Transport Malta did not reply to invitations from the Mosta Local Council to participate in ongoing consultations with the public and NGOs but still dictated that the town square would begin closing on Friday and Saturday nights, Mosta Mayor Joseph Gatt said on Tuesday.

The Mayor of Mosta said that Transport Malta's actions were irresponsible and were done without consultation. He remarked that this is not acceptable, and continued that the local council is still going through consultation with residents and NGOs, adding that another reminder was sent to Transport Malta to send a representative to participate in the consultation process.

He commented that the Nationalist Party majority of the Mosta local council are disappointed by the actions of Transport Malta, which he said persist with its decision to close the town square. He added that in a 30-minute meeting with the CEO of Transport Malta, concerns about the matter were brought up and they were told that it would be discussed internally within Transport Malta, but he remarked that the situation ended up as it is.

"We are here to consult and to speak, and if needed we can get around a table and discuss these issues together," Gatt stated.

Charles Bonello, the President of Nationalist Party Councillors, referred to the closure of the town square as an attack on the autonomy of the Mosta Local Council.

He said that the Mosta residents chose a Nationalist Party majority after five years of a Labour Party majority during the most recent elections, and commented that the PN listens, "not like the government".

Regarding the local council's invitation to Transport Malta to participate in consultations, Bonello said that the councillors had also invited the government, but "the government that listens did not reply to this invitation and did not attend the consultations". He said that the government does not want to hear what the Mosta residents have to say.

Bonello remarked that what is happening in Mosta with the closure of the town square is the position of the central government, and he described it as a clear indication that the government does not believe in democracy or the local councils.