Contrary to public perception and the way some mayors are speaking out, “local councils were not stripped of their responsibilities,” according to the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation, Keith Azzopardi Tanti

The reforms that have been implemented by the government have led to local councils being “spared a great financial burden,” he said in an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday.

The parliamentary secretary, a former mayor of Pietà between 2013 and 2022, said the “greatest argument” made about the loss of responsibilities of local councils related to buildings, road construction, and road maintenance.

Focusing on roadworks – which he noted was “the most vociferous argument” made by those who believe local councils lost autonomy – he recounted that when he was first elected as Pietà mayor in 2013, he “couldn’t do anything” at the time because of all the debt that was left over by the previous PN council.

“If I am going to agree that powers were lost, then one of these lost powers was the burden of roadworks,” Azzopardi Tanti said.

The former mayor said that previously, road works would be done and paid over a course of eight years, which left councils “with one hand tied behind [their] back” prior to government reforms.

“All I could do (when I was mayor) was pay the debt left by the previous local council,” he said.

The Parliamentary Secretary said that the Labour government has removed this “financial burden” from local councils. Today, the government requests local councils to inform it on what roads require maintenance.

Azzopardi Tanti rhetorically asked, “Is this really a loss of responsibilities?”. Doubling down on his point, he continued that prior to these changes, “local councils could not even do certain roadworks with their limited budgets at the time.”

Azzopardi Tanti also said that “local councils are a first contact point” for residents, and that during his two terms as mayor, he and the rest of this local council were contacted to resolve “the littlest of things”, such as a street pothole, a burned-out light bulb, people seeking work, and helping others with personal problems.

Azzopardi Tanti’s statement contradicts the opinion of present mayors and past councillors, including Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat, St. Paul’s Bay mayor Alfred Grima, and former Sliema local councillor Michael Briguglio.

Grima had told this newsroom that he was not seeking re-election back in August 2023 since “nowadays, local council’s autonomy does not exist” and to spend more time with his family. Grima has since changed his mind and will be re-contesting. Muscat had remarked that the reduction of local councils’ autonomy was an intentional government strategy to decrease their popularity to eventually lead to further centralisation of power.

PS Azzopardi Tanti holds a similar opinion to Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, who last October denied the claim that local councils have lost powers over recent years. Minister Bonnici had however, labelled this as “another invention by the opposition” and that government has actually given more powers vis-à-vis permissions for caravan placing and through the launch of the regional councils.

Youth political participation and low youth activism

During the interview, the parliamentary secretary for youth discussed the low political participation and activism of the country’s younger adult generation.

Azzopardi Tanti said that during the two and a half years of the Covid-19 pandemic, “the voluntary sector took a hit… and since we have been emerging from the pandemic, I don’t want to be negative or too blunt, but it’s like we’ve become lazy,” he said. “Unfortunately, we are feeling these effects.”

The Parliamentary Secretary said that band clubs and people working in feasts have been struggling to find youths to participate in their activities and overall voluntary organisation structures since the pandemic. He noted that this is happening “all across the board” and not just within this segment of the voluntary sector.

“I think it is a lifestyle that youths are living in which activism is no longer what it was just a few years ago,” he said.

Moving from activism to political participation, Azzopardi Tanti said that his secretariat shall be conducting a nationwide, non-partisan campaign to encourage youths to vote in the upcoming June elections. These plans have been devised in light of recent survey results showing that Maltese youths are the least likely demographic to vote in this year’s European Parliament and local council elections.

When asked whether he thinks that this trend of political apathy amongst youths will continue, Azzopardi Tanti said he was uncertain.

However, he remarked that “if youths see what this government has implemented in the three sectors that impact them”, which in his opinion are education, employment/career prospects, and property (since many youths eventually become first-time buyers to their own residences), “I believe that they should be grateful to this government and go out and vote in force.”

He believes that Vot16 should help curb this concerning trend, though he said we will know whether lowering the voting age will be a “gamechanger” or not once these June elections have passed.

“If there is a youth who is popular amongst a certain age bracket, they will attract the generation that they are representing,” Azzopardi Tanti said.

When asked what can be done to attract more young people to politics and public participation, the Parliamentary Secretary said he was happy seeing “several upcoming talents” amongst the Labour Party’s youths, many of whom shall be contesting this June’s local council elections.

The elected official called for all youths who wish to contribute to their locality’s leadership/administration to contest in local council elections. He stated that if youths “feel that they can make a difference in their locality and for their neighbours, then they should contest.”

“It’s not important with which party they contest, but it’s important that they put their names forward,” he said.

Azzopardi Tanti stressed however that those considering such a decision “mustn’t enter politics for personal glory”; they should “have a call for it.”

Furthermore, the Parliamentary Secretary added that in his opinion, there exists a distinction between a professional career and politics; in his case, he described his professional career to be that of an accountant.

For this reason, he said that youths who wish to prioritise their education and professional careers should not take up this path.

“If they believe that they should focus on their education and careers, then it’s simple, they shouldn’t contest,” Parliamentary Secretary Azzopardi Tanti said, “No one is imposing on youths to contest.”

On this point, the former mayor described how he had rejected the offer to contest local council elections as a 19-year-old to prioritise his studies as a first-year university student, unlike his fellow Cabinet members Clyde Caruana and Ian Borg who were elected as the respective mayors of Żabbar and Dingli. Azzopardi Tanti later rejected his second offer to contest local council elections to get married, before accepting the third time.

Speaking about youth engagement, the Parliamentary Secretary spoke positively on the addition of the Youth Advisory Forum – a forum of nine young individuals who meet with the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet every month to discuss matters of national importance.

Azzopardi Tanti stated amongst all of the youths’ proposals, “all that is possible will be implemented.” However, there is no guarantee that everything they propose will be taken up by government. He was also pleased with the number of applications that were received by youths to join this new Forum, highlighting that there exists interest amongst young people to participate in policy discussions.

He said that youth consultation has led to the ideas of Maltese youth to be taken up by this administration throughout this term. As an example, he referenced a consultation activity, pitched by KNŻ, that was organised at Aġenzija Żgħażagħ’s premises. Through this, youths had the opportunity to put forward their proposals for last year’s Budget.

Research and Innovation contributing to improving Malta’s future

Apart from youths, Azzopardi Tanti’s secretariat also has the Research and Innovation (R&I) portfolio under its wing. R&I consists of six main areas of priority: Health & Wellbeing, Smart Manufacturing, Aviation, Maritime, Sustainable Use of Resources (including climate change, climate mitigation, and climate adaptation), and Future Digital Technologies.

According to the Parliamentary Secretary, the secretariat’s highlight for this year was last Friday, after it was announced that the government provided a significant allocation of funds towards cancer research (see separate box).

“Cancer is a niche area that we should focus on,” he said. Azzopardi Tanti added that this goal is embedded by being part of the secretariat’s R&I Strategy.

“The strategy is not just ink printed onto a paper. Within two years, we are implementing this strategy and shall start hopefully bearing its fruit from Friday onwards.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) falls within the secretariat’s “Future Digital Technologies” priority area. The Parliamentary Secretary spoke very positively on this technology, going as far to say that AI will be an area of focus that he shall be stressing in next year’s budget, which he is already currently working on. He said that he has studied the subject of AI over the time he has spent in his public position, despite the area of expertise falling under the Economy Ministry.

“It has its challenges, including ethical ones, aside from all its positives,” he said. “We have our 2019 strategy which we abide by, and we are one of the first countries implementing a law in this sector as well.”

He brushed off fears surrounding AI, saying that, in his opinion, “AI has a lot more positives than negatives.”

“Same goes in the education sector, transport, etc…obviously it has its challenges – that’s why we have responsible use, law, and the implementation of the law,” he said.

He also added that future digital technologies “all feed into each other.” Using the example of AI, he said that artificial intelligence is contributing to cancer detection.

Beyond AI, Azzopardi Tanti noted that he is seeking to construct new economic niches for the country, in spite of all his limitations. Noting that Malta is a “best performer in the EU when it comes to economy, Azzopardi Tanti said that “we can do more, differently.”

However, he said that he faces some setbacks in this regard.

“I am trying to promote the importance of this sector as best as I can, though not everyone realises the importance of research and innovation,” he said. The Parliamentary Secretary also pointed out that there exists little awareness on some economic niches. One of these niches is that of space economy, he told this newsroom; regardless, there are plans in place for this niche to have its own space on the Maltese islands.

“In a few months, we will be passing the Malta Space Act for space activities, that should also serve as a new economic niche,” he stated.

Looking towards the future of research and innovation, the Parliamentary Secretary publicized his wish to incorporate art into the cohort of STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), and change the acronym to STEAM. The reasoning behind this idea is that art may facilitate creative thinking and solutions to meet the growing demands of industries. As an example, he explained how sculpting and 3D printing go hand-in-hand.

In terms plans underway, the government is already coordinating several initiatives to promote STEM subjects to children and youth of all ages.