Editorial

Seven organisations linked to Valletta have got together to form the Valletta Alive Initiative - VAI, a lobby group that has approved a Position Paper on a Way Forward for Valletta. Although approved over a month ago, the five-page document was only released to the media ten days ago.

The seven organisations behind VAI are the General Retailers and Traders Union, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, the Malta Tourism Authority, the Merchant Street Business Community Association, the Republic Street Business Community Association, the Valletta Rehabilitation Committee and Valletta Local Council. "VAI believes that Valletta is the Capital of which all Maltese and Gozitans should be proud and that the City's appearance should be a reflection of this pride," it says in its introduction.

Despite the improvements made, VAI urges Government to "show greater commitment and perseverance" to improve Valletta, safeguarding and enhancing its role as a place of residence, business, leisure and culture. It is also an "important tourism asset. Investing in Valletta will improve Malta's attractiveness as a cultural destination. It is therefore a means for improving seasonality and providing for a more sustainable tourism industry."

The VAI Position Paper is divided into two parts: Part I is titled "A regeneration strategy for Valletta"; and Part II "VAI contribution". VAI is concerned that many initiatives relating to Valletta are done piecemeal, without any overall co-ordination or plan. "An integrated approach is required for Valletta's regeneration if good value for money is to be achieved," VAI urges. This approach should be supported with appropriate funding with Government considering the mechanisms best suited to derive and subsequently implement this integrated approach.

Any regeneration strategy for Valletta should follow ten guiding principles, according to VAI: a livable city; access; pedestrianisation and public spaces; cleanliness and basic infrastructure; streetscapes; City Gate; lower Valletta; leisure opping; evening leisure, and a cultural capital.

Although many of these principles have been debated in various fora for years and years, VAI recommends two of these principles to be given priority: cleanliness and basic infrastructure; and City Gate. A lot of the suggestions are plain common sense but a look at these two principles is an indication of just what a low the level of expectation there is among VAI's members of where we need to start.

Should we need to document that all streets of the capital (forget Merchants Street and Old Theatre Street at Monti time) need to be kept clean at all times (can't the Monti hawkers be made to collect their own rubbish)? Should we need to call for pavements to be replaced (where the layer of tarmac is almost as high as the pavement and these broken by vehicles which are parked on them)? Or that street lighting needs to be improved at strategic locations; refuse collection improved; and public conveniences well maintained.

Turning to City Gate, we have been hollering for years for an entrance to the capital that is more befitting and on the crying need to resolve the current chaotic situation with taxis parked indiscriminately with hawkers all over the place and horse-drawn cabs parked wherever. Do we have to wait for the major project that we have been talking about for years to begin?

VAI's contribution will be to embark on a PR campaign aimed at instilling greater pride in Valletta, particularly among residents and Valletta businesses, but also among the wider community; and on the need to keep Valletta clean. It aims to prepare a quality service charter for the capital, endorsed by the business community, and to create a fund to improve town centre management (cleaning, refuse collection, replacement of pavements, etc.).

No effort to truly ensure Valletta is alive will be in vain. This is an initiative that should be supported by all of us - not just residents and members of the Valletta business community - for a vibrant Valletta will be a mirror of the wider country as a whole. Valletta needs a CEO who can command all the nation's forces to ensure things get done. It's about time we stop talking and start acting.