AD says Budget fails Gozitans

Alternattiva Demokratika said yesterday that the 2005 Budget lacked a vision for sustainable development which created jobs for Gozitans and it called for the publication of appropriate statistics on Gozo.

Victor Galea, spokesman for AD's Gozo Regional Committee, expressed AD's disappointment that according to the Economic Survey the capital expenditure for Gozo this year was the lowest in the last four years.

"(There was) a drop of 44 per cent from 2003. Could this drop in funding explain the growing state of neglect and shabbiness in Gozo?"

AD also noted that the Budget allocation for Gozo was Lm1,643,000 or 11 per cent lower than the previous year.

"While AD appreciates the need for sacrifices to reduce the national deficit, it is unacceptable that Gozitans are asked to make a disproportionate sacrifice compared to the rest of Malta."

AD said it was also disappointed that the National Statistics Office did not yet have reliable economic statistics on Gozo. "Without statistics, the government cannot be held politically responsible for the island's economic performance."

Furthermore, without statistics, Gozo was going to encounter difficulties in applying for EU funding which meant that most Gozitans were right in their feeling of disillusionment in the EU accession scenario. "This is very disappointing when one considers that 60 per cent of Gozitans voted in favour of EU accession," AD said.