Why should good, sound initiatives be spoiled by stupid and anti-social proposals? The Gozo Channel Co. recently announced mornings trips every half hour. Excellent news. Also, the recent free travel days initiative was admirable.
Gozo Channel has recently employed three new managers to supervise and curb abuse within the company. This added to an already over-staffed set-up.
Now all these initiatives are to be totally erased by a silly pronouncement about priority boarding passes.
The Gozo Ministry said constituted bodies agreed to this idea after consultation. One reason mentioned was to curb unspecified abuse. But if that were the case, what on earth are the managers specifically employed to do such a job there for? A typical case of who guards the guardian.
I was in the team that had formed and launched Gozo Channel with MV Għawdex. The service had been introduced by the late prime minister Dom Mintoff, through George Borg. Three other ferries were also used, offering a 24-hour service. A fifth ferry was in the pipeline.
Fiercely opposed by the majority of board members, my insistence to introduce a24-hour service was delayed by several years. Board members maintained this was not feasible.
Against my continuous resistance, two boats were initially bought to cater for night travellers. A lot of money was spent on these boats but only two people used to make the crossing. What a waste! Both boats were eventually resold to the original owners for peanuts.
My insistence finally got majority support and the 24-hour service was introduced during the trade fair period. It was an immediate success, so much so that it became a normal fixture.
Passes were introduced and no distinction was made between Gozitan and Maltese workers and families from both islands. Priority boarding was given to MPs, bishops, ambulances, the police and no one else. The policy worked on a first-come-first-served basis. This is fair.
But all this is being challenged now with a new initiative, which, we were told, was agreed to by Gozitan constituted bodies. These bodies do not speak for Gozitans; they speak for hotels, business, industries and some better-off individuals.
This banal suggestion will lead to different classes of consumer
What about the common worker or traveller? What about those consumers who cross on a regular basis?
So the average wage earner wanting to cross over with his vehicle waits in the queue for half an hour but then does not board because a dozen cars owned by wealthy individuals, who can afford to pay extra, are given priority!
Those familiar with Maltese history would recall that, in the past, only those owning property or having an income equivalent to €23 a year in rent were eligible to vote. Are we going back to those dark periods of haves and have-nots? Are citizens to be classified according to wealth?
Did this proposal originate from the Gozo Ministry? Given the advisers and professional personnel there, I would have expected better judgement.
As a person still harbouring socialist ideals, I strongly protest and disagree with such utterly conservative and regressive proposals.
On the other hand, who am I, a Gozitan, a former Malta Labour Party member of Parliament and a former chairman of Gozo Channel, to contradict these new and not-so-new University graduates and experts?
I am only a voice in the wilderness but still a voice, alive and kicking. Whether one agrees or listens to me, I am still here, able to say what I believe is good for Gozo and the Gozitans.
Please forget about this silly proposal, which will only damage the good projects the central administration is proposing for Gozo. This banal suggestion will lead to different classes of consumer.
The proposed system guarantees mayhem and total confusion. I pity the policemen on duty. The only priority boarding Gozo Channel should allow is for those going to the airport because the normal bus service is totally inadequate and can leave one stranded.
One last remark about the fast transport service. I ask: is history repeating itself?
Way back, a fast-ferry service for Marsalforn had been suggested by many wealthy Maltese people with a summer residence there.
The idea was to ferry people from Marsalforn to Sliema at speed. A service was introduced but it lasted just a few months with the company going bust as customers were very limited in number.
Later on, a similar suggestion was made to the Gozo Ministry for a fast service between Mġarr and Valletta. A hovercraft used to make the run but the service was abandoned after a short time for financial reasons. Not many Gozitans, especially a normal worker, could afford the fare.
An appeal for a fast-ferry service has been made again and it appears that the present administration is seriously considering introducing such an operation. I hope past experience will be taken into consideration.
The fare for such a fast service should be declared in advance so commuters would be in the know. Will it be subsidised as the Gozo Channel service is? If not, then I fear that history is likely to repeat itself.
A €5 ticket is being mentioned. I don’t know whether this is true or not but if it is, then I predict that what happened in the past will happen again. How can students and workers afford such a daily cost?
So the think-tanks should re-evaluate all aspects prior to any innovative introduction. Not because the idea is not good in itself but financially it is not likely to work.