Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat has issued a strong rebuke to the central government, accusing it of sidelining local councils and allowing uncontrolled development.

Muscat condemned how easily development permits are issued without regard for infrastructure limits or community impact. "I don't blame the businessman," he said. "He's doing what businessmen do - trying to maximise profit. But where are the planners? They are supposed to maintain balance."

He warned that developments like those by Villa Rosa and db Group are contributing to overcrowding and poor urban planning. "We're creating expensive jungles with no schools, no infrastructure, no greenery," he said. "We used to have plans. We used to have direction. Now it's chaos."

Muscat warned that Swieqi is being transformed into an "expensive jungle" - overwhelmed by unregulated short lets, inadequate infrastructure, mounting waste issues and a lack of open spaces. He said the council has been stripped of the power and resources needed to address these problems, leaving elected officials unable to serve the residents who voted them in.

In an interview with The Malta Independent, he detailed how his locality is being overwhelmed by unregulated short lets, increasing waste problems, overdevelopment, and a lack of basic infrastructure - all while the council is left without the power or resources to respond.

"We've been ridiculed in front of the people," Muscat said. "We are elected to administer a locality, and we're not even allowed to administer it." He argued that local councils across Malta, not just Swieqi, are being placed on the "back burner" and stripped of their traditional responsibilities. Muscat said that essential services like street sweeping and waste collection have been removed from council control and handed over to central government departments without adequate consultation or collaboration.

"Instead of helping councils solve problems, they take responsibilities away from us," he said, likening the approach to a "communist-style" governance where a one-size-fits-all model is applied indiscriminately.

One of the mayor's most pressing concerns is the proliferation of short-term rentals, particularly Airbnbs, which he believes are transforming Swieqi into a transient town. "Swieqi is a residential area," he insisted. "We don't have aggressive commercial activity. Our only issue is short lets, and it has turned into a crisis." While Muscat emphasised he is not against short lets in principle, he stressed that the issue lies in their complete lack of regulation. Flats, originally intended for residential use, have been converted into short-term accommodation, often operating without permits and without oversight. The problem, he said, is not the concept of short lets but the absence of basic rules to manage them. "Short lets are a business. They should be treated like a business," Muscat said. "There are no checks in place - no planning authority permits, no storage plans for waste, and no control over the number of people using local infrastructure."

Muscat pointed out that the government's refusal to regulate short lets properly has resulted in mounting garbage problems, vandalism, noise disturbances and frustration among residents. He described how residents are often met with towering piles of black garbage bags, filled with unsorted waste, left on the streets at the wrong time and in violation of collection schedules. "The problem is not the collector. The problem is garbage being taken out on the wrong day."

"They put everything in a black bag - recyclable and organic waste included - and leave them outside. And instead of solving the problem, the government sends its cleansing department to pick up the trash outside of schedule, which is illegal."

Muscat said that the council has repeatedly documented these issues and reported them to ministers and national authorities, often including photos and statistics. But despite years of reports and meetings, he said no meaningful solutions have been implemented. "We've been sending reports since 2016," he said. "The situation has not improved - it's only worsened." He also highlighted that this mismanagement is not limited to Swieqi. "They have never solved a problem until it becomes a crisis," he said. "They work until the next election, always in election mode, pleasing individuals instead of governing for the country."

Adding to his concern is the council's shrinking budget. Muscat revealed that the Swieqi council cannot afford basic infrastructure repairs and has even had to reject a government loan to fix a damaged road because repaying it would have crippled future budgets. "We got a quote for €100,000. I cannot even afford €10,000," he said. "They gave us a loan. But how can I commit the next council to repay a loan when we can't even cover our basic expenses now?" He recounted how contractors showed up to fix roads without the council's knowledge or input, and how pavements were taken over without consultation, further eroding the council's authority and planning oversight.

In his view, the rapid overdevelopment in Swieqi is occurring without any infrastructure planning or carrying capacity studies. He cited one development alone near the council offices containing 110 apartments with 583 bed nights - all intended for short lets. "By next year we'll have at least 1,000 more bed-nights in Swieqi," Muscat warned. "It's going to destabilise our social nature." Despite writing three times to the Planning Authority to request a carrying capacity study, he said they didn't even receive an acknowledgement.

Muscat also lamented the lack of investment in open spaces and public facilities. "We have no football pitch. We only have four small gardens. We don't even have a proper square," he said. The council had proposed turning a nearby plot into a cultural centre with open space and art facilities, but the project was side-lined. "Nobody told us it's not a good idea. But nobody followed up either," he said. "Why doesn't this locality deserve it?"

The mayor described an exhausting cycle of proposals, reminders and meetings that never seem to lead to results. "All we do is beg," he said. "We're constantly knocking on doors, asking for money to buy bins or maintain other bare necessities. This is not how you run a council." He said officials within agencies like ERA and MTA often try to help, but they too are powerless. "They help us a lot, but they have no authority," he said. "The system is broken from the top."

Despite receiving support from residents and police, Muscat warned that even law enforcement is overwhelmed during peak months. During the feast season and tourist season, they are stretched thinly guarding embassies, watching over people on bail, managing street security. They cannot cope." He added that with more tourism, more developments, and bigger population growth on the horizon, these problems are only going to get worse.

In a stark reflection, Muscat said the council now spends most of its time managing problems caused by the state. "We don't do politics," he said. "We don't handle health or tourism. We administer a locality. Yet all our time goes into solving problems created elsewhere." He said that every time they fix one issue, another emerges, and without structural reform, the system is unsustainable. "Even with the best will in the world, we cannot cope."

Muscat concluded by urging the government to return power and funding to local councils so they can serve their communities effectively. "We've proposed 13 practical solutions to regulate short lets and protect Swieqi's social character," he said. "We're not asking for much - just the chance to be heard, to be respected, and to make decisions for the people who elected us."