Gozo tunnel project is an admission of failure

Ironically, the problems cited by Joseph Borg from the Gozo Business Chamber (The View From Lilliput, July 16) confirm one thing: this government has given up on really tackling the crux of the matter – creating jobs in Gozo.

Contrary to what Mr Borg says, I am in contact with various people from farmers to employees to priests, to whatnot.

The reality is that the political climate in Gozo has led investors to shy away from the island because of the constant political interference in things such as who to employ and the “favours” culture were some people prefer to “work” a few hours in the morning and disappear to do something else mid-morning. The reality is that Gozo has become a feudal territory were everything is controlled by the Ministry for Gozo. Mr Borg may not agree with me, but that’s up to him.

Mr Borg says that after queuing for 30 minutes or more there is no guarantee of boarding a ferry. Excuse me, but there you have it: improving the ferry service is the first thing which comes to mind to solve this issue.

How can you even dream up of the expense of a tunnel when the government has abandoned the service to Sa Maison, when the fast catamaran service between Malta and Gozo has been discontinued years and years ago?

How can the proposal be taken seriously when this government has not managed to attract investment in jobs which can easily be done from Gozo, such as in the services and IT sectors?

How can you even dream of a tunnel when this government still has not equipped the Gozo Hospital well enough to avoid stressful trips to Malta? When it takes decades to construct the sea terminals?

Maybe Mr Borg would wish to discuss the tariffs which would need to be charged to maintain a tunnel, or is this issue being avoided on purpose? What about opening up the Gozo-Malta ferry service to other operators? Of course not. A tunnel is a more “sexy” option. Comparing costs of ferries to an underwater tunnel is ridiculous.

As for cars crossing over – I thought the aim was to go for mass public transport to reduce traffic. Then again I might be wrong because you never know what this government’s policy aims really are. A service to Sa Maison or somewhere close to Valletta would have the added benefit of reducing traffic through Xemxija and Għadira.

Maybe Mr Borg chooses to believe the propaganda of the Nationalist Party and government even after years of failing Gozo big time.

This tunnel-frenzy, which started simply because PN’s Chris Said feared being disowned of this pharaonic project by Franco Mercieca from the so-called “progressive and moderate” Labour Party, just confirms one thing: Gozitans have lost all faith that jobs can be created in Gozo. What a shame.

Yes, by all means let us see impact studies, but still this tunnel-frenzy has come about after the total failure of investing sustainably and seriously in Gozo’s long-term prosperity. With politics which has morphed into a feudal system of personal favours according to allegiance to particular politicians and ministers, it is no wonder that we have reached this point.

Perhaps Mr Borg should delve into the real issues which have hindered the social, economic and political development of Gozo in particular, but maybe, just maybe he does not want to rock the boat.