Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1538990
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 AUGUST 2025 INTERVIEW Jorge Grech: 'The garbage problem has become the breakfast, lunch and dinner for every mayor' ŻABBAR Mayor Jorge Grech says may- ors can only maintain control of deci- sions that affect their locality if they are vociferous enough. His statement is not surprising, given the recent opposition to a proposal for the construction of an old people's home outside the development zone in Żabbar. Grech sits down with me for an inter- view inside the council office in the heart of one of the larger towns in the south east. Grech doubles down on his stance against the old people's home project. "It makes no sense," he insists, "to use ODZ land." The mayor explains how construction has changed Żabbar throughout the years, clarifying that not all developments are bad. He opts to judge each project on a case-by-case basis. This is why the mayor justifies a contro- versial new road slated to link Żabbar to Smart City, which will take up agricultural land. Environmental groups are opposed to the road. But Grech says this will allow the public to appreciate what is currently a dilapidated historic area near the bastions that separate his locality from Bormla. On other issues of local concern with a national outlook, such as waste collection, Grech says that local councils can only be effective if they work together and apply coordinated pressure on central govern- ment entities. Problems related to waste management, he adds, are an everyday headache for every mayor. From opposing an elderly home on ODZ land and tackling illegal dumping, to defending a new road linking Żabbar to Smart City, Żabbar mayor Jorge Grech tells Matthew Farrugia that being vociferous, and united, is the only way councils can inf luence decisions that shape their towns.