Dismantling the Gozo ministry

It is now clear that the powers that be within the governing party have decided to weaken as much as possible the authority the Ministry for Gozo has gained since it came into being in May 1987.

In the past, it was Dr Alfred Sant, leader of the Labour Party and of the Opposition, who undermined the ministry. So much so that during his term of office between 1996 and 1998, he did away with a Minister for Gozo and appointed a Parliamentary Secretary instead.

To the credit of the appointee, Dr Anton Refalo, the ministry set-up continued to function. Dr Refalo, in the footsteps of his predecessor, Anton Tabone, now Speaker of the House, proceeded to do his utmost for the progress of Gozo.

He did not, however, have a voice in the Cabinet and, as a result, he could not promote the interests of the island at the topmost level. His lack of authority became clear when the Labour Government decided to raise the Gozo-Malta ferry fares astronomically Dr Refalo was not even consulted.

When the Nationalist Party was returned to power in 1998, the Gozo Ministry was reinstated and Mrs Giovanna Debono was appointed Minister for the first time. She was confirmed as Minister for Gozo for a second term when the Nationalists were re-elected in 2003.

Mrs Debono has also striven hard to do her best for Gozo. However, it has become amply clear to observers in the political field that she is receiving a cold shoulder from several quarters. The role of the Ministry for Gozo is being eroded by the week. This was confirmed in the past weeks when Mrs Debono was kept completely in the background regarding decisions related to important projects in Gozo.

First we had Dr Austin Gatt, Minister responsible for parastatal companies, boasting through a Government press release about the second rise in fares for the Gozo-Malta ferry services in a year - a rise that will affect cars and not foot passengers (The Times, May 11).

The ferry service, he said, is a commercial reality; ergo the fare had to be increased. He inferred that the Gozitans have no right to grumble that the fare is rising for a second time in a year.

Members of the Gozo Business Chamber who raised a cry about the milking of the Gozitans, were accused by Minister Gatt of making "attempts to fly in the face of facts and lobby the government to divorce consumer prices for the ferry service from commercial reality". Forget the fact that Dr Gatt's government has done this for years without end to other entities in Malta. For him, however, a Gozo-related enterprise has to be treated commercially; nothing more, nothing less.

One may argue that a 25c rise on Lm3 for holders of Gozo identity cards is nothing. It is actually a hefty rise of 8.3 per cent - a rise that will in no way be reflected in the take-home stipends or wages of Gozitan students and workers who study or work in Malta. Pause for a moment and think what would happen if it was decided to raise VAT by 8.3 per cent. All hell would break loose.

It must be reiterated at this point that the fare for a Gozo resident and his car has shot up by an incredible 62.5 per cent in the past 12 months; that is from Lm2 on May 31, 2004, it has become Lm3.25 on June 1, 2005. The Minister for Gozo was forced to digest a second increase in 12 months, an increase that according to statistics is having a devastating effect on Gozitan business. We have no doubt that the minister tried her best to halt this milking of the Gozitan students and workers. However the ministry she heads was overruled by another.

The second episode, in the space of four days, regarded the launching of the new designs for the Mgarr terminal that MEPA (the Malta Environment and Planning Authority) had approved earlier in the day.

Who would you expect to speak in the local newspapers and on the national TV channels about the upgrading of the Mgarr harbour, Gozo's lifeline to the world? The Minister for Gozo, one would presume. This was not however the case. It was Çensu Galea, the Minister responsible for competitiveness and communications, who was explaining the enterprise and taking the pats on his back for the reborn project (In-Nazzjon, May 14).

These are disturbing signals. The workings of the Ministry for Gozo are being minimised slowly but progressively. Gozo is losing what it has achieved through hard work in the past.