Franco Mercieca
Whose Gozo dream is it anyway?
The Sunday Times (January 23) carried my article entitled ‘Minding our gap’, which listed the difficulties the Gozitan community encounters every day due to the absence of a permanent road link between Gozo and Malta.
In the article I also mentioned the notion of an undersea tunnel.
The statistics of the Eiksund Tunnel, which to date is the world’s deepest undersea tunnel, were compared to the requirements for our channel. Constructing this 7.77 km-long tunnel at 287 metres below sea level had cost the Norwegian Public Roads Administration NOK 500 million, which is equivalent to around €65 million.
What amazed me was the rapid sequence of events that followed my article.
On January 29, the Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi inaugurated a wind turbine at the FXB factory in Xewkija. However, by the next morning the turbine was gone with the wind and the front page news was FXB chairman Joe Borg’s comment on the need for a permanent road between Malta and Gozo.
If this was not enough, Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said stole The Times’ headlines on January 31, saying the tunnel was his childhood dream, and was his and only his proposal.
Since then we have witnessed a barrage of comments in the media lest we forget it was Said’s personal proposal.
Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan. Plagiarism is not a crime but it is disapproved on moral grounds.
How can the current administration be trusted when over the past two decades it has invested heavily in the Gozo Channel Company with a quarter of a billion euros on the ferries, the Mġarr terminal, and the so far incomplete Cirkewwa terminal? Never was there any mention of the possibility of a fixed link.
Isn’t it a huge coincidence that after 23 years of dead silence, a tsunami of media comments on the fixed link proposal followed my article? Is it my imagination that they keep repeating that Borg’s timely allusion to the permanent road kick-started the much needed debate?
I assure people that this debate is what I wished for when I wrote the article and I have no intention of assuming ownership of the idea as this has been discussed by all Gozitan commuters umpteen times, especially during eventful crossings.
The positive thing about all this is that most of us are in favour of a permanent link, and therefore let us now confirm our impression with the Gozitan electorate and have a responsible, mature debate on the issue rather than squabbling for credit.
No wonder the possibility of the fixed link was described by Said as his “childhood dream”, because it is the dream of every Gozitan youth who has to travel daily, first for schooling and then for work. The toll is becoming quite costly, as the absence of such a link is leaving Gozo brain and skill drained.
The business community in Gozo is feeling abandoned by the current administration and it would be a huge mistake if the permanent link option is abused or thrown in as a lifesaving device.
Gozo needs long-term strategies, not the sudden realisation of dreams. My suggestion was to formulate a long-term contingency plan in order to prepare ourselves for the end of the lifecycle of the current ferries.
Proper studies and long-term aims should precede political opportunism and media-grabbing activism.
We are still eagerly awaiting a clear, honest declaration of the budget entrusted to Transport Malta with the timeframe to complete the necessary feasibility studies. Otherwise it will be difficult to convince us that this was not another political gimmick.
Or could this wake-up call from his childhood dream be a knee jerk reaction to the fact that the author of the article happens to be a prospective Labour candidate?
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Joe Micallef
Feb 14th 2011, 08:27
Lanqas int pruzuntuz sur Mercieca!
J Falzon
Feb 14th 2011, 16:28
and can you please tell us what qualifies Mr. Mercieca as a 'pruzuntuz' in your opinion? Please enlighten us.
Marcel Mejlaq Vella
Feb 14th 2011, 01:16
An excellent proposal coming from a good prospective labour candidate who has put on the national agenda all the Gozitan's needs, regardless of their political colour and beliefs. Politicians like Dr Mercieca are needed in Gozo - who works for the interest of Gozo in general, not politicans who are only after their personal interests and of their supporters, whilst forgetting the important needs of the island and its population. Keep up the good work, Dr Mercieca, I am sure that open-minded people are backing you.
Franco J scicluna
Feb 13th 2011, 19:07
VERY WELL SAID DR. MERCIECA.JUST KEEP THE KETTLE BOILING.MOST GOZITANS ARE BEHIND YOU.
M Azzopardi
Feb 13th 2011, 16:30
It is a great relief to know that you are a prospective Labour candidate. You do not need politics neither to improve your career nor status since you have already reached the apex of your profession. But being a person with a high dosage of altruistic traits, drives you to follow this political road. You will be a valid asset to the Labour Party. Nadur, Gozo
Petrina Jones
Feb 13th 2011, 11:28
I was so surprised to see the front page articles regarding the tunnel between Malta and Gozo so soon after Mr Mercieca's article . It was too much of a coincidense that "childhood dreams" emerged at the same time. Please give honour where honour is due - Mr Mercieca's article was accompanied with facts and a great amount of research on the subject. I strongly believe that imitation is the best form of admiration. Keep up the good ideas Mr Mercieca and never mind the plagiarists.
Petrina Jones
Feb 13th 2011, 11:22
My reaction to the front page articles regarding the tunnel between Malta and Gozo o soon aftr
Mike Micallef
Feb 13th 2011, 11:09
Quite honestly I found this article, especially its title, quite confusing. Dr Mercieca is first claiming credit for the proposal, also referring to plagiarism, then saying he has no intention of assuming ownership when the title indicates that its all what it is about.... Then I came to the last line, and saw the phrase "a prospective Labour candidate" and AHA! There it was... with all of Gozo ( including its parish priests) enthusiastic about the idea, but with one Gozo Labour MP having repeatedly expressed doubts if not outright resistance, then a question arises...was the message of ownership of the idea, or maybe just subscription to it, being sent in house to that same MP...This intra party throwing of the gauntlet should serve as an 'eye opener' for Dr Anton Refalo ( any reference to Dr Mercieca's profession here being purely coincidental) .
George Frendo
Feb 13th 2011, 18:46
Your comment its self is very confusing and has no concrete basis.
M Azzopardi
Feb 13th 2011, 20:08
Can you explain what you want to say as I didn't understand your message.
This is not an issue about ownership but the impact of 'Minding the Gap' article.
What I understood from your comments is that you were irritated by the last paragraph.. Can you explain why? Doesn't Dr Mercieca have a right to do so? is he a threat?
John C Micallef
Feb 13th 2011, 10:20
There will probably be 1,001 good reasons to justify a permanenet link between Malta and Gozo, however, I see this as contradictory in economic and social terms.
Apart from the fact that as Mr. Mercieca correctly mentioned - the investment in Gozo Channel and the terminals - goes against any other different plans, I also see this sudden need for a permanent link as an acceptance of the failure of making Gozo attactive to businesses. A permanent link won't make Gozo more economically viable (unless we are expecting factories to be built, needing raw material from Malta). Instead it just shows that Gozitans will continue to depend on the 'Maltese' economy in order to make a living. So much for our trust in Gozo and its potential - both as human resources and natural resources.
This is a statement to all Gozitans telling them: Forget ever being able to commute up to Victoria for work, you'll still need to drive all the way to Floriana to earn a living.
Is this what people want to hear?