Gozitans' views - survey conclusions

The survey confirms the strong regional identity among residents of Gozo, to the extent that a staggering 92% of them consider themselves to be 'primarily Gozitan', while a mere 5.7% feel that they are 'primarily Maltese'.

More females declared that they feel 'primarily Gozitan' than their male counterparts (94.8% vs 89.1%). Respondents' pride in being Gozitan is highest among the youngest (16-25: 95.85%); among those who belong to the DE socio-economic category (97.7%) and among readers of The Malta Independent on Sunday (94.4%), but it is lowest among readers of The Sunday Times (87%).

Voting rights

The majority of those residing on the sister island are of the opinion that voting rights should be primarily linked to place of residence and not the place where one spends most time. As such, voting documents should be issued "wherever one owns a house" (74.8%). Only 22.7% of the participants in this study think that the right to vote should be linked to wherever "one spends most of the time", while 6.3% are indifferent on this issue.

Overwhelmingly, Government's efforts to address the needs of Gozo are considered unsatisfactory. As many as 79.3% unequivocally said so, while only 14.7% said that they are happy, while a total of 6% refused to commit themselves.

Male respondents were more critical towards the Government than females (83% vs 75.8%); as were those in the highest socio-economic category (82.1%) and those in the two youngest age groups (26-35: 86.3% and 16-25: 83.3%). Even readers of the Nationalist Party Sunday newspaper Il-Mument registered a high percentage of dissatisfaction, at 81.5%.

Since tourism is one of Gozo's main pillars of its economy, the participants in this survey were also asked whom they consider to be the better tourist: the Maltese or the foreigner. As many as 74.7% favour the Maltese tourist, while only 16.3% said that the foreign tourist is better. The remaining 9% of Gozitans did not answer this question.

A total of 89% of the participants clearly do not think that there are enough work opportunities in Gozo. Only 7.3% are positive in this regard, while another 3.7% did not offer an opinion. More females voiced their concern regarding lack of opportunities to work in Gozo than their male counterparts (92.2% vs 85.7%). This preoccupation was evident especially among the younger participants and among those belonging to the two lowest socio-economic categories.

The ferry service

Participants in this study were asked for their views on the ferry service provided by Gozo Channel. They were first asked whether they thought that the ferry services were satisfactory. Most participants (57.3%) are satisfied with the ferry services provided, but 36% are not, while 6.7% preferred not to comment on this issue. Of the participants who declared being satisfied with the service provided, members of the AB socio-economic category registered the highest incidence (67.9%).

Those participants in this study who had declared their satisfaction with the ferry services were in turn asked for their reasons. The reasons participants gave were that the ferry services are 'frequent' (66.3%); 'comfortable' (45.3%) and that it is an 'all-weather service' (11.6%). However, only 2.3% of the participants said that the service is 'cheap' and a mere 0.6% said it is 'clean'.

In contrast, the main reason brought forward by those who expressed dissatisfaction with the service provided by Gozo Channel was that "the service is too expensive for Gozitans" (51.9%). Other reasons given are: "there are not enough crossings" (43.5%); the trips are "expensive for the Maltese" (33.3%); that "there are usually long queues" (33.3%); "the service is not all weather" (8.3%); "the ferries are not disabled-friendly" (0.9%); "the ferry does not wait for bus" (0.9%); and that there is tendency for the service to "disregard the time-table" (0.9%).

Perceptions

A set of five statements based on popular 'beliefs' or perceptions about Gozo often heard in conversations on Gozo and its way of life were also asked to participants to gauge the extent of agreement or disagreement on five statements. The five statements covered festas, political patronage, the helicopter services and taxation. The findings clearly show that three of the statements are generally agreed to, although to the same degree by residents of Gozo, while the other two are strongly rejected by the Gozitans.

The statement that received the highest level of agreement is that "In Gozo, one is stuck if one does not have friends in politics" (46.89 points on a 100-point index). The very high positive rating given to this statement suggests that Gozitans believe that patronage in politics is a very important in the social life of the sister island. This is followed by the statement "the helicopter service will not succeed (44.89 points), and, much lower down the scale, by the statement "Gozitans spend a lot of energy arguing about festas' (8.44 points).

On the other hand, strong disagreement was registered with the two statements covering taxation. The statement "In Gozo VAT barely exists" was strongly rejected

(-45.56 points), as was the other statement "Gozitans do not pay taxes as much as they should"

(-20.22 points), although not to the same degree. It is clear that among residents in Gozitans many firmly believe that they are not tax evaders as it is at times alleged in common discourse on both islands!

Socio-economic groups

AB: professional, managerial, administrative;

C1: higher clerical, clerical, supervisor, skilled craftsmen and technicians, owner/manager of small business;

C2: skilled manual workers and foremen;

DE: semi-skilled, unskilled, labourers, casual workers and persons whose income is provided by the State.