Local Councils Association president calls for more autonomy

Local councils should have more autonomy in various aspects, President of the Local Councils Association Mario Fava told in sister newspaper ILLUM, on Sunday.

"We are still lagging behind," Fava remarked when discussing the autonomy of local councils.

He specifically pointed out that improvements could be made in terms of financial and administrative independence.

Following the 'Xebbajtuna' protest organised by environmental NGOs, mayors from both political parties expressed concerns to the media about their limited authority in dealing with consecutive crises.

In his comments to ILLUM, Fava, who is also a Labour councillor within the Fgura local council, highlighted that these crises include issues related to waste management. 

Fava also mentioned that the decision to no longer entrust local councils with waste collection responsibilities had been discussed with the European Commission. 

This allowed local councils to retain a minor role in certain aspects of this responsibility.

In response to local councils gaining access to information about apartment administrators, Fava emphasised that the council would now be capable of taking action against those responsible. 

This proposal, originally put forth by the association, had been advocated for by Swieqi Mayor Noel Muscat for several years.

A similar proposal has also been extended to health centres, with Fava stressing the importance of comprehensive planning by the government in collaboration with relevant authorities and ministries.