New law does not oblige minister to consult councils on road works, Opposition complains

The new law setting up the agency responsible for the roads does not oblige the roads minister to consult local councils on which roads in their localities should be done first.

And yet the councils would still be held responsible if somebody suffered damages because of poor roads, the Opposition's spokesman on the infrastructure said on Tuesday.

Toni Bezzina was speaking during the second day of the debate in parliament on the setting up of Infrastructure Malta, as the new agency will be called.

On Monday, minister Ian Borg said he would consult the councils about the works to be done within their boundaries. 

Mr Bezzina said that despite the minister's declaration, this did not emerge from the law itself.

He said that although he agreed with the formation of an agency to assist councils with maintaining Malta’s road networks, he did not agree with the complete removal of their responsibility and control over roads falling within their jurisdiction.

He criticised the government for shifting the blame for the dilapidated state of Maltese roads onto local councils, pointing out that some roadworks for which the government was responsible had been underway since the last months of...