Local council greed

Every Sunday, and on certain public holidays (except during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic), people from all walks of life converge to the car boot sale held at Vittoriosa. These include expatriates/immigrants living on our island and locals. They spend the morning browsing around, trying to find an item which meets the eye or their taste and then negotiate with the car boot seller to reach a mutually agreeable price to purchase it.

The local council responsible for the considerably large ground in which the car boot sellers exhibit their wares obtain a substantial income by charging fees for the use of the ground. Some sellers complain that the fee is too high and that they barely break even. The ground is not well maintained and, whenever it rains, large puddles form and it becomes muddy in some areas, making manoeuvring in it difficult.

But an even worse insult to the attending public is that, for more than the last four Sundays in succession, the nearby public convenience has remained closed. Talking to some of the car boot sellers about this matter, they informed me that the council had complained that some members of the public were not using the public convenience facilities properly and that there have been some instances of vandalism.

Local council officials had claimed that flooding of premises had occurred and wastage of water by leaving wash basin water taps open after use was common. The latter was remedied by installing auto closure taps and CCTV at the entrance of the public convenience were installed to monitor the site.

However, before the outbreak of the pandemic, these public conveniences were operating, shoddy work and maintenance were noticed, whereby at least one toilet basin had become loose causing flooding and, on occasions, the water flushing units were out of order. This was not a result of vandalism but careless management of such facilities. Moreover, there were no caretakers/attendants to monitor and maintain the place.

Currently, with the public conveniences closed, the local council is making some financial savings, in spite of fees obtained from car boot sellers and funding from our taxes.

In the meantime, the members of the public attend to the call of nature in the nearby trees and bushes. Isn’t this another form of council greed and an insult to the public?

Raymond Sammut – Mellieħa

Free contraception

The Life Network Foundation has promptly and responsibly expressed opposition to the PN’s sexual health proposals. I fully agree and give my support for their stand against the PN’s promise to introduce free contraception and the morning-after pill if they are elected to govern.

The reasons explained by the foundation are very clear. Whoever was responsible of giving this irresponsible and mistaken advice to the party should examine and reflect on the consequences resulting from such unacceptable standards.

I agree with the foundation about teaching the young generation self-respect and to avoid that which contributes to their personal disturbance.

Regretfully, the political parties, which can influence the young people, do not do enough to educate and instil the beauty and benefits of sound values in life.

Carmel Vella – Mellieħa

Replica

Replica is defined as an exact reproduction, usually of a work of art.

I cannot understand why the media persist in using this word when referring to the parliamentary speeches in answer (tweġiba) to the budget.

Carmel Sciberras – Naxxar

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