The Secretary to the Maltese Local Council

Abstract

The introduction of local councils by means of Act XV of 1993 to make provision for the setting up of local councils in Malta was not the first type of local government in the Maltese islands. The first to introduce local government in Malta were the French in 1798. During this period Malta and Gozo were divided in nine municipalities together with two 'cantoni' which included the three cities, Cospicua, Vittoriosa and Senglea on one side and Valletta and Floriana on the other side. The work of these municipalities consisted of storing and rationing food, renaming of streets and the administration of the 'Massa frumenteria' until the necessary reorganization was carried out. This type of local government lasted only until the French were defeated in the 1798 uprisings. Under the English rule, from 1801 to 1839, the Maltese islands were governed by government officials under the name of lieutenants and mayors. The role of these lieutenants was to maintain law and order in their respective village. An interesting job which these lieutenants were assigned was that they were obliged to carry out random checks on merchants in their bid to curb price abuses and any kind of cheating from the retailer's side. These lieutenants were staffed according to the population of their respective locality [...]