The local council elections are set to take place next year.

Local councillors directly represent the people in their locality, but there are concerns as to their current effectiveness.

PN MP Darren Carabott, who is the PN’s spokesperson for local government, had spoken to The Malta Independent about powers having been taken away from local councils over the years. He says that the country shouldn't have a system in which powers are taken away from local councils and given to regional councils or the central government itself. His argument is that this results in a system in which someone facing a minor issue are going directly to ministers instead of their local councils to get it fixed, creating the 'proset' and ‘grazzi ministru mentality'. 

Some powers which the PN argue have been reduced for councils include on enforcement, planning, cleansing, traffic management and others. 

We need to strengthen the role of local councils. It is far easier for a resident to go to a local council than get through to a nationwide agency. One has to ask, have we removed too many powers from councils? 

On the other side of the coin, certain powers falling under councils might have been a bit of a burden in the past. The President of the Local Councils’ Association Mario Fava told this media house that “Infrastructure Malta was set up so that the burden of going through the procurement process etc. would be handled by a government agency”. When it came to new creating roads, when this fell under local councils, he highlighted certain issues it created, such as new councils being voted in having to face creditors from the previous legislature over road related Public-Private-Partnerships. “So it all depends about how one looks at it,” he said. 

One area in which councils perhaps should have more power for instance, is when it comes to planning. Councils get a vote on major planning applications in their locality, but is that enough? Do they really have a say when it comes to planning in a locality on the whole? Perhaps this is one area where the say of local councils could be strengthened.

One must note that both the PN and the government have been issuing ideas and consulting on councils recently. The PN had published a document with 46 proposals which it said were aimed at strengthening the authority of local councils. The government held a consultation regarding the implementation of the National Strategy for Local Government. 

Fava suggests that a non-political study should be carried out to determine the way forward for local councils, that would include consultation with residents. Such a study could help determine “certain radical changes” that could be needed, but which any government would not go for, he said. “I believe that the number of elected local councillors is a lot for our country – there are 468. If, from a scientific study, it emerges that there are too many councillors, then any government would not be afraid to take action,” he said for example. Such a study would also help in looking ahead, and could include asking people what they would want councils to focus on, he added. 

But such a study aside, there is one issue which Fava mentioned that is rather worrying. He said that “people who lead certain government agencies and entities need to show more respect towards local councils”. He did not mention any agencies or entities by name, but when asked whether he finds that at times local councils are ignored by any entities or agencies, he said yes. However, "often times it wouldn't be coming from the agency, it would be the attitude of the person leading the agency".

This is an unacceptable situation. At the very least local councils should be listened to. They are, after all, the representatives of the people who would be affected by a project taking place in that area. Local councils should be included in discussions about projects within their localities from the very beginning, given that councils would know their own locality more than a state agency would.

A healthy debate is needed over local councils, and with the local council elections set for next year this is the perfect opportunity. Some questions that come to mind are: Do we need full-time mayors? Are councils being heard? Do councils need more powers to deal with small daily issues? Are local councils effective enough?