The new €12.8 million agreement between the Public Works Department and the local councils raises serious questions about transparency, the autonomy of Local Councils and, above all, whether Gozo's local councils are included in the scheme, the Natiomalist Party said Thursday.

In 2024, the government announced a €10 million agreement between the local councils and the Public Works Department. This applied only to 54 local councils - namely, the local councils in Malta.

In the 2026 budget, the government described the 2024 agreement as one that strengthened collaboration with Local Councils, while announcing a new €13.5 million framework agreement administered by the Public Works Department and spread over several years.

A new agreement worth €12.8 million for the next two years has now been announced - a different amount from that announced in the Budget.

The Opposition has long warned that the government is using local councils as it sees fit and binding them to agreements that are not always to their advantage.

In the interests of transparency, the Government must answer the following questions:

Is this new agreement a continuation of the 2024 agreement from which Gozo's Local Councils were excluded?

Does this new agreement cover all Local Councils, including those in Gozo? If so, can the Government state this clearly and explain what has changed since the 2024 agreement? If not, can it explain why Gozo's Local Councils are once again being left out?

Where and how was the €10 million announced by the Government in 2024 spent?

Which are the 123 projects that the Government claims to have carried out? Were they all specifically requested by Local Councils, or were they projects initiated by the Government?

Why is this agreement tied to a budget of €12.8 million rather than the €13.5 million announced in the Budget?

Finally, what role did Mayors play in drawing up this agreement?

In light of these questions, the government must provide an explanation and publish a full account identifying the localities in which these projects were carried out, the cost of each project, what each project involved, and whether the work was carried out by the Public Works Department or private contractors, the PN said.

It must also clarify whether the €12.8 million consists of entirely new funds, additional to the previous €10 million.

Moreover, the government must clarify who controls the funds, who selects the contractors and who approves the expenditure.

Furthermore, if the 2026 Budget announced a new framework agreement worth €13.5 million, why is the agreement that has now been announced worth €12.8 million? The Government must explain the €700,000 discrepancy.

The PN said it welcomes all investment in our localities. However, every investment must be accompanied by transparency and accountability, and must stem from genuine autonomy for local councils rather than being imposed through projects initiated by the Central Government.

This agreement is another blow to the autonomy of local councils. Instead of transferring the funds to Local Councils so that they can spend them where they are genuinely needed by their localities and residents, the Government is choosing to retain all the powers itself, allowing it to continue controlling where work is carried out and how much is spent in each locality.

This agreement further erodes the strength of local councils, as the Labour government has done throughout its 13 years in office, during which it has, among other things, taken responsibility for roads and local enforcement out of the hands of Local Councils. We all know that these works and services have deteriorated rather than improved, despite the Government's many promises and boasting. Nevertheless, residents' complaints about these services frequently end up at the Local Council, which often has no control over the situation.

The government must provide clear and direct answers to the Partit Nazzjonalista's questions, the PN said.

Local councils and residents have a right to know what the government is doing for the institutions it calls Local Governments, while simultaneously refusing to trust them to administer public funds according to what they believe is best for their localities.

The statement was signed by Bernice Bonello, Shadow Minister for Local Government and Public Works.