Opposition leader Joseph Muscat discusses Heritage Trail project with Dingli Mayor Ian Borg.
Bianca Caruana
Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat said that the Dingli local council should be seen as exemplary for the work done and a forecast of the system to be introduced by the Labour Party.
“This local council is a good example of how a locality should be lead using prudent leadership where the local council managed to double government funds,” Muscat said.
During a local council campaign visit to Dingli this morning, Muscat said the Heritage Trail project costing around €400,000, was one of the biggest projects ever taken on by a local council. “This is a clear example of how local councils should listen to the complaints and suggestions of the residents. They should be on the people’s side, not bureaucracy's,” Muscat said.
Muscat also expressed satisfaction for the work being done by the council to encourage business in Dingli. “This indicates that the PL wants the country’s self-employed to be more supported. This local council is one of three which has a sustainable development plan for not just one legislature, but is spread over from legislature to the next,” Muscat said.
Dingli mayor (PL) Ian Borg said that the local council had participated in the Public-Private Partnership scheme to fund works in Dingli.
“The main road, Triq il-Kbira, crossing through Dingli is 900 metres long, cost €300,000 to fix. Central government funds amounted to 30% of the total, while the local council funded the remaining 70%.
“We felt we needed to embark on the work ourselves for it to be done properly and efficiently. The road connecting Rabat to Dingli was left to the government to fix and it still has not been done,” Borg said.
Borg added that the local council worked prudently to save money on consultancy services and even had to change contractors for better quality work.
“We wanted the road works to be of a certain quality while causing the least inconvenience possible for our residents,” Borg said.
Muscat also praised the work done by the local council regarding a public transport issue involving the removal of direct routes to Valletta which left residents complaining.
“The local council was instrumental in the public transport and listened to the local citizens to affect the necessary improvements. It is for this reason the people should once again give confidence to the Labour Party to continue working on the work that has already been started as a result of prudent leadership,” Muscat said.