Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said: “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.” This very aptly applies to the present administration’s lack of good governance and transparency, which have eroded its credibility. And whatever degree of trust the electorate may have still had evaporated with the latest scandal involving the General Workers’ Union and the jobless scheme.
Last month, the first in a series of regional employment statistics was published by the NSO, uncovering a reality the government has been trying to hide and deceiving people with the impression of a feel-good factor.
The report clearly confirmed the government has failed in its most prominent of electoral promises to the Gozitans: creating jobs for them in Gozo. In 2015, the number of Gozitans commuting to work in Malta amounted to 2,768, an increase of 668 over 2013 figures.
Another conclusion from this report that deserves attention is that one out of every five employed resident in Gozo works in Malta. This shows that Gozitans are dependent on the Maltese economy but not an integral part of it. Gozo deserves to be a mainstream in the national economy.
The report underlines that the workforce in the Gozitan private sector has been decreasing since 2013, the main reason being the scheme that recently has been in the news. Gozitans are being deceived. They are being promised that if they leave the private sector and participate in this scheme in the run up to the election they will be given a permanent job within the public sector.
In other words Gozitan workers are being enticed to give up better paid jobs in the private sector and to opt for the minimum wage under the scheme.
To be clear, the blame here is not of the Gozitans as it is their right to strive for better job conditions and wages. The reality of the Gozitan economy is that it has a small private sector and this restricts job mobility. Thus the blame lies with the government which has failed to create the right opportunities for Gozitans in Gozo.
If we invest in our people the numbers will grow sustainably, but if we consider people as numbers, the result will be zero
The success of the Gozitan economy should not be measured through the number of people crossing the channel, the vast majority of whom are Gozitans commuting to work, but by the number of high-value added carriers created in Gozo for those who would like to work in Gozo irrelevant of being Gozitan or Maltese.
Gozitans deserve equal opportunities and equal standards of work and living. This call is not only one of social justice but sine qua non for national development. Investment in Gozo is investment in Malta. A future for Gozo is a future for Malta.
The report further shows that the biggest private sector in Gozo is the wholesale and retail trade. The Nationalist Party has a vision to revitalise this sector with proposals in its ‘Policy for Retailers’ document, a vision that reflects the island’s needs and ambitions.
The small private sector in Gozo needs an increase in incentives to encourage expansion of operations and new start-ups. With the right framework of incentives, including a next generation taxation philosophy, the correct mindset and a political entrepreneur, Gozo has the opportunity to become a niche for start-ups and one of the best livable places not only in Europe but in the world.
One has to be keep in mind that Gozo is another centre of our national life and not just a peripheral district; in simple words it is a distinct region in a culturally rich archipelago. Gozo is not only one of 13 electoral districts but one of two inhabited islands in our archipelago.
I firmly believe in an economy for the people and not for numbers. If we invest in our people the numbers will grow sustainably, but if we consider people as numbers, the result will be a zero sum game where our country will have lost its moral fibre, social conscience and any ethical consideration.
Ryan Mercieca is Nationalist Party election candidate.