Frustration mounts as Gżira's Manoel de Vilhena Street roadworks stall for months

Road works which have been ongoing for more than 15 months have turned Manoel de Vilhena Street into a “desert”, Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manche said in a protest on Tuesday.

He said everyone is suffering from the dust, noise and uneven pathways, as the street remains unfinished after more than a year since roadworks began in March 2022.

“Senior citizens find it difficult to stroll along the road, even with the assistance of walking aids. I frequently receive reports of seniors stumbling on the uneven terrain, leading to injuries,” Manche said.

The mayor said the young daughter of a woman he was speaking to developed asthma wince roadworks began, motivating him to organise the protest.

“Gzira residents have been abandoned,” he said. “Labourite or Nationalist, everyone is suffering here.”

In a Facebook post earlier on Monday, the mayor said the developers behind the project sent bowsers to clear the dust when they got wind of the protest.

A resident who addressed the protest said he was looking to into relocating as the situation had become too unbearable.

"I fell a few times trying to get to the pharmacy,” Mark Vella said. “We are being treated like cockroaches.”

Present among those who turned up for the protest were PN MPs Graham Bencini, Eve Borg Bonello, David Agius, and Graziella Attard Previ.

ADPD leader Sandra Gauci was also present.