Aaron Farrugia has promised to fix up San Anton even though the environment ministry is only responsible for “soft landscaping and ponds” within the gardens. Taking to Facebook, Farrugia said he joined others in expressing disappointment in the dilapidated state of the gardens, which require structural works on the walls and paving. Farrugia said even though his ministry is not responsible for these works, debates about who is responsible for the maintenance is secondary in people’s eyes. The environment minister said he had, therefore, asked the “authorities” to find funding for the necessary works to be carried out immediately. Valletta Cultural Agency and ONE TV head Jason Micallef cast the matter into the national spotlight this week after his social media posts showing the gardens in a state of disrepair went viral. “San Anton Gardens abandoned. It’s difficult to believe it. The nicest and best public garden of its type in the country is in a state of almost total abandon. “A heart-wrenching sight of national shame,” he wrote. In a subsequent post, he clarified that maintenance of the gardens was not the President’s responsibility. The posts generated hundreds of comments...
