Drinking Alcohol In The Streets Of Buġibba And St Paul’s Bay Could Soon Be Banned
The St Paul’s Bay council has come together to propose a by-law that would no longer allow the consumption of alcohol in the streets of the area.
This by-law, which would affect the localities of St Paul’s Bay, Qawra and Buġibba, has received bipartisan support – and could eventually reach Malta’s parliament and become national law.
“For the second time, all the councillors in St Paul’s Bay voted in favour of the by-law regarding the consumption of alcohol in public places. Together we can make a difference. Now it’s the members of parliament who have to endorse it,” local councillor Anthony Delia, the brother of PN Leader Adrian Delia, posted on social media.
The idea for this by-law came about following complaints by local residents, who were finding more and more groups of people drinking in their streets, oftentimes leaving their empty alcohol bottles or cans behind.
Speaking to Lovin Malta, Delia explained why this by-law was important.
“Councillor Paul Bugeja had made an amendment to strengthen the by-law, and we all voted in favour of it,” he said. “This basically says you cannot consume alcohol within open spaces, including piazzas, pavements, or the whole Buġibba and Qawra front, excluding the beaches.”
“This is aimed to minimise litter and also groups of people gathering together,” he continued. “We are a very multicultural locality, and we have some workers who, after a day of work, meet in a group and they drink a can of beer together- nothing wrong with that, it’s a cultural thing – but then they leave the litter there,” he said.
Alcohol consumption would only be allowed on beaches in the area were this by-law to come into force.
Anthony Delia
While Delia was concerned with removing the right to enjoy a cold beer in the streets of the Buġibba and the nearby localities, he said this by-law had widespread support from local residents. He also noted that some other Maltese localities had similar difficulties and may look towards this by-law moving forward.
And he doesn’t intend on stopping there, noting a few other topics that needed extra enforcement, including issues like boating and pets.
“These will need to be enforced as well, and we need help from the authorities to do that. We will do our best, but our hand isn’t strong enough to enforce by-laws. I’m on my knees pleading – help us, we need funds to ensure the safety of our elderly and our youngsters,” he ended.
Do you agree with the banning of alcohol in some locality’s streets?
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