Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/484780
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 25 MARCH 2015 6 MARTINA BORG BEPPE Fenech Adami said the lo- cality of Iklin was a clear example of how Nationalist-led councils had made a difference in people's lives. The Nationalist deputy leader for party affairs said he was confi- dent the PN-led council would win people's trust at the local council elections, saying the town had car- ried out various projects like road resurfacing and pavement mainte- nance and more civic activities for its residents, such as the creation of a flower festival. He said the council had managed to tap into various EU funds. "This local council made very efficient use of the resources available to them, including EU funds," he said of some €200,000 in EU funds it re- ceived for the maintenance of tradi- tional rubble walls in the locality. Fenech Adami said the council went further in encouraging the civic aspect of society, through the encouragement of groups like scouts, football and local parish activities. "People from this small locality have a sense of belonging, and the local council has made this sense possible," he said. Fenech Adami contrasted the lo- cality to Labour-led local councils such as St Paul's Bay, which he said were now know places of disagree- ments among councillors, or Zeb- bug, where public disputes on the social media between Labour can- didates were making headlines. David Agius, MP and spokesper- son for local government, youth and sport, said the PN's candidates for Iklin represented a mixture of expe- rience and youth. "The wide diver- sity of candidates should appeal to all members of the community and urge younger voters to utilize their rights to vote and participate in the elections." Iklin mayor Anthony Dalli said that an allocation of €120,000 from the central government were not enough for his council to carry out some of the works needed, and said that all local councils should benefit from funds, not just a select few. Dal- li said that if re-elected, the council's next project will be a multi-purpose pitch, anti-flooding mechanisms, and addressing traffic problems. MARTINA BORG NATIONALIST candidates for the 11 April elections were determined to bring local councils closer to the people following the result of the 2013 general election loss, candi- date Alessia Psaila Zammit said in a Broadcasting Authority debate. The first-time candidate, running for the Siggiewi council, said the Opposition had taken stock of the last election result. "Many feel that the party had cut itself off from people's realities by focusing on national issues, but our candidates are determined to bring the coun- cils to the people," she stressed. Both Psaila Zammit and Qala candidate Kevin Cutajar, who had contested the European elections in 2014, accused the government of failing in keeping promises it made over the past two years. One of these was the provision of medicines to elderly people's homes, and the failure to build a new LNG power plant in Delimara in 2015. "The reason the govern- ment kept its promise to close down the polluting Marsa power station, was because of the work carried out by the previous gov- ernment to ensure better energy solutions," she said, referring to the Malta-Sicily interconnector being launched in the coming days. Labour candidate Carlo Mifsud, running on Siggiewi, countered that the government had made significant changes in the last two years, citing the reductions in ener- gy bills, the cut in fuel prices at the pump, free childcare, and reform- ing Enemalta. "Every international report shows that our country is improving eco- nomically," Mifsud said of govern- ment finances showing a decrease in deficit figures. Labour MP Deborah Schembri added that the government was also addressing elderly healthcare with the launch of day centres across various locations, cutting down on waiting lists for operations, and the almost total elimination of medi- cines being out of stock. "The government has committed to a renovation of St Luke's Hos- pital and a regeneration of Karin Grech Hospital in response to the lack of hospital beds. The opening JAMES DEBONO RESIDENTS are objecting to the development of a kiosk on Birgu's belvedere (pictured), which they say would spoil a panoramic view over- looking the harbour between Triq La Valletta and Triq Santa Skolas- tika. The permit, which is being recom- mended for approval by the Plan- ning Directorate, limits the area designated for tables and chairs to a five-metre radius around the pro- posed kiosk. But residents point out that this will take half of the open space, which is one of the few in the neighbourhood. They also point out that access to half the square will now be limited to people who buy from the kiosk. A decision by MEPA is due on 1 April. They also claim that the kiosk will be in violation of the Policy and Design Guidelines which state that kiosks will not be permitted where they "interrupt, block or intrude into open and valuable views". The proposed kiosk is separated from neighbouring dwellings by a two-metre wide alley located around four metres from the build- ing line, thus raising concern on lack of privacy and odours. The case officer justifies the devel- opment by citing an outline permit issued in 2008 against the advice of the Planning Directorate. The proposed kiosk proposed by Arthur Grech and designed by ar- chitect William Lewis is 2.8 metres high and according to the case of- ficer will not intrude on views. But MEPA's own Heritage Advi- sory Committee has objected to the design of the kiosk. News TIM DIACONO THE continuous destruction of the countryside means that hunting has become an increasingly serious problem, MediaToday managing editor Saviour Balzan warned. "Our country is small, the coun- tryside has shrunk, and yet Malta has the highest concentration of hunters in the world," Balzan, a spokesperson for the Spring Hunt- ing Out (SHout) campaign, said during a debate on spring hunting at the MCAST campus in Paola. "Malta has progressed in every- thing except for the spring hunting issue, and the hunters think they have the right to keep the clock from turning and to maintain sole control over the countryside." He rubbished the Yes campaign's claims that a referendum victory for the No camp could trigger future referenda on other hobbies. "This referendum is about spring hunting, and yet the Yes campaign are trying to scare people that fish- ing and fireworks will be next on the hit list," Balzan said, while citing ex- judge Giovanni Bonello's declara- tion that such claims were "outright lies". However, Yes campaign spokes- person Mark Bonello said that cur- rent arguments against spring hunt- ing could easily be applied to other hobbies. "Fishing involves the killing of fish, and fireworks are a nuisance to some people," he said. "This is a positive campaign, because we don't want to see other people suffer in the future, as we are suffering now." He argued that hunters have helped the countryside by plant- ing trees, keeping fields clean, and building rubble walls. "Spring hunting only opens for 20 half-days, on only two bird species [quail and turtledove], and with a strict season quota of 16,000 birds," Bonello said. "That accounts for less than 1% of the EU's quail and turtle- dove population, and the European Commission considers that to be a sustainable level of hunting." Bonello repeated the Yes cam- paign's accusations that Balzan had Iklin example of PN-led councils making 'positive difference' Election candidates it out on party promises Residents object to Birgu belvedere 'Hunting problem has worsened as countryside Beppe Fenech Adami – PN-led councils make a difference At the MCAST debate with Saviour Balzan (third from right) and Mark Bonello (second left)