Roads get paved in minister's electoral districts

A notable share of Infrastructure Malta’s roadworks leading up to the general election have been carried out in the electoral districts contested by Infrastructure Minister Chris Bonett.

A review of Infrastructure Malta’s social media posts between April 15 and the time of writing shows that most projects announced during the period were located within the third and fourth electoral districts, both contested by Bonett.

From the 26 posts uploaded to Facebook, over 61% concerned roadworks in localities within the two districts. Posts about the Msida Creek project and Ġnien il-Fajtata, in Marsascala were excluded from the review, as they are long-running projects that predate the election campaign.

Triq Għajn Dwieli, between Paola and Cospicua got a facelift in recent weeks. Photos: Infrastructure Malta

The works publicised during the period include resurfacing of six residential roads in Żejtun, roadworks on Triq ta’ Gidwet and Triq ix-Xatt, in Marsascala, infrastructural works on Triq Ħaż-Żabbar and road surfacing in Fr Charles Plater Street and Ġużè D’Amato Street, in Paola, road building and asphalting works on Vjal Kottoner, in Fgura and works on Triq Għajn Dwieli between Paola and Cospicua.

Requirements

In a comment to Times of Malta, Infrastructure Malta said its work programme is planned according to infrastructure needs identified across the country, in coordination with local councils, technical assessments and long-term planning priorities.

It also said that projects have been spread across various localities and districts based on operational and infrastructural requirements. The agency did not address the specific concentration of announced works in the minister’s electoral districts during the campaign period.

The use of government resources during election campaigns is a long-standing concern in Maltese politics. After the 2022 election, the OSCE flagged this among other factors that reduced the transparency of the electoral process.

The OSCE had recommended that the auditor general be empowered to carry out investigations and publish findings on the misuse of public resources for campaign purposes.