Updated 10.40pm

Local wardens are failing Valletta residents with their "completely ineffective" work, the capital city's local council has said. 

In a strongly-worded statement, the local council said that reforms to the local warden system "have failed" and that it wanted control for traffic wardens in the capital devolved to fall under council control. 

The council noted that it received complaints about local wardens and their work "every single day" and that despite the council's repeated complaints to authorities, the situation had not improved. 

"Wardens are not being at all effective, in fact their presence cannot be felt," the council fumed. "They are in no way safeguarding residents' interests or that of their hometown."

In comments to Times of Malta, Valletta mayor Aleixei Dingli said that nothing had changed since the council had gone public with concerns last year. 

In July 2016, the council had highlighted incidents of contractors blocking roads, shops putting out chairs and tables without the necessary permits, and rampant abuse of parking provisions. 

Dr Dingli said that he would soon be meeting Local Governance parliamentary secretary Silvio Parnis and discussing the council's proposal to take over the local warden system in the capital city. 

If the change went through, he said, the council would finance the system through income from contraventions issued. 

The local warden system was reformed in 2016, with a new local enforcement agency coordinating their work, a new customer service centre and control room. 

Earlier this year, the General Workers' Union said the government would be taking up its suggestion that local wardens should be employed by the government, rather than private firms.