It is time to consider a regional administration for Gozo, within the national context and using the existing set-up, according to the Parliamentary Secretary for Local Councils, Chris Said.
He was addressing a seminar yesterday to mark the 50th anniversary of the Gozo Civic Council, abolished in 1973, and to spark a debate on the “best model” for a regional structure he believed was necessary to run the “island region”, which has its own specific needs, today.
The Gozo Ministry and the local councils represented the central government on a regional basis and the discussion would propose the best form of coordination, Dr Said argued.
Saying he was open to suggestions, Dr Said noted he had his own “idea” on how the regional council could work: the structure could be presided over by the Gozo Minister, appointed by the government, with representatives of the localities and the involvement of Gozitan MPs.
The regional council would determine proposals specific to Gozo in terms of the environment, planning and the economy, he said, insisting, however, that it was not about separating Gozo from Malta.
Many issues would remain in the hands of local councils and the ministry would retain its role while the council would work on regional matters in much the same way as its 1961 predecessor, which was responsible for the opening of the hospital and factories and the development of tourism at the time.
The seminar at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz, asked whether the short-lived Gozo Civic Council was an experience of the past or a model for the future, with most speakers opting for the latter and insisting on the importance of self-governance, multi-level governments and the benefits of region-ality.
Organising committee chairman Anton Tabone, who was appointed the first Minister of Gozo Affairs in 1987, made a strong case for the need of regional administration in his opening address.
“Gozo is not a colony of Malta, the Cinderella of the Maltese Islands,” he said, auguring it would one day be the “princess”.
“So far, it is one of the five paper regions but there is enough space for the regional aspect of its administration to be taken on board. In between the ministry and the local councils is the need for a regional set-up. They can complement and converge into a working structure, where its regional rights would be considered.”
Mr Tabone said he wanted Gozo to be an asset not a liability to the archipelago’s economy, apart from putting the Gozitans in a position to “propose and activate”.
Gozo Bishop Mario Grech said that if the island was given an institution like the civic council, distinct from the central administration and truly representative of the region, based on the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, the Gozitans’ interests would be more safeguarded and their contribution to the country would be greater.
Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono was more non-committal about the cause, focusing on her ministry’s role in promoting the already existing regional administration of the island, which was also brought about through the local councils, and always in the national context.
Despite the general enthusiasm about Gozo’s regionality, reservations about the possibility of over-governance were put across from the floor. With a ministry, 14 local councils and a regional committee, the formula already existed and could be built on, it was pointed out.
The seminar was also addressed by Civex president Luc Van den Brande, Gozo region president Samuel Azzopardi, the Labour spokesman for local government, Stefan Buontempo and Edward Warrington, head of the Department of Public Policy at the University of Malta.