San Gwann council faces structural issues

The council seems to have its priorities backwards. Now that school is out for the summer months, the upkeep of the playground at Taz-Zwejt looks to have been abandoned.

A metal swing set lies bereft of any chains and seats. A wooden horse has lost its head, while another is missing all four limbs. The head and legs lie discarded in the nearby garden, as the body rests against a bench. The see-saw has lost one of its sides, leaving a jagged piece of wood for children to sit on.

The whole area is littered with takeout bags, empty plastic bottles, used tissues, dog waste and other garbage. Meanwhile a colony of ants has assumed the management of the playground in lieu of the local council.

At the same time, a villa purchased by the local council in 2000, to be used as its administrative base, has suffered serious structural damages.

Sources close to the local council alleged that the building was purchased in hurriedly and a proper check was not carried out. In 2000 the purchase of the villa was surrounded in allegations that a number of councillors had received payments for accelerating the process.

"While it was true that the San Gwann council needed an alternative office to the one in Vjal ir-Rihan, the purchase of the villa was done in a hurried way", sources have told MaltaToday. Amongst the structural issues, the villa, situated at 55 Caruana Dingli Street, had no access to its own roof. Temporary access was made through a small shaft.

Over the years, the offices have developed further structural issues. The garage ceiling caved in and had to be reinforced, floor tiles cracked and parts of the villa were declared unsafe by architects. In the early hours of Monday, parts of the ceiling inside the room used for computer lessons collapsed. The damages are still being assessed as insurers and architects pen their estimates.

The council is still paying the bank loan for the purchase of the villa, which in 2000 had set the council's finances back by over €100,000.