I refer to the letter by Emmanuel Galea entitled ‘Employment in Gozo’ (The Sunday Times of Malta, February 19). The Ministry for Gozo wishes to clarify the following.

Recent statistics confirm that unemployment in Gozo has decreased by a third during this legislature. It is currently at a record low. During the previous Nationalist administration, unemployment in Gozo was on the rise.

Between 2013 and 2015, a total of 1,351 Gozitans became gainfully employed, 1,090 of whom in Gozo itself and the huge majority in the private sector.

During 2012, the last full year of a PN-led government, the GDP of Gozo increased by 1.1 per cent. The Gozitan GDP, during 2015, experienced a tenfold growth of 9.6 per cent, a far cry from the stagnation the economy was in during the PN tenure.

This government is reversing the negative trend bequeathed to it by successive PN governments; a quarter of a century in which Gozo attracted absolutely no foreign direct investment.

The current government obtained millions of EU funds with which to convert the derelict MMU site in Mġarr Road, Xewkija into a digital hub, the largest investment in Gozo is about to materialise and will transform the local hospital into a medical hub and, moreover, new companies are opting to open shop in Gozo, the latest being KPMG.

A €3.2 million fund intended to lay out a new fibre optic cable between the islands is definitely a step in the right direction, as is the new fast catamaran to be launched in the next months between Gozo and Valletta. Moreover, tourism and the real estate sector are once again pumping millions into the Gozitan economy following the slowdown experienced during the last PN government.

Last but not the least, a brand new Financial Services Gozo Foundation was launched in the last few days, following a collaborative agreement  between the Ministry for Gozo, the Ministry for Finance and the private sector.

Its role is to promote Gozo as a destination for the setting up of businesses within the financial services sector, another niche which would bring quality jobs in Gozo.

This is a government which is bringing tangible positive results to Gozo and the Gozitans.

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