Stqarrija mill-AKL u Arms LTD
Servizz ġdid ta’ ħlas tal-kontijiet fil-Kunsilli Lokali qrib ir-residenti
Residenti f’numru ta’ lokalitajiet issa jistgħu jħallsu l-kontijiet tad-dawl u l-ilma direttament fl-uffiċċji tal-Kunsill Lokali tagħhom, permezz ta’ proġett pilota ġdid li qed jagħmel is-servizzi ta’ ħlas aktar aċċessibbli, konvenjenti u qrib il-komunità.
Din l-inizjattiva qed titwettaq permezz ta’ kollaborazzjoni bejn ARMS Ltd u numru ta’ Kunsilli Lokali li għażlu li jipparteċipaw. L-għan ta’ dan il-proġett huwa li r-residenti jingħataw għażla oħra prattika biex iħallsu l-kontijiet tagħhom.
Is-servizz il-ġdid se jikkumplimenta l-mezzi ta’ ħlas li diġà toffri ARMS Ltd, filwaqt li jsaħħaħ il-prinċipju li s-servizzi pubbliċi għandhom ikunu eqreb tan-nies u mfassla skont il-ħtiġijiet tal-komunitajiet.
Il-Ministru Miriam Dalli qalet: “B’din l-inizjattiva qed inressqu servizz essenzjali aktar viċin ir-residenti. Irridu li l-familji u n-negozji jsibu servizzi pubbliċi aktar faċli, aktar aċċessibbli u aktar marbuta mal-komunità tagħhom. Din il-kollaborazzjoni hija mod ieħor kif qed inkomplu ntejbu l-esperjenza taċ-ċittadin, li saret propju għaliex nisimgħu lin-nies dwar il-bżonnijiet tagħhom.”
Is-Segretarju Parlamentari għall-Gvern Lokali, Alison Zerafa Civelli, qalet li “dan il-proġett pilota huwa eżempju ċar ta’ kif il-Kunsilli Lokali jistgħu jkomplu jsaħħu r-rwol tagħhom fil-komunità billi joffru servizzi li jagħmlu differenza konkreta fil-ħajja ta’ kuljum tar-residenti. Permezz ta’ din il-kollaborazzjoni ma’ ARMS Ltd u l-Assoċjazzjoni tal-Kunsilli Lokali, qed inkomplu nwasslu servizzi pubbliċi aktar qrib in-nies, b’mod aktar aċċessibbli u konvenjenti. Dan huwa pass ieħor lejn gvern lokali aktar modern, effiċjenti u ffukat fuq il-ħtiġijiet reali tal-komunitajiet tagħna. Nirringrazzja lill-Kunsilli Lokali kollha li għażlu li jipparteċipaw f’din l-inizjattiva u nħares ’il quddiem biex aktar lokalitajiet jingħaqdu ma’ dan is-servizz fil-futur.”
Il-Kap Eżekuttiv tal-ARMS, George Azzopardi, qal: “Fil-mira għandna l-qalba diġitali. F’dawn l-aħħar sentejn, tellaqna ħidma kollettiva sabiex neqilbu d-diversi servizzi f’forma diġitali. Ħidma minn fost l-impjegati tal-ARMS stess li qed turi ħafna riżultati. Minkejja dan, l-obbligu jibqa’ li nżommu s-servizz qrib iċ-ċittadin. Permezz ta’ din l-inizjattiva u oħrajn li qed naraw għall-futur, is-servizz tagħna ser jibqa’ jinfirex fil-lokalitajiet madwar Malta u Għawdex.”
Il-President tal-Assoċjazzjoni tal-Kunsilli Lokali, Mario Fava, qal li “bħala Assoċjazzjoni tal-Kunsilli Lokali, nilqgħu b’sodisfazzjon l-iffirmar ta’ dan il-ftehim ma’ ARMS Ltd, li permezz tiegħu diversi Kunsilli Lokali ser ikunu jistgħu joffru servizz addizzjonali ta’ ħlas ta’ kontijiet tad-dawl u l-ilma fil-lokalitajiet tagħhom stess. Dan huwa pass importanti biex il-Kunsilli Lokali jkomplu jsiru aktar relevanti u aktar viċin ir-residenti, billi s-servizzi essenzjali jkunu aktar aċċessibbli għall-komunitajiet tagħna. Aħna nemmnu li l-Kunsilli għandhom jibqgħu qrib in-nies u li r-resident dejjem għandu jiġi l-ewwel. Inħeġġeġ lil aktar Kunsilli Lokali sabiex jieħdu dan l-eżempju u jirreġistraw magħna biex huma wkoll jibdew joffru dan is-servizz lir-residenti tagħhom.”
Il-proġett pilota se jservi wkoll biex jiġi evalwat kif dan il-mudell jista’ jtejjeb il-konsenja tas-servizzi fil-livell lokali u, fejn ikun xieraq, jiġi żviluppat aktar fil-futur.
Kunsilli Lokali parteċipanti
Il-Kunsilli Lokali li huma parti minn dan il-proġett huma dawk ta’ Ħ’Attard, il-Fgura, l-Imqabba, il-Birgu, Ħal Tarxien, il-Belt Valletta, Ħaż-Żebbuġ, il-Gudja, Marsaxlokk, il-Ħamrun, il-Mellieħa, San Ġiljan, l-Isla, Ħal Kirkop, Ta’ Xbiex u l-Kalkara, flimkien mal-Kunsill Reġjonali Tramuntana.
PRESS RELEASE BY AKL AND ARMS LTD
New bill payment service at Local Councils closer to residents
Residents in a number of localities can now pay their electricity and water bills directly at their Local Council offices through a new pilot project aimed at making payment services more accessible, convenient, and closer to the community.
This initiative is being carried out through a collaboration between ARMS Ltd and a number of participating Local Councils. The aim of the project is to provide residents with another practical option for paying their bills.
The new service will complement the payment methods already offered by ARMS Ltd, while reinforcing the principle that public services should be closer to people and designed around the needs of communities.
Minister Miriam Dalli said: “With this initiative, we are bringing an essential service closer to residents. We want families and businesses to find public services easier to access, more accessible, and more closely connected to their community. This collaboration is another way in which we are continuing to improve the citizen experience, made possible precisely because we listen to people about their needs.”
Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Alison Zerafa Civelli said that “this pilot project is a clear example of how Local Councils can continue strengthening their role within the community by offering services that make a concrete difference in residents’ daily lives. Through this collaboration with ARMS Ltd and the Local Councils’ Association, we are continuing to bring public services closer to people in a more accessible and convenient way. This is another step towards a more modern, efficient local government focused on the real needs of our communities. I thank all the Local Councils that chose to participate in this initiative and look forward to more localities joining this service in the future.”
ARMS Chief Executive George Azzopardi said: “Our focus is on digital transformation. Over the past two years, we have undertaken collective work to shift various services into digital form. This work, carried out by ARMS employees themselves, is already producing strong results. Nevertheless, we still have the obligation to keep services close to citizens. Through this initiative and others we are planning for the future, our services will continue expanding across localities throughout Malta and Gozo.”
President of the Local Councils’ Association, Mario Fava, said that “as the Local Councils’ Association, we welcome the signing of this agreement with ARMS Ltd, through which several Local Councils will be able to offer an additional service for paying electricity and water bills within their own localities. This is an important step towards making Local Councils more relevant and closer to residents by ensuring essential services are more accessible to our communities. We believe councils should remain close to people and that residents should always come first. I encourage more Local Councils to follow this example and register with us so they too can begin offering this service to their residents.”
The pilot project will also serve to evaluate how this model can improve service delivery at the local level and, where appropriate, be further developed in the future.
Participating Local Councils
The Local Councils participating in this project are Attard, Fgura, Mqabba, Birgu, Tarxien, Valletta, Żebbuġ, Gudja, Marsaxlokk, Ħamrun, Mellieħa, St Julian’s, Isla, Kirkop, Ta’ Xbiex and Kalkara, together with the Northern Regional Council.
