the new Marsaxlokk promenade? Why should money be spent to inaugurate monuments and places? Why should there be days of entertainment, programmes published, and adverts placed in newspapers and magazines? Does anybody keep track on how taxpayers’ money is spent?

At the same time Cabinet colleagues do not lift a finger to change a situation of people in need of help, due to sickness and unfortunate circumstances. I believe that if all citizens have to do sacrifices, then this useless government/minister spending should stop straight away.

What’s next, a free day trip to Gozo?

Now that I have mentioned Gozo, I wish the readers who patiently go through my articles a happy August, and hopefully some rest from normal life.

Robert Arrigo is parliamentary assistant in the Finance Ministry