The good governance of Gozo has always been an issue on the political agenda of the country. This year, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Gozo Civic Council. The council had been set up as a statutory local government in the island of Gozo on April 14, 1961. This was the first experience of local government in Malta since the French occupation of 1798-1800. The law empowered the council to collect and impose taxes, although it never actually made use of this power. In June 1971, the Malta Labour Party was voted into office.
As its support in Gozo was very weak and it favoured a purely centralised style of governance, it proposed a referendum in 1973 on the abolishment of the council, laying emphasis on the unpopular possibility of it raising taxes.
Despite pressures to abolish the council by the MLP, only 195 opted to vote out of the 15,621 electors entitled to express their will. Notwithstanding the very low turnout, the government proceeded with its plans to abolish the Gozo Civic Council. The administration of Gozo was centralised in Valletta and Gozitan affairs became the direct responsibility of the Office of the Prime Minister.
In the following 14 years, Gozo was under direct rule without any form of representation in the Executive. It was only in 1987, with the election of a new Nationalist government, that the Ministry of Gozo was set up giving the island a voice in the Cabinet of ministers.
Local government was restored with the establishment of 14 Gozitan local councils in 1993. However, since then, no other directly elected body, or civic council, has been re-established.
What’s the next step forward? During a recent seminar to mark the 50th anniversary of the Gozo Civic Council, Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said floated the idea that it was time to consider the establishment of a “regional administration” for Gozo. He envisaged that many issues would remain devolved to local councils and the ministry would retain its present role while the regional council would work on regional matters in the same way the Gozo Civic Council before it used to do.
But the newly branded Labour Party wants to picture itself as a protagonist in the changing process by trying to recount the events and to write Gozitan history in a different manner. Suffice to mention one single fact among others: when the Ministry for Gozo was demoted to a parliamentary secretariat between 1996 and 1998, when, consequently, Gozitan affairs once again became the direct responsibility of the Office of the Prime Minister.
According to a newly-formed PL faction in Gozo, the proposals to consider the concept of a Gozo Regional Council and the construction of a tunnel link between the islands is mere adulation of Labour’s proposals.
However, facts show differently and concrete measures are being taken in order to put in practice what is being proposed and discussed by the government. A case in point is the pre-feasibility study of the tunnel being carried out by the firm Mott Macdonald.
As history shows, Labour never favoured any form of real local autonomy; its negative stance when local councils were launched is a case in point. To be credible on fundamental issues, it is a must to remain consistent. Anything else is mere pure political speculation.
In my opinion, the setting up of a regional council is the first step towards the establishment of a proper Regional Assembly. A model that can be followed is that of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The Assembly is composed of 90 deputies elected by direct election every five years. There is also the model found in Scotland where the Scottish government is responsible for all issues that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament at Westminster. Devolved matters include the national health services, education, justice and policing, rural affairs, economic development and transport.
A similarity between the two models is the direct election of regional representatives. The Scottish model also includes the allocation of a budget specific for the needs of the region (£30 billion in 2007-2008). Obviously, the Scottish model is not apt for a tiny island like Gozo. However, some of its aspects can be easily adopted for a regional structure.
I am convinced that more autonomy will bring about the introduction of the needed measures in order to renew the Gozitan economy. The decision-making process must move closer to the people and listen to their needs more attentively.
Investing more in the financial services sector and gaming industries is a priority for Gozo. Furthermore, Gozo needs to be given its fair share of the foreign investment coming to our country. A Regional Assembly will have the power and the means to attract such investment directly towards our island. Evidently, in the process there must be an exercise to prevent the creation of a bureaucratic system.
On a final note, continuous effort not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential.