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James Debono
The two major political parties have already ganged up to suppress the only independent voice in the Marsaskala local council for the banal reason that he had accepted an invitation to address the Marsaskala shop owners without the authorisation of the council.
Former Nationalist MP Josie Muscat’s Grupp Indipendenti Marsaskala won a significant 15 per cent of votes cast in last March’s local elections.
In an urgent meeting called on 25 April, the Marsaskala local council voted to remove Dr Josie Muscat from his tourism portfolio and censored him for discussing with the association representing Marsaskala shop and restaurant owners without the authorisation of the council.
Tourism was a major plank of Muscat’s electoral campaign during which he criticised the government for removing Marsaskala from the list of special tourist zones.
The council’s motion was approved two days before Muscat actually met the association. Effectively the motion censored Muscat for “discussing matters pertaining to the council with the Assocjazzjoni Hwienet u Ristoranti ta’ Marsaskala,” two days before the actual meeting took place.
The mayor’s motion was supported by all MLP councillors. The two PN councillors abstained, effectively isolating the former Nationalist firebrand.
Muscat has not dissuaded himself by the bullying from the political parties and has written to the director responsible for local councils to seek redress from this “undemocratic decision”.
In his letter Muscat explained that he had only met the Marsaskala shop owners after being invited to do so by the same association.
In his letter Muscat pointed out that he had only accepted to meet the association in his own personal capacity and not as an official of the local council.
“I cannot fathom what should have kept me from accepting an invitation by the association. I cannot find one single line in the law regulating local councils which says that I should have sought the council authorisation before accepting an invitation.”
During the meeting Muscat exchanged ideas with the shop owners representatives on how to attract more visitors to Marsaskala and ways to embellish the village.
“At no time did I reveal anything pertinent to the council as alleged by the mayor. I could not do so as I am not aware that there are any secrets on which councillors are forbidden from speaking in public. As far as I know everything said in the council is public”.
The independent councillor insists that nobody “will remove my right to meet anybody I like.”
Muscat would not give in to the “undemocratic, though and brute” treatment reserved to him by the other councillors and being belittled by the mayor as the “the least one of us.”
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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