Mayors complained to ministers about parking shortages and a lack of green spaces in their localities during an open Cabinet meeting on Monday. 

Ministers gathered in the Fgura local council on Monday morning rather than the Auberge de Castille for a meeting that hosted several mayors and community leaders. 

Fgura mayor Pierre Dalli praised the government’s investment in national infrastructure but complained that his dense urban locality has no major green open spaces to speak of. While residents in other localities had such recreational spaces, Fgura’s 13,000 residents still had none, he said. 

Gudja mayor Marija Sara Vella said community policing had been a huge success in neighbouring localities and implored the government to extend it to Gudja as well. 

She also took the opportunity to complain that travellers catching flights from the nearby airport were taking up valuable parking spaces in the town. This, she said, was making daily life difficult for residents. 

Community policing - a policy which focuses on increasing ties between officers and the communities they serve, with more police on the beat - is being encouraged by the government, with Prime Minister Robert Abela arguing on Sunday that it has helped reduce crime rates. 

Charmaine St John, Santa Luċija’s mayor, said the recently-inaugurated tunnels project had changed the locality for the better. 

However, she was quick to point out the need for a civic centre upgrade, as the local council’s offices were currently inaccessible to the disabled. 

Paola mayor Dominic Grima also praised Infrastructure Malta, but said enforcement was still lacking and urged for it to be finally be taken seriously. 

“There are a few, and I believe it is just a few, who ignore the rules and make life worse for everyone else,” he said. 

On his part, Prime Minister Robert Abela said he wanted to reach out to local communities more over the coming months to get a better understanding of what the country wants. 

During the worst pandemic months, the government had been focused on large-scale planning, but Abela said he was well aware that public life meant working to improve every citizen’s life.

Presidents of social and cultural clubs, educators, and sports leaders were also invited to give their views during the meeting.