Labour Party members yesterday unanimously approved a Gozo-specific “policy guideline” for the party’s electoral manifesto, calling for the creation of jobs in Gozo for Gozitans.

Leader Joseph Muscat said Labour had switched to “listening mode” and was using its Congress this week to hear what experts had to say on various aspects of life to help set priorities for the electoral manifesto.

“People are craving to be heard... and the experts on Gozo are Gozitans,” he said after an hour-long discussion in Sannat where people spoke about the lack of accessibility, the island’s double insularity and the dearth of jobs.

Dr Muscat said he was pleased that Gozitans were calling for the same things Labour had been advocating for more than two years.

“Gozitans need to be given the choice to work in Gozo,” he said, to a wave of enthusiastic applause.

Those who preferred to thrive in Malta, within the EU or in other continents, should be encouraged to do so, he said. But they should not be forced into it because of a lack of jobs on Malta’s sister island.

He said the key to generating wealth and creating jobs in Gozo was through the tourism sector.

Gozo had to become a distinct destination with all the necessary connections to ensure full accessibility for Gozitans, Maltese and tourists.

This would enable Gozo to attract investment, not only in tourism but even manufacturing, services and retail.

Dr Muscat said his “dream” for Gozo was for it to be the main economic motor.

Rather than a burden, it should be a driving force that carries Malta with it.

Social-democrats were all about sharing wealth, he added. But wealth first had to be generated, which was why the Labour movement was not suspicious or jealous of successful businesses.

Dr Muscat pointed out that the first activity of the congress, which focused on businesses, concluded with a policy guideline that complemented the one on Gozo: “Let us work”.

Bureaucracy was the worst enemy of business, he said, because if people found paperwork too overwhelming they opt for corruption instead.

Less bureaucracy meant more accountability and more jobs.

Dr Muscat opened his address by saying that this activity was not for politicians but for people to voice their opinions.

“I should speak the least,” he said, adding that Labour had long realised that the time for political parties was over and parties therefore had to become movements influenced by people’s needs.

At the end of the meeting, the party members present voted unanimously, by show of hands, in favour of Dr Muscat’s policy guideline proposal.

In reaction, the Nationalist Party said jobs were not created by such “theatrics” but by serious policies.