Mayors Have Become Insignificant, Valletta’s Outgoing Minority Leader Warns
Valletta’s minority leader has warned that mayors have been stripped of so many powers that their functions have become purely ceremonial.
Christian Micallef, a longstanding councillor and former mayor, spoke out about the current state of local councils as he announced that he won’t be seeking re-election this June.
He said that his decision had nothing to do with the Nationalist Party, but rather with his desire to regenerate the Valletta council and his disillusionment at the lack of tangible powers vested in councils.
“I never sought power, and even if I did, the role of mayor of any locality, but particularly Valletta, has become insignificant for anything other than ceremonial purposes,” Micallef said.
“I am not ready to be like that, simply to call myself a mayor. When I served as mayor and deputy mayor I tried to make a tangible difference in people’s lives.”
“As minority leader, I feel I have spent five years wasting my energy fighting and arguing over basic things that should be considered a right for Valletta residents but which aren’t important to the government and the PL majority on the council.”
“For those who don’t have a political personality, partisan politics triumphs over everything. This isn’t the kind of politics I believe in and I have no time for it.”
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Lovin Malta recently asked Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Alison Zerafa Civelli to respond to concerns that centralisation processes have essentially reduced local councils to customer care centres.
Zerafa Civelli dismissed such concerns and argued local councils have several powers. As an example, she recalled her time as Bormla mayor when the local council initiated a programme offering free transportation services to elderly individuals and those with disabilities.
“This initiative has now spread to the whole nation but it was started by the Bormal local council, which is something I am proud of,” she said. “There are other projects like this around Malta.”
Have local councils become powerless?
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