More than €3 million towards projects in 16 different localities
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg and Parliamentary Secretaries Chris Agius and Silvio Parnis yesterday met representatives from 16 local councils to present them with funds allocated from the Planning Authority’s Development Planning Fund towards several projects in their localities.
The councils benefitting from these funds are; Fgura, Żebbuġ, Ta’ Xbiex, Senglea, Qormi, Swieqi, Santa Venera, Gudja, Nadur, Ħamrun, Valletta, Vittoriosa, Siġġiewi, Cospicua, Lija and Birkirkara.
“Collective work – work with local councils which is an essential link in the chain that makes up the government’s holistic plan. I believe that councils are the institution closest to the citizen...” This was the beginning of Minister Borg’s speech. He continued by explaining how his work often gave him the opportunity to meet with council representatives. He said he understood how important it was that they had funds to implement projects through which they could bring about benefits for their communities.
The minister referred to the garden where the activity was held in Santa Venera, which is among the projects being financed. He said that local councils had an opportunity to continue creating and improving open spaces for their residents, would will happen with that garden.
He explained how the funds had come from development taking place within the localities and, thanks to those funds, local councils had the opportunity to develop projects which contribute to the localities through a better environment for their communities. Minister Borg announced that the Planning Authority was signing around 16 different contracts and said that in order to increase help to councils, this fund now allowed councils to receive up to 30 per cent of a project’s value before it even started in order to help initiate projects. This comes after help was already given when additional types of projects eligible for the fund were included, as some large projects which had not been eligible before – such as civic centres – could never have been possible without such help. The minister said that the government was determined to continue helping local councils to thrive and improve their communities.
“This only means that 16 localities in our country and their residents will be benefitting from these projects. Since the launch of the fund in 2017, we have allocated €7.5 million, which mean a better quality of life for the residents of several localities around Malta and Gozo. Today we are funding projects with a total value of over €3 million,” said Minister Borg.
He thanked the local councils which worked to present their projects and, while wishing them the best for their implementation, encouraged other local councils to come forward as well. He added that €29 million remained available for local councils to benefit from.
Parliamentary Secretary for Planning and the Property Market Chris Agius commended the local councils and their initiatives, and encouraged other local councils to come forward with their own proposals.
He referred to the fact that more than €1 million would be distributed in funds from the Development Planning Fund to several councils today. The parliamentary secretary explained how this money came from payments requested from developers as part of the development process. These payments help by contributing to the environment and other facilities for communities.
Parliamentary Secretary Agius concluded by commending the Planning Authority for its commitment in this regard and the work it was carrying out towards a better environment for Maltese and Gozitan communities, especially through the fund.
Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government and Communities Silvio Parnis noted with satisfaction that the funds given to these local councils through the Development Planning Fund were being reused by the same local councils for the good of the community. The parliamentary secretary stated that the local council is the entity closest to the citizen and therefore has a duty to invest in its community. Yesterday’s initiative was a clear example of unity between the central government and the local councils as they were investing together in our country’s localities.