There are over 18,600 residents in the area falling under the jurisdiction of the St Paul’s Bay Local Council, which includes St Paul’s Bay, Buġibba, Qawra, Xemxija and Burmarrad. In the summer months, this figure goes up to 60,000 – excluding the thousands of tourists who spend their holidays in the area and whose numbers account for 30 per cent of all the tourists who visit Malta. With such a large population, the needs of these villages are considerable and many shortcomings also exist.

St Paul’s Bay Local Council is too busy with administrative matters to dedicate its time to bread-and-butter issues that are more of direct concern to the residents. Although from time to time civic-minded individuals do write in the press drawing attention to the needs and shortcomings in the area, and calling for remedial action, the residents lack a coherent voice that would carry more weight with the authorities.

In order to address this weakness, a few individuals from different parts of St Paul’s Bay, including yours truly, have decided to take the initiative to revive the St Paul’s Bay Residents’ Association. The objective is to give a voice to the residents of the area on matters which may not be a priority to the Local Council or other authorities but are important for the creation of a better living environment in these seaside resorts.

In this regard, a public meeting is being held today at 10am at the Gillieru Hotel, St Paul’s Bay. Residents of the villages previously mentioned earlier are invited to come to the meeting and participate in the election of the officials of the association. Those interested in being appointed to the committee will be invited to make their intentions known during the meeting.

Paul Mifsud

St Paul’s Bay