Having officially launched a reform of local government, Lawrence Gonzi would do well to consider taking the bold step to break with the past as far as the St Paul's Bay local council is concerned. It is high time that Buġibba (including Qawra) is separated from the rest of SPB village. This seaside locality is crying out to have a separate local council of its own.

The current situation does not make sense any longer. Tiny villages and towns (Mdina, Sannat, Għarb, come to mind) with a few hundred residents, have their own council, whereas Buġibba, with its thousands of permanent and summer residents, has to make do with a council that has its hands full in governing the SPB village as far as Xemxija and beyond. A stroll through this tourist mecca will be an eye opener to anyone, as one cannot miss the glaring degree of environmental degradation that has taken place in this area.

A serious attempt should also be made for Buġibba to have its local council answerable to and representative of the several hundred genuine summer residents who migrate from their permanent residences to this summer resort, staying in their property there for four or five months each year.

These summer residents cannot go on being ignored simply because they have no vote in electing this area's council.

The current charade where a husband changes his ID Card to show a Buġibba address while his wife and children retain their real permanent addresses elsewhere - simply to have a vote in electing the local council and a say in its deliberations - should become unnecessary and obsolete. I am certain that the legal framework needed to implement this change is not beyond the expertise of the Attorney General's office.