Mayors give ‘thumbs up’ to a new local enforcement system

Several mayors across various localities in Malta and Gozo have agreed that a new local enforcement system is necessary, as government plans to take over the deployment of wardens in Maltese streets.

Last week, the Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government José Herrera outlined plans to create a new centralised unit to take over the manning of local wardens. The reform aims at making wardens "friendlier" and better received by the public, by removing the need to finance the private companies that are providing them with a steady stream of fines.

Pledging a 30% reduction in costs, Herrera's solution will be to turn the LES into a national unit of wardens serving councils, rather than the private operators taking over 70% of the total fines issued over the years.

But uncollected fines and a decline in contraventions and speeding offences being committed has rendered the system unsustainable to run, as costs increase and revenues fall.

Described by Herrera as "fairer and more transparent" system, the key change would be to grant the current management committee that runs the LES the power to create a centralised unit to enforce the laws delegated to the five regional committees.

MaltaToday contacted several mayors across Malta and Gozo to see what they made of the proposed changes to the system. While some local councils declined to comment, the general consensus seemed to be that a change was in fact necessary.

The mayor of Swieqi, Noel Muscat, said that there was "no doubt" that the current system had to be adjusted. "More wardens are necessary, and it is even more important to make sure wardens do their job - something which has not always been the case."

Muscat said that a report identifying the areas where local warden fines had been issued, showed him that these prime "catchment areas" were not the ones that needed the most surveillance. "What the report showed me was that the areas needing surveillance the most - the commercial areas - were, in fact, the places where the least number of tickets were being issued," he said.

Muscat said this clearly showed that the wardens were not going where their 'help' was really needed. "We want wardens to help and educate the public, but the reality is that people's perception of wardens is not going to go away just like that."

However Muscat asked whether councils would have to make up for losses incurred in the financing of a new national unit for local enforcement. "If this new unit had to make losses, who will be made to pay for these losses? Will the government fork out the money or will the local councils have to do so?"

Mosta mayor Shirley Farrugia said that a reform of the system was "definitely called for" but said the emphasis should be on how to reinvest money earned into the localities. "Despite the fact that a lot of money was being generated, the vast majority of it is not being reinvested into the localities," she said, hinting at the costliness of running the CCTV systems and employing wardens.

According to one report by he OPM's management efficiency unit seen by MaltaToday, between 2003 and 2008 wardens and speed cameras issued a total of 1.6 million tickets at a value of €56 million. The actual number of tickets paid was much lower, with 'only' €39 million received by local councils - leaving well over 25% of unpaid tickets in bad debts. The system is costly to run. Of the €23 million in cost, €19 million was the cost of wardens (53%) and IT services (31%) for the running of the speed cameras by Datatrak. The rest went to other direct costs - leaving little for local councils.

Qormi mayor Rosianne Cutajar, a supporter of the reform, said that "by contracting thousands upon thousands of euros" in expenses for wardens from private companies, the system had proved to be far from cost-effective. "Centralising the system could result in saving a large amount of funds, which could then be reinvested into the locality."

Cutajar also said the LES should no longer be under the remit of the regional councils, the committees grouping local councils to contract out the private companies for warden services. "Regional committees should assist local councils to access funds fro from the European Regional Development Fund Programmes and carry out research projects into traffic 'black dust' or flooding," she suggested.

Hamrun mayor Vincent Bonello also said the idea of using wardens to "educate citizens" and instill discipline had long been forgotten. "Wardens are no longer respected as they should be," he said.

Birkirkara mayor Joanne Debono Grech agreed with this premise, stressing that wardens should serve as "educators, not tax collectors".

And Samuel Azzopardi, mayor of Rabat in Gozo, said that the Gozo regional committee are yet to discuss the government's proposals. "We have already outlined the financial difficulties the region is facing with the system presently in place. It's very important that the new unit is more efficient, less expensive and more resident-friendly."

Azzopardi said the new system should ensure that regions are not "burdened with high costs" and also ensure that the protection of the environment is treated as a priority.