The new law setting up the agency responsible for the roads does not oblige the roads minister to consult local councils on which roads in their localities should be done first.
And yet the councils would still be held responsible if somebody suffered damages because of poor roads, the Opposition's spokesman on the infrastructure said on Tuesday.
Toni Bezzina was speaking during the second day of the debate in parliament on the setting up of Infrastructure Malta, as the new agency will be called.
On Monday, minister Ian Borg said he would consult the councils about the works to be done within their boundaries.
Mr Bezzina said that despite the minister's declaration, this did not emerge from the law itself.
He said that although he agreed with the formation of an agency to assist councils with maintaining Malta’s road networks, he did not agree with the complete removal of their responsibility and control over roads falling within their jurisdiction.
He criticised the government for shifting the blame for the dilapidated state of Maltese roads onto local councils, pointing out that some roadworks for which the government was responsible had been underway since the last months of 2012.
Mr Bezzina said that despite what the minister had said during his intervention, the government would be wholly absorbing local councils’ responsibility to maintain residential roads, leaving it up to the incumbent Transport Minister to decide which roads were to be given priority without imposing any obligation to consult the respective local councils.
This was in line with the government’s continued centralisation of powers which Nationalist administrations had assigned to local councils, he said. Despite this, liability for damages arising from dangerous or unsuitable roads would still be borne by local councils, even though they would have no power to decide which roadworks needed to be prioritized.
Furthermore, Mr Bezzina criticised the dual role of regulator and contractor that would be performed by the new agency, questioning whether roadworks carried out by Infrastructure Malta and its subcontractors would be subject to the same oversight that currently existed for works carried out by local councils. He insisted that Transport Malta should retain its current responsibility to issue infrastructure and transport policy.
Questioning whether the new entity would allow the Transport Ministry to sidestep the Contracts Department in the issuance of tenders, he suggested that the Opposition be allowed to appoint its own representatives to the Board of Infrastructure Malta. As it stood, the Bill gave the Transport Minister the exclusive right to appoint all members of the Board, the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, and the CEO.