I was not surprised with what the Budget incorporated in respect of Gozo.

The rule has been followed again this time too and our island has once more been left in the lurch.

A sum of €40 million has been allocated for roads and I wonder what percentage of this hefty amount will go to our island.

Some of our main roads are indeed in a pitiful state. As a prime example, I can mention the one from Victoria to Marsalforn.

Various parts of it are in a shameful state, notwithstanding the fact that Marsalforn is our island’s most popular bay. Victoria, our capital, is still bereft of the ring road that decades ago appeared to be in the offing during a past Labour administration.

Many still recollect the relative insistence of Lino Debono, one of Gozo’s past Labour MPs. Because of this failure, the city core has remained burdened with heavy vehicles that, day in day out, harm both the citizens’ health and the environment.

Undoubtedly, we are living in a city that has a few shortcomings. In fact, there is not a pedestrian zone or a pedestrianised road. The upper part of Republic Street, which merits to be pedestrianised, is regularly infested with trucks, buses and all sorts of heavy vehicles.

Indeed, shameful and embarrassing.