As the two major political parties devote unprecedented attention to gaining supremacy in Gozo, the government’s wage bill is rising amid an aggressive recruitment drive by State entities based on the sister island.

Sources close to the Gozo Ministry told The Sunday Times of Malta that in recent weeks, there have been long queues outside the Gozo Ministry in Victoria.

“This recruitment drive has already resulted in about 20 new employees at Gozo Channel and eight at the Water Services Corporation, as well as a number of beach cleaners, who will be based in Comino,” the sources said.

The number of Gozitans employed at the Cittadella under the General Workers’ Union government-funded scheme for the jobless has also increased overnight, they pointed out.

The list continues with 10 watchmen based in Dwejra, whose original remit was to keep the iconic Azure Window out of bounds for safety reasons. Though it collapsed in March – a few days after they were employed – they are still reporting for work as if nothing has happened.

Furthermore, the road-marking section of the Gozo Ministry in recent months has trebled in size from six to 18 workers.

However, in one particular case, which involved a call for 12 drivers also issued by the ministry, things seemed to have got out of hand.

“Overwhelmed with about 200 applicants who queued outside the ministry in Pjazza San Franġisk as early as 6am, the ministry decided to increase the number of vacancies to 30. Nevertheless, the process was then halted amid fears of a political backlash from the aggrieved applicants who would have missed out on these jobs,” sources said.

Traditionally a PN stronghold, the 13th district, which comprises Gozo and Comino, went Labour’s way in the 2013 general election for the first time since 1955. Though the PN obtained the majority of votes, the Labour Party still won three of the five seats up for grabs as a result of the votes its candidates inherited in the later counts.

Keen to regain lost ground this time around, the PN has gone a step further by issuing a manifesto exclusively for Gozo.

Greater autonomy through a regional council empowered to tap EU funds, a permanent link to Malta and fiscal incentives to encourage business to set up shop in Gozo are among the PN’s pledges.

On its part, the Labour Party is not giving an inch away amid accusations from the Opposition that it has used its power of incumbency to gain votes.

Apart from promising to forge ahead with the Malta-Gozo tunnel, Labour is also insisting that the majority of the PN’s proposals are already in the pipeline or will drain the country’s finances.

However, unless Labour achieves ano-ther landslide victory, the likely scenario is that one of its three Gozitan MPs, Anton Refalo, Justyne Caruana and Franco Mercieca, will not be elected.

PM says tunnel could be finished by 2024

The Malta-Gozo tunnel could be operational within seven years, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday during a news conference on the sister island.

“The project can be done and it’s feasible. We cannot keep Gozo hanging,” he said.

Dr Muscat pointed out that if the geological studies which were underway concluded that the project was technically feasible, it would take a further two years for works to start until the necessary development permits were issued.

From an environmental perspective, the entrances and exits to the tunnel would probably pose the greatest challenges. However, he expressed optimism that Norwegian partners would guide local experts to minimise the impact as much as possible.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister welcomed the interest shown in the project from international experts and foreign governments, including Italy, Turkey and China.

In his address, Dr Muscat noted that support for the project was especially high among young Gozitans.

According to a study conducted by Marvin Formosa, 82 per cent had described themselves as in favour of the tunnel, while only 13 per cent were against.

Dr Formosa, who delivered a presentation on his findings, said a tunnel would reverse the brain drain in Gozo and encourage more Maltese to take a vacation on the sister island.