One cannot help but feel the frustration of the Valletta restaurant owner who found private trenching works blocking its entrance. Warren Cremona was forced to close his premises for a week, costing him thousands of euros in lost business and discarded ingredients. He says he was not given advance warning. The story exposes the deep flaws within the system and vividly portrays the widespread apathy that keeps driving the country down. The works ran down an important road in the capital in connection with a nearby hotel development. The hotel developer did not respond to a request for comment. Transport Malta shrugged its shoulders and said the applicant “is responsible for communicating the timing and logistics of the infrastructural works to third parties”. The permit does not fall within the remit of the Valletta local council – which at least provided a makeshift bridge across the pavement. And this is the way it goes. Commuters and pedestrians, residents and businesses, all are faced with torn-up pavements, roads closed off, construction vehicles blocking roads, and so on. All too often no warning is given, as in the case above. There is no coordination across councils, so traffic is diverted by a road closure without any awareness of the chaos it causes further down. Roads are closed without permits, let alone wardens guiding traffic. Pavements are ripped up without warning, trapping people in their homes and cars in their garages. And even when there are diversions, signs remain up for months after the works have finished, meaning most are ignored by the public who assume they are outdated! In an emergency, such as the complete collapse of a building, a fire or an evacuation, the impact on the innocents is also ignored. Roads and businesses are closed with no indication given as to for how long, or what people should do in the meantime, let alone who – if anyone – will foot the bill. It is clear that there is a price for our economic growth but that does not mean that we should allow jungle law to take over. If the island needs to have construction, power upgrades, road surfacing and more, then it has to be matched by good coordination and clear responsibilities. If a permit was issued for the pavement works in Valletta, then the applicant should have had a clear list of responsibilities and should have demonstrated how they were going to fulfil these – before a single hole was drilled into the pavement. The government cannot overlook the cumulative effect of all these works: the noise and the dust are just one facet; people need to know how to get from A to B, and if a road is closed, or a pavement is dug up, then there is an obligation to provide alternatives. People should not have to resort to social media to air their frustrations, which are all too often caused by the ‘shoulder-shrugging’ of each entity insisting it is not their responsibility. Some incidents are ridiculous enough to demonstrate how bad the situation is. Recently, a car was parked on a road awaiting resurfacing – and a resident tried in vain to get it towed. The result was tarmac being laid around the parked car. This is yet another symptom of the chronic dilettantism that still prevails – where residents are treated with disregard and shop owners are left to bear the costs of official disorganisation. Is it really too much to ask for competent planning (often at no cost) and basic respect?