PN criticises government over waste collection failures

The Nationalist Party (PN) issued a statement on Tuesday criticising the government over mounting waste collection failures in Sliema, Swieqi, St Julian's and surrounding localities. The statement was signed by Alex Perici Calascione, PN Shadow Minister for Tourism and Bernice Bonello, PN Shadow Minister for Local Government and Public Works.

Residents in the affected areas have been contending with daily accumulations of rubbish bags throughout the summer, with waste frequently spilling from pavements onto roads. PN attributes the deterioration directly to a government-imposed centralised waste collection system that stripped local councils of the responsibility they previously held within their own localities. "It is pointless for the Government to now admit that cleanliness and street waste collection are among the greatest challenges facing local councils when this challenge was, in essence, created by the Government itself as part of its strategy of weakening those very same local councils," the statement reads.

PN is calling for local councils to be restored full responsibility for waste collection in their individual localities. The party is also demanding that revenue generated from the environmental contribution – the eco-tax paid by tourists – be allocated to the local councils in the localities where that contribution is collected. The eco-tax has recently been increased substantially, the statement notes, though the precise figure was not specified.

PN characterises the government as having acknowledged that cleanliness and street waste collection rank among the greatest challenges facing local councils, while arguing that the government itself created those conditions through its centralisation policy. No government statement or direct quote was reproduced in the PN text to confirm the wording or context of any such acknowledgement.

"Residents genuinely deserve better, and Malta's tourism product cannot continue to suffer as a result of this strategy," the statement concludes, warning that the situation in popular tourist areas poses a reputational risk to Malta as a quality tourism destination.