Sant concentrates on unemployment

Opposition leader Alfed Sant focused on unemployment in a political discussion at Xaghra yesterday, underlining the point that unemployment was rising faster in Gozo than in Malta.

"Now that the Nationalist Party appears to have solved its leadership problem, the government needs urgently to deal with unemployment, because this is not just about numbers, but about families trying to pay for their children's tuition, books, and house loans," Dr Sant said.

He said the government was failing to take any initiative to create work, blaming the current situation on globalisation.

He observed that the number of people registering for work in Malta and Gozo had risen by 915, or 11 per cent, in the year up to January. In Gozo, unemployment was up 13 per cent. ETC figures showed that 44 per cent of the unemployed were under 30 years old.

In Gozo alone, youth unemployment had risen by 17 per cent in a year.

Dr Sant complained that there was no enthusiasm and interest in the running of Gozo. The Labour Party had long been saying that Gozo Channel was being mismanaged, and now it was clearly sinking and the government was considering raising tariffs, he said.