Gozitans should be in charge of devising public policy for their home island, MEP Therese Comodini Cachia said today.

"The policy which best addresses Gozitan needs is that drawn up by Gozitans themselves. Policy reflects the people and the people should be given the best tools to develop the policy they want," Dr Comodini Cachia told an audience at the Arka Foundation in Għajnsielem, Gozo.

Dr Comodini Cachia questioned the wisdom of conducting a further study about the feasibility of a tunnel linking Gozo to Malta, saying that a previous study had already found it was a better option than building a bridge between the two islands. 

She said that MEPs such as herself were obliged to scrutinise government's work in the context of European obligations. "Every Maltese and Gozitan should enjoy a high standard level of governance and transparency of its own Government." Dr Comodini Cachia has now been an MEP for two years. 

She also argued that while credit rating agencies were giving Malta good grades, many high-paying jobs were going to foreigners rather than Maltese.