Time for new challenges

Gabriella Gusman talks to outgoing Victoria mayor Vivienne Galea Pace about her term in office

It is important to believe in your actions, especially when making decisions which are appropriate for the sister island's main town. This is what Vivienne Galea Pace tried to do during her three-year term as mayor of Victoria. She has decided to venture into new fields, after giving her all to make the city a better place. Hoping to dedicate more time to her family, she did not contest this month's council elections and her duties will be taken over by the new mayor, Roberto Tabone.

Related to the late Nationalist leader Dr George Borg Olivier, who was Prime Minister from 1950 to 1955 and 1962 to 1971, Mrs Galea Pace always had an interest in politics. She began to attend political meetings with her husband Victor, who became Victoria's first mayor in 1994 and was elected to parliament in 1996.

At the time, she was deeply involved in the Moviment Nisa Partit Nazzjonalista (the party's women's movement) and was president of the Victoria section.

In 2000 she was elected councillor and three years later was voted mayor. "At that point I felt I had a huge responsibility before me, especially since I was mayor of Gozo's main town. However, a friend who was a minister, advised me to regard it as my one time as mayor.

"That way I was able to do what I felt best for the city, without keeping back out of concern with being re-elected," she told The Sunday Times.

Being involved in politics for six years, she has had to balance the responsibilities of developing and maintaining a city while simultaneously being a devoted wife, mother and grandmother of two. "Had not my husband and I, both been into politics, this would not have worked. The phone at home is constantly ringing and you have to put your personal life on the back seat to take the job seriously.

"Being mayor was my full-time job and I was at the office from 9.30 a.m. and sometimes till as late as 10 p.m. Nonetheless, we both understood the difficulties that politicians have to live with and we learned how to cope with them," she said.

"Balancing family life and a political career is very difficult. My sons live in Malta and it is not always possible to visit them because of other commitments in Gozo. Politics was always placed as number one in our lives and we had to sacrifice a lot, but we always felt that this was our duty," she added.

Although being a woman did present various challenges, Ms Galea Pace never lost her stamina and always did her utmost to make the community feel at home and comfortable when confronting her with a problem. "Some men were quite shy to speak to me directly at first. Nonetheless, I always tried to make them feel at ease and spoke to everyone. Some contractors felt that I might not know about certain things. I always took advice from others and I learned a lot that way. Therefore I believe that you can do the job correctly whether you are a man or a woman," she explained.

Faced with a deficit of Lm80,000 when first elected, Ms Galea Pace was determined to address the priorities of improving certain areas of Victoria. One such case was the water culvert in Assumption Street which relieved its residents of a water problem in the street. "The people in that street had been waiting for the construction of a culvert for ten years and things improved tremendously after it was done," she said.

Other works included maintenance of a number of streets and alleys in the older parts of the city. Fairy lights were also placed on the main square to create a pleasant ambience in the evening. "Although some people were skeptical about it at first, I received a lot of messages telling me that they were spectacular adding atmosphere to the square," she said enthusiastically.

An issue which has certainly turned a number of heads is the parking problem in Victoria. The initial parking regulations issued in 2001 stated that only residents of Victoria's core (labelled as Zone A) would be issued permits to park in the area without a time limit. Non-residents were to use a cardboard clock and were able to park in the area for the maximum of one hour, which was later extended to an hour and a half.

"The council had seen this as a good decision as it helped residents of the area and was beneficial to the commercial sector," Mrs Galea Pace said. "However people who did not live in the centre felt they were being discriminated and it took a number of visits to the ADT offices to have the permit extended to all Victoria residents. Parking is a huge problem in Victoria and it will remain so, unless a multi-storey car park is created. The local council had applied to have a temporary car park set up around citadel however it was refused because of archaeological remains.

"The central government also proposed to set up a communal centre in the current parking area yet it was claimed that it was not feasible due to the clay embedded there. Victoria and its way of life could be seriously affected unless something serious is done about it," she added.

With her husband wishing to resume his work in the council and a desire to pursue other things in life, Ms Galea Pace decided that it was time to take a step back to pursue other interests which have been on the shelf for a number of years. Eagerly she talked about gathering her friends together while taking up the hobbies which she has always dreamt of doing.

"My husband wished to contest the council elections and although he was not voted mayor, he can still contribute a great deal as deputy mayor. For now I would just like to sit back and basically do what any normal housewife would do. I wish to get my house in order, meet my friends again, spend more time with my family and also help out as a volunteer with the Nationalist Party," she said.

Looking back at all her hard work, the former mayor has no regrets and is very pleased with what has been done, especially with regards to cultural events which have become very popular among visitors. Mentioning last year's Christmas concert and performances by the National Orchestra and the Chorus Urbanus, she explained that there is always something happening in the city, whether a play, musical or concert and they are increasing in popularity.

"The majority of events were well attended and I am very pleased with the work that has been done for Victoria. I wish I had more time but I know that everything done was essential. I was very proud to be mayor and saw Victoria as an extension of my house which I wanted to fix up as much as possible," she said.

Where would she like to see the city in the future? "I would like to preserve our old buildings, hold more cultural events and put up more pedestrian crossings which are very important for family safety. I wish to see some pending applications at the ADT come through, including those to prohibit heavy vehicles from passing through the city centre. I also wish for a ring road or by-pass to be set up to elevate traffic in Main Gate Street."

She also expressed a wish to see children involved in more sports and art activities while being aware of those who are less fortunate by a helping hand where needed. "If children are aware of what is going on around them they will grow up to be good citizens, putting our minds at rest that our country will be in good hands and looked after when they come of age," she added.

Asked whether she would miss being mayor, Ms Galea Pace said that she has mixed feelings about leaving her post to start a new path in her life. "I will miss the involvement and excitement of setting up a project and I am trying to wean myself off slowly. On the other hand, I hope that the new things I will be doing in my life will compensate for this," she said.

In conclusion she also expressed her wish to see more involvement from the public especially with regard to the council annual meetings. "Few people attend the council annual general meetings and it is important for them to know where all the money has gone to maintain the city. I encourage all residents to work hand-in hand with the council for the benefit for the city," she added.