Momentum proposals: Give more power to Local Councils. We need Local Councils that work for all

Malta’s local councils are the level of government closest to the people, yet they remain among the weakest. Mayors serve part-time on honorariums pegged to MP pay, with even the mayors of the country’s largest localities earning less than the national average salary. Waste collection has been taken away from councils and handed to regional structures that do not reflect any real cultural or social identity. Councils depend too heavily on government grants and have almost no independent revenue. Transport Malta and other central entities delay even basic local decisions with slow approval processes. Gozo continues to operate under a fake semi-autonomous status that delivers neither genuine self-governance nor proper access to European regional funds.

Mayors themselves, across party lines, have been saying the same thing for years. Today, as part of its manifesto, Momentum announces three proposals to strengthen local governance and bring decision-making closer to the communities it is meant to serve.

1. Full-time mayors, real autonomy and proper funding

Local councils need professional leadership to tackle community challenges effectively. Part-time mayors cannot give their communities the attention they deserve. As mayors themselves point out, the role is a round-the-clock commitment, yet the conditions make it impossible for anyone with a career or a family to dedicate the time required. The result is that talented people are deterred from entering local politics altogether. Momentum will strive to create full-time mayoral positions with proper salaries so that mayors can focus entirely on serving their localities instead of juggling part-time responsibilities.

But professional leadership alone is not enough. Councils also need financial independence. Momentum will diversify local council revenue through new income streams including short-let licence payments, a share of traffic fines for road maintenance, and budget allocations that reflect tourism impact, traffic flow and environmental pressures, not just population size. 

Councils that deliver better results on cleaner streets, waste reduction and green spaces should be rewarded with more resources. We will also restructure Transport Malta and other central entities along regional lines so that local decisions can be made faster, without endless bureaucratic delays. We will also give councils much greater freedom to plan and carry out community projects that their residents actually want, without having to beg the central government for permission.

2. Return waste collection to local councils

The shift of waste collection from local councils to regional administrators has been a failure. Malta does not have real, culturally or socially homogeneous regions apart from Gozo, so the regional model was never the right fit. Momentum will return waste collection responsibility to local councils, where it belongs. Councils that share roads and boundaries, such as Sliema, St Julian’s and the Gżira promenade, would be encouraged to coordinate together. Local problems need local solutions.

3. Transform Gozo into a genuine European region

Gozo’s current semi-autonomous status is not working. It delivers neither real self-governance nor the European regional funding Gozo could access as a proper region. Momentum will work to transform Gozo into a genuine European region with a regional council directly elected by its residents. This would give Gozitans real democratic control over their own affairs and open the door to European regional funds that are currently out of reach. More broadly, Momentum will also work to help all local councils access European regional funds more flexibly for projects like waste management and community improvements, arguing for less bureaucracy in how EU funding rules apply at local level.

“Local councils are expected to deliver for their communities with one hand tied behind their back. Part-time pay, no independent revenue, and central government blocking even basic decisions that directly impact the residents. Momentum in Parliament will change that,” said Billy Mcbee, Momentum’s candidate in district 1 and district 6. 

Momentum believes that the best government is the one closest to the people. That starts with trusting local councils to do their job properly.

There is hope, you can help!

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