Birkirkara mayor urges councillors to respect electoral mandate as vote looms

As a crucial vote that will determine her future as mayor approaches, Birkirkara mayor Desirei Grech urges her fellow local councillors to realise the importance of respecting the will of the residents.With the Nationalist Party securing nearly 700 m

By: independent.com.mt

Sep 01 2024
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Birkirkara mayor urges council

With the Nationalist Party securing nearly 700 more votes than the Labour Party in the recent local council elections, she has called on all councillors to honour this mandate.

"All local councillors should keep this in mind and, in the best interest of Birkirkara, vote to reflect the will of the residents," Grech said.

Grech took the oath of office as mayor in early July to serve a three-month term, following the councillors' failure to reach a consensus on leadership during a meeting dedicated to the issue.

Voting for the Birkirkara council led to a stalemate as both the PN and Labour Party won six seats, while the 13^th was taken by independent candidate Kaylocke Buhagiar, who had previously represented Labour. Since no agreement was reached on who should be mayor - with the PL's top candidate Yana Borg Debono Grech going against the party's instructions to vote for Buhagiar as mayor - a temporary solution was found for Desirei Grech to be appointed mayor ad interim for three months.

Grech was the candidate that obtained the highest number of votes for the party that obtained the highest number of votes overall. But this was a temporary solution, and another vote is set to take place when these three months pass.

This vote will decide whether Grech will continue as Mayor.

In an interview with the Malta Independent on Sunday, Grech noted that it was somewhat challenging for the community to adjust to a new local council initially.

"It was even more challenging because I became mayor through a legal process and will only serve in this role for the three months," she said.

The uncertainty about what will happen after these three months presents a challenge not only for the new mayor but also for the workers and residents. Grech explained that the initial months of a new Mayor's term are usually spent getting used to the system, understanding its workings, and starting to implement new procedures.

Despite these challenges, Grech noted that in the past month, the local council has made significant progress, as evidenced by positive feedback from the community. The council's initial priorities included addressing concerns raised by locals, such as improving cleanliness and road maintenance.

Although the roads in Birkirkara are in a 'disastrous' state, Grech mentioned that a complete rebuild is not currently feasible. The local council needs to collaborate with the central government to secure the necessary funds for such a major project.

The local council is currently focusing on what can be done immediately, such as fixing broken pavements that pose a hazard to residents and ensuring that cleanliness is maintained properly.

She mentioned that prior to the local council elections, the Birkirkara local council had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cleansing Malta, agreeing that Birkirkara would be allocated 18 street sweepers. However, despite the agreement, Grech said that the locality was only receiving services from 12 street sweepers due to a personnel shortage. A private contractor was engaged to cover the shortfall of six workers, and the compensation for this was deducted from the original MOU with Cleansing Malta.

The gardens in Birkirkara are also a priority, said Grech, as recurring maintenance of the trees is being monitored, including regular watering of plants and pruning of leaves where necessary. This is to preserve the very limited open spaces that the locality enjoys.

In order to keep the public updated, the mayor said that the local council has now started posting on social media to ensure transparency and to show appreciation for the workers. This also serves as an educational campaign.

She mentioned that residents have complained that Birkirkara has become a sort of "bypass" for those wanting to travel between villages. However, for the mayor, the locality is more than that. In addition to regular scheduled maintenance of the green spaces, issues like vandalism, such as trees being uprooted, are also being addressed. When asked why she believes this is happening, Grech said that the damage to the trees "cannot be due to the wind" and that she cannot provide a reason for why some people are behaving this way. The mayor noted that, in addition to contacting the police, this situation has prompted community policing to increase its patrols and strengthen its presence in the area.

When asked about the cameras in place in these open spaces, Grech explained that some of them had been removed and broken before the vandalism of the trees began. A specific camera in the open space in the area known as 'Ta Paris,' which cost a significant amount of money to purchase and install, has yet to be replaced due to a lack of funds, despite being a priority.

"The council does not have enough funds to build even a simple pavement from scratch," she said.

Grech estimated that building a whole pavement from scratch would cost thousands of euros, meaning that assistance from the central government would be necessary to secure funding for such projects. However, in the long term, these pavements are included in the plans for a complete overhaul.

Given the current divisions among councillors and the dissatisfaction expressed by some members, fostering cooperation and unity within the council has become a priority for Grech, who has encountered acts of harassment and threats, which she reported to the police. She attributed this behaviour to residents who struggled to accept the party shift following the elections in the locality. The threats have stopped since the report was filed.

She also mentioned that, in addition to the threats she faced, the local council had been a victim of theft. Despite having video evidence of the alleged thief, the case could not proceed to court because the previous administration did not maintain an inventory of its assets, making it impossible to compare and verify the missing items.

Grech said that she has received strong support from locals and is prepared to work with every local councillor, regardless of their party affiliation. However, the newly appointed council still experiences occasional disagreements. One recent issue involved the PL local councillors' reluctance to approve payment for a contractor urgently hired to fill potholes in a particular street. Although they were satisfied with the work, they did not approve the payment because they claimed the costs presented did not include all necessary details.

It had been agreed by all members of the local council during its first meeting that urgent repairs were needed on main streets to address potholes, particularly as a religious procession was scheduled to pass through and there was a risk of injury. Grech explained that the urgent work was assigned to contractors who already had a tender with the local council. She noted that a missing invoice from a contractor who was on shut down made it challenging to provide an exact average cost, potentially leading to higher expenses than anticipated due to unforeseen issues.

While the reluctance of PL councillors to finalise the payment is understandable, Grech found the situation particularly unfair, given that the same councillors had expressed satisfaction with the completed work.

Grech said that until her term ends, she will continue working for the common good of the locality. "I am going to continue working as if I had five years and not three months or six," she said.