Since the local council elections of last June, Valletta has a new Labour mayor. Unfortunately however, the administration is already showing signs of stalemate for reasons yet unknown. The call for good governance has already been marred by very questionable decisions which one hopes are not early signs of the way things will proceed.

Things started off rocky from the very beginning, as it took the newly elected council more than a month to officially meet for the first time. Thirty-six days to be precise. In fact, since the beginning of the administration more than three months have passed now, and the council has only met twice, one of which meetings proceeded behind closed doors due to unbecoming behaviour from multiple quarters.

As requested by law, by now, the council should have already organised a public meeting, during which we would inform residents of our plans for the coming years. This meeting hasn't only not yet taken place, but so far there are no plans for it in the foreseeable future.

However, it is not the open disregard for procedure that is seriously raising eyebrows in Valletta. Council minutes and appropriate documents not being updated and uploaded online as per law are things that will hopefully be rectified in the near future.

It is far more serious questionable decisions which have already characterised this administration which are shedding a long shadow on its credentials for fit governance.

Some readers of this paper might have followed the ongoing saga related to the restoration of the façade of St Paul's Shipwrecked Church. We were immensely disappointed at how the tender for works was stopped in its tracks for the second time in a few months, without any discussion and without the council's vote. The decision was taken unilaterally by the mayor, for reasons that so far have failed to convince anyone. The funds remain unused, and the case is now being investigated by the Contracts Department. We keep our fingers crossed that good will prevail and the project shall commence sooner rather than later.

Instead, the mayor has embarked on launching a series of initiatives and projects which are being enacted without any discussion or approval from the council. I do understand that a degree of executive liberty is required in running a council however this goes far beyond.

So far, the mayor has launched a Homework Club, a Day Centre, CCTV Cameras one of which operates on AI, and a number of other events. Naturally I am not saying that any of these initiatives are bad, In fact, some of these were on the Nationalist Party's electoral manifesto for Valletta. However it would have been great to discuss these initiatives from beforehand, in order to voice our constituents' voices and perhaps improve on them!

After all, the mayor did distribute portfolios of responsibilities among his councillors. The least thing he could do is respect these portfolios and the councillors who were elected by residents.

Unfortunately, the sad situation which existed in Valletta prior to the election has only deteriorated.

The situation relating to tables and chairs in the streets has become so bad that it is now an issue of national importance, attracting the attention of a number of national NGOs. Images of the umpteenth ambulance navigating umbrellas and chairs will no doubt do the rounds soon enough. Furthermore, loud music from establishments at night persists to the early hours of the morning, in residential areas, while garbage collection has become a joke with the capital city looking shabbier by the day.

The council appears to be completely defeated in the face of these issues. It is powerless to tackle these matters, and hope for it to voice residents' concerns grows very weak.

We cannot remain inert in front of such issues, and as a council we are duty bound to look beyond the puerile issues that divide us.

Valletta is Malta's Capital, and a city recognised by UNESCO. We have a responsibility towards our residents to safeguard our beautiful city, as well as residents' rights.

Ylenia Montfort is the Minority Leader in the Valletta Local Council