Without fear or favour

We refer to the November 3 report in The Times, Motion Splits Local Council. It is unfortunate that the correspondent chose to report that the "Nationalist Party councillors were being pressurised by the government on the project".

This is not the case. The Nationalist Party councillors believe that the car park project should not be seen in isolation but as part of the government's proposal to revamp the whole of the Strand/ Tigné/Qui-Si-Sana area.

The proposal includes on-street free parking for residents and the semi-pedestrianisation of two roads, which the council is in favour of. This will also benefit the business community. The Nationalist Party councillors support proposals that are of benefit to Sliema residents at large, without fear or favour.

We would like to state the facts. During the council meeting held on November 2, the Sliema council voted in favour of the Qui-Si-Sana underground car park proposal. The motion, proposed by councillor Michael Pace Ross, stated that in order to alleviate the acute parking problem for Sliema residents, the car park was a necessity.

The motion also urged the government to hold a public consultation meeting with Sliema residents wherein the government should explain the proposal for the Tigné/Strand/Qui-Si-Sana area.

The motion also states that the misinformation about the project is shameful and what residents were being told was not always true. Thus, the public consultation should make the government's proposals clear once and for all. The report did not state that the motion was approved unanimously with all nine councillors voting in favour.

Editor's note: On the question of "government pressure", the report was quoting members of the Qui-Si-Sana Residents' Association.