A working committee for better maintenance and management of Malta’s capital city has been set up and launched, the Ministry for National Heritage said alongside the Ministry for Tourism and Public Cleanliness.

The Ministries said that this working committee has been opened in the context of the work being done as part of the Management Plan for Valletta, which they said should lead to improvements in management within Valletta by increasing maintenance, order, security, and accessibility.

The Ministries said that this committee brings together several main parties, including the Valletta Local Council, the Valletta Cultural Agency, the Ministry for National Heritage, the Ministry for Tourism, the Police Force, the GHRC, the Malta Tourism Authority, and the Cleaning and Maintenance Division.

Anthony Gatt, the Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for Tourism and Public Cleanliness, will serve as the Chairperson of the working committee. The Ministries continued that the committee’s work is still in its initial stages, but added that important work has already begun, with one of the first initiatives being the creation of the Valletta Stewards and the Cleansing Team for Valletta.

The Valletta Stewards were established to act as a deterrent to vandalism and illegalities as well as help locals and tourists, the Ministries said. They added that the Valletta Stewards are to ensure that everyone abides by the laws and regulations, and that the Stewards are bound by terms of reference established by the committee. The Stewards have been provided uniforms, and their working hours were set up to reflect the economic activity and influx of tourists in Valletta, which includes weekend shifts until early morning hours.

Regarding the Cleansing Team, this team has increased in numbers as there were already workers carrying out this work in Valletta. The Ministries added that there is also an investment in new machinery which will help increase the efficiency of public cleanliness in the capital.

Owen Bonnici, the Minister for National Heritage, said that the government drew up a management plan for Valletta which was open for public consultation last December, for which he said the response was very positive. He said that one of the proposals was for the establishment of a working committee which would bring together the main parties in relation to Valletta, and the government felt that setting up this committee would best safeguard the elements which make Valletta a world heritage site.

Tourism and Public Cleanliness Minister Clayton Bartolo said that in recent years, Valletta has evolved from every aspect so that today it is a capital city more open to different requests. He said that this advance also brought with it some challenges, and therefore it needs to be the case that we have a capital which is more organised and where balance reigns between commercial, touristic, and cultural activity with the general interest of the residents and those who visit.

Gatt, the committee’s chairperson, said that the committee’s work has already picked up a good rhythm with the introduction of several initiatives. He said that with the committee now officially launched, the pace will be accelerated in order to make Valletta an example of how a vibrant capital should be, “economically active but orderly and clean at the same time”.