Times of Malta recently reported about a Swieqi neighbourhood that has been virtually cut off from the rest of the town after a stairwell replaced a dirt track. This has robbed residents of an access point to and from their houses, and they are arguing that a road should be built instead.
Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat claims that residents and the local council are in agreement on the need for a road to be built instead of the stairwell, which is now reaching its completion; however, bureaucratic delays have hampered progress.
In the meantime, the dead end has left residents without vehicular access to Swieqi, while ambulances and emergency services were unable to access the road and school vans refusing to do so, adding another layer to the inconvenience.
Muscat argues that the matter is one of “communication” between the local council and the various authorities involved, resulting in a less than successful outcome for residents.
The Swieqi saga is a textbook of bad administration brought about by having too many cooks in the kitchen.
The local council has to go to a number of government entities – whose speed and willingness varies from one to the other – to remedy an almost-farcical situation in which infrastructural works have worked to the direct detriment of the people who should be served by these same entities.
The bureaucratic complexities of Malta’s land registry system have had a role in this too: the mayor said the process was held up by the submission of paperwork to the Planning Authority confirming the owners’ acceptance for the land to be turned into a road.
While the process for the road was jammed, work on the stairwell has been allowed to go on. The cost of demolishing the stairs and building the road will be borne by the taxpayer.
The mayor admitted to not being familiar with the process, a bane shared by many other local councils who have to rely on government entities for guidance.
Similarly, residents across Malta share frustrations about the day-to-day administration of their towns, since they are cut off from both the procedural aspect as well as from the information about what’s going on in their vicinity.
Entities such as Infrastructure Malta are known for their lax attitude to consultation and it is little surprise that mishaps such as that in Swieqi are allowed to happen; residents are more often than lot left out of the loop.
It is time to review the operations of these government entities and identify the reasons that lead to major frustration among the residents of most towns.
Loopholes and grey areas need to be plugged in, and a major shift in cultures is required in order to put residents and their well-being ahead of half-baked infrastructural works which do not take them into account.
The consolidation of the authorities’ roles needs to happen quickly, making sure that public funds and money are not thrown away to everyday misadministration.
A holistic approach to governance should avoid instances of authorities and entities quarrelling between them. Local councils, too, have seen their influence wane when faced with government entities imposing works, developments and projects without consideration for the local communities.
It is no surprise to see resident associations sprouting across Malta as the general ill-feeling at grassroots level continues to grow. Perhaps it will be the only way in which residents can truly have a say in what happens outside their own doorstep.