A ticket too far

After several failed attempts to obtain the required information from the Malta Transport Authority (ADT), for the transfer of an imported tax-free car which I gave to a nephew because I can no longer drive due to ill health, I had to ask my MP, David Agius, to obtain this information for me. I thank Mr Agius because as always, he promptly arranged for me to have an authoritative, correct reply to my query.

This is against the background of some 10 useless telephone calls to the ADT, who invariably misinformed me as to the bureaucracy involved, and an attempt to obtain the information for myself through Austin Gatt's e-government. As of today, after seven weeks, the ADT has still not replied, and despite my letters to The Times entreating Dr Gatt to justify the squandering of our money on useless projects, my only recourse is yet another frustrating letter to the editor. It turns out that the first step was a call to the police headquarters in Floriana to obtain a form which has to be delivered to the Customs office, outside Victoria Gate.

Here, you are given yet another form to take to the valuation office a few metres away. While waiting for the exceedingly polite customs officer to do his job (I wish to publicly thank the officer concerned for displaying unusual tact and diplomacy when faced with a grossly irate client), a traffic warden slapped a ticket on the car for entering Valletta. Explaining to her that we were instructed by the police to bring the car there for a valuation simply cut no ice with this "more than what my job's worth" person who insisted that as far as she was concerned I was in Valletta without the required permit.

As far as I am concerned, this is an obscene way to treat a law-abiding citizen with an impeccable record, who has done his damnedest to comply with all the idiosyncrasies of this government's legislation. I conclude by declaring that this last incident represents a ticket too far. Government coffers are gaining Lm10 fleeced from an honest citizen who was only following police instructions. They can now weigh the loss of my vote and those of my family, who declare themselves utterly disgusted by the state of affairs which this desperate, cash-strapped administration is resorting to.