On The Dot...

Local government has one thing definitely in common with national government, and that is political patronage. For some unaccountable reason two streets in Hal-Bajjada, Rabat - Dingli Road and Iz-Zahar Street, running parallel to each other off Hal-Bajjada Street with only metres separating them - have been made one way in the same direction. Elsewhere in Malta people also have "reserved" illegally painted in front of their house and the Public Transport Authority, or whoever is responsible, allows the law-breaking, to the detriment of law-abiding, car-owning people.

Danger Created

What the unaccountable, identical direction one-way system for the two streets in Hal-Bajjada does is to force motorists into the wide, heavily used Vjal il-Haddiem, where traffic goes fast and where cars are parked just round the corner, impeding the view of motorists going from Hal-Bajjada Street into the vjal. The danger is obvious.

Now Uncovered

In roughly the same area in Rabat, a one-way system was thought out but for more unaccountable reasons, the traffic signs were put up months ago and then covered up. On several, including "no entry" signs, the flimsy, black plastic cover has come off. Will wardens fine motorists ignoring the signs, seeing that the other signs are still covered? Residents are hoping that only traffic considerations have had any say in the way the system was created.

Faster Food

Part of the stretch of road by the KFC outlet in Gzira was recently dug up, which would be no big deal, seeing that this tends to happen more and more as summer approaches. Unfortunately, however, the area is a part of a project about which a lot of ado was made recently. One wonders how much of the reputed Lm17,000 worth of work was destroyed in this haphazard lack of coordination between government departments.

On the Tiles

The pavement in the St Philip's Hospital area of Psaila Street, Birkirkara, needs repairing because it is a hazard to the many people who use it as a part of their exercise route in the evening. The part in question, where tiles are coming loose because it appears that they have no solid base, lies between the Peugeot motorbike showroom and the Bugeja Flower Nurseries open-air shop.

Hedging One's Bets

With his new hairstyle, website and zany attitude, his appearance owes a lot to Sonic the Hedgehog. Be that as it may, Xummiemu is back, and asking children to become members of his team once more in order to help care for the environment, via his club, which one may join through filling up a form found in a magazine offered free with a particular newspaper. One hopes that the records of children who were already members have not somehow been lost; nothing was said about whether or not children are to reapply for membership or not.

Plane Sailing

It is high time that plainclothes security personnel start patrolling the arrivals and departures lounges of the Malta International Airport. It is not unusual for children and young ladies to be accosted by smartly-dressed individuals, asking them a question in a foreign tongue. These persons melt into the background whenever a uniformed officer approaches.

Tunnel Vision

The practice of lining tunnels in clinical white tiling has come to nothing. This happens because, within a short while, the tiles become engrained in sooty dirt, while a good number of them go missing either because they fall off owing to vibrations or because they are vandalised. It would be better, one assumes, to give the tunnels a coating of graffiti-resistant, light-sensitive paint, which would then be hosed down every once in a while.

Driven to Distraction

Recent research indicates that drivers who wield a cellular phone - or communicate with one on their dashboard - when their vehicle is in motion, are as impaired as those who drive under the influence of illegal substances. Many people think that this is an exaggeration but it would be interesting to have a breakdown of how many accidents occurred owing to the former type of distraction and the latter type of abuse.

Summer Times

In summer, many students scour the newspapers, or knock on doors, in order to find part-time work. Sometimes, they end up being exploited by being given unnecessarily long probation periods, or unhealthily long hours of work, or not being covered against injury on duty. Is this legal?

Big Brother

We all know what eagle eyes party agents deployed at polling booths have. So why do the booths not have curtains as they do everywhere in Europe? Why must voters be seen scribbling at the top, bottom, or centre of the ballot paper, so the party agents can tell which party people are voting for?