This speech was prepared by David Fenech of Swieqi Pressure Group for the occasion of the Swieqi Protest on Sunday 31st August. The Swieqi Pressure Group has no affiliation with Momentum.
David Fenech – Swieqi Pressure Group
We are here to speak about , once again, the key problems that Swieqi (and indeed a growing number of other areas in Malta) faces on a daily basis. In particular, the noise/ vandalism, rubbish and lack of enforcement that have helped change Swieqi from a quiet , family friendly residential town to a noisy and dirty almost free for all that is overrun, particularly but not only in Summer, by particular “tourists” who mostly but not exclusively stay in short lets.
Let me be clear. The issue is of course very closely associated with short lets; especially those that do not follow the existing laws and rules, and of course those that aren’t even registered as short lets. These aren’t a few; they are many. These “tourists” keep blaring loud music and even louder swearing at night, both on the verandas as well as on the streets when they return , drunk and frequently also half naked, with vandalism to property (cars and homes) being quite common.
The local council, particularly but not only through the mayor, Noel Muscat, this pressure group, many individuals do their best with reporting as many of these situations as possible, and the police and other authorities are trying but they are stretched way too thinly. We don’t have a police station in Swieqi.. we rely on the St Julian’s one which is of course overwhelmed. The local council have their resources massively restricted, at best, and can only do so much.
So what can be done to improve the situation? Keeping it short, I will mention 3 relatively quick and easy proposals, that, as long as there is the will, can be implemented.
- ENFORCEMENT needs to be consistent, visible, and seen as a real deterrent by finally giving police and other authorities the power to issue on the spot fines, and the reopening of the Swieqi police station to have a 24 hour coverage of all of Swieqi through a team dedicated to the town. Ideally a small percentage of these fines goes to the LC to help with installation and monitoring of Security Cameras in known hotspots. One recent example showed that even with a few visits from the police at one particular hotspot, managed to improve matters substantially in that specific place. So MORE of this is required.
- Proper regulation of all short and long lets, with regular spot checks. Tenants breaking to laws are to received on the spot fines; IF the landlord is also at fault, there should be substantial fines followed by temporary withholding of licence of short lets/ long lets/student accommodation who are found to be repeat (e.g. 3 times in 12 months). All blocks of apartments need to have a condominium manager who IS responsible for ensuring these laws are followed, and has the ability to call in the police when tenants don’t follow. The contact number of any responsible person should be listed outside the apartment.
- A better rubbish collection system is required , tackling both the issues related to better collection schedules as well as the sheer lawlessness of many.