TMID Editorial: Promises and credibility

The Labour Party had pledged to convert St Anne Street in Floriana into a garden, with traffic routed underground in a purpose-built tunnel, and do the exact same thing in central San Gwann in its first press conference in the 2022 general election c

By: independent.com.mt

Sep 06 2024
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TMID Editorial: Promises and c

"If the people trust me for my first mandate, we will begin implementing this plan from the day after the election," Abela had said during that press conference, which also featured the party announcing other projects in other areas.

The people did indeed lend their trust to Abela and his party, but now - almost halfway through his mandate - it has emerged that the plans which had been promised during the electoral campaign are either not feasible or being reconsidered.

The Times of Malta quoted Project Green earlier this week as saying that plans to reroute traffic through an underpass beneath Floriana's St Anne Street have been deemed unfeasible and that the prospect of a tunnel beneath the San Ġwann main road is being revisited.

Studies are still ongoing to find alternative solutions to pedestrianize both areas, and one hopes that solutions will be found. We all want a greener Malta. But the most obvious takeaway here is that the Labour Party's environmental pledges in the run-up to the last general election did not appear to be backed by proper studies.

Let's not forget that the environment was the Labour Party's flagship sector during the last electoral campaign. Now we have two of its biggest proposals deemed unrealistic by the government itself, at least in terms of how the Labour Party had initially proposed them.

We then have how the matter has been handled thus far.

Floriana's independent mayor Nigel Holland told The Malta Independent that the local council has only seen what has been seen by the public, as he remarked that he and the locality's councillors only became aware of the new decision on St Anne's Street through the media.

Floriana Deputy Mayor James Aaron Ellul, who is a PN councillor, meanwhile told The Malta Independent that a discussion between the local council and the relevant Minister has never taken place concerning the proposed underpass. He added that the only discussion which has taken place was the result of a request made by the local council through a motion, but that no official call was made for the residents to determine whether they agree or disagree with the project itself.

In San Gwann, the communication appeared to be a lot more open-ended: the local council itself had unanimously approved the need for the project, while Project Green also held open meetings with residents to discuss the project.

This is how such major projects should be approached. One must wonder why San Gwann was afforded a good level of consultation but Floriana was not.

But the more concerning aspect is that we have two flagship proposals pledged by the party now in government during an electoral campaign which are no closer to happening, and which - if they do happen - will be quite different to what was initially proposed.

Things like this continue to impact both the government's and the Labour Party's credibility when it comes to make such major promises.