[WATCH] Muscat takes Cabinet roadshow to Haz-Zebbug

Cabinet told to reconsider cow farm in Siggiewi and to start allocating funds on a three-year plan • local councils lament traffic congestion in secondary roads

From left: Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella, deputy prime minister Louis Grech, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, principal permanent secretary Mario Cutajar and chief of staff Keith Schembri. Photo by Ray Attard
From left: Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella, deputy prime minister Louis Grech, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, principal permanent secretary Mario Cutajar and chief of staff Keith Schembri. Photo by Ray Attard

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From complaints about delayed roadworks, to delayed authorization for an ATM machine to suggestions on how funds to local councils could be more sustainable, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his Cabinet spent their Monday morning listening to local councils from the Southern Region.

Muscat's Cabinet this morning temporarily relocated to the parish hall in Haz-Zebbug, part of a government reach out initiative.

Mayors and vice-mayors expressed their frustration at excessive red tape they face in the daily running of their localities, be it the installation of an ATM or discovery of a well that delayed the completion of roadworks by three years.

Siggiewi mayor Karol Aquilina urged the government to reevaluate its funding distribution system to local councils where funds are allocated on a three-year basis instead of on a yearly basis.

"Giving local councils a three-year budget will allow for the better allocation of funds, helping local councils to better plan their projects and agreements," Aquilina said.

He also suggested that the central government should return taxes paid by local councils on services received.

Muscat acknowledged that local councils should have more say in the running of their locality. He said that a government decision to hold local council elections every five years would see local councils benefitting from election savings, which will be placed in a fund.

The councillors called for a reform in the local warden system and called on government to help in the development of a elderly homes in their localities, and therefore the devolution of government land.

A common complaint was the amount of traffic that passed through distributor roads as motorists try to avoid congestion on arterial roads. However, the secondary roads are maintained by local councils and there were not enough funds to make the necessary infrastructural improvements to meet the traffic demand.