Former PN Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono today said that the Gozo Ministry has had many of its powers taken away from it.

"Under Joseph Muscat although we have a Gozo Minister, we have a Ministry that has been stripped of important responsibilities such as those on health and education. This does not reflect well on the Gozo Ministry

"It saddens me when I see simple PQs addressed to the Gozo Minister having to be redirected to other Ministries in Malta.

"Gozo has not improved under a Labour government, current projects being undertaken in Gozo were started under a Nationalist administration. Whatever people say, this is the reality.

"The government is not using its roadmap. It is using the roadmap that it received on a plate from us," Ms Debono said.

She said nothing would be going on in Gozo had the government not inherited these projects from the previous government.

She said it is not fair that Gozo Minister Anton Refalo says that the Nationalist government did not do any works on Citadella.

"Wherever you go in Gozo, all you see are projects undertaken by the Nationalist government.

"It was a Nationalist government that allocated 10% of EU funding directly to Gozo," she said.

She pointed out that last year when discussing the 2014 budget, Dr Refalo said the time for discussion is over and concrete action needs to be taken for Gozo.

This is not fair, she said, as the Nationalist government did discuss, but it also took action. 

PN MP Frederick Azzopardi said the government has to incentivise the private sector to invest in Gozo.

He said the only short-term investment in Gozo by the government was when the government operated the Gozo ferry service for free on a few weekends.

Mr Azzopardi said that if the government has a programme for job creation in Gozo, it would certainly boast about it.

Instead, the government Ministers give very "dry" replies when asked about their job creation plan for Gozo, he said.

"Last week we heard one of the longest budget speeches in Parliament, it lasted almost four hours. It was one more confirmation that length is no substitute for substance," he said.

When it came to Gozo, the budget speech did not bring anything new to the table, apart from confirming that the government does not have faith in Gozo.

On the "famous new Mcast Gozo campus," Mr Azzopardi said this will come at the cost of the Arts school in Gozo.

"It does not take much planning to open a new campus when you find a new, modern school ready for you. The school, opened by the Nationalist government, has been a huge success," he said.

He said decisions about Gozo cannot be taken by Malta.

"If the government is really committed to sticking to its election pledge, when are we going to see concrete results for Gozo," he questioned.

PN MP Chris Said said the Gozo Ministry is riddled with problems. He said the permanent secretary and special consultant to the Ministry have moved on, and the government needs to explain why.

Dr Refalo faces another challenge, as Labour MP Franco Mercieca hinted in an interview that he is after the Gozo Ministry.

Gozitans are after quality jobs, but many are in fact employed under “precarious” conditions, and the GWU is silent on this, Dr Said said.

He said people employed under the “classic” greener and cleaner scheme were also employed under precarious conditions.

Many of the people employed under the scheme were probably promised a government job he said, but were in fact used for their vote.

He questioned whether Prime Minister Joseph Muscat ever caught the 6am ferry like he did once during a pre-election “gimmick.”

He said people crossing to Malta to study or work has actually increased in the past two years.

Every job created in Gozo is positive, and foreign investment is good, but Gozitans investing in Gozo will ensure long-term sustainability.

He questioned how one can build a €12 million law court in Gozo when only €400,000 was voted for the project in the 2015 budget.

He said the Gozo casino project was a flop, as no one bid for the tender, and only one final bid was submitted for the cruise liner terminal.

He questioned who is behind this bid and where will this terminal be located

On the bridge between Malta and Gozo, Dr Said reminded that the company behind this bridge is blacklisted.

“Seeing the picture of the bridge alone is scary,” Dr Said said. The Opposition is against the negative environmental impacts that this bridge as proposed will have, he said.

 A proper study should be undertaken on an underwater link, and the study should not be carried out by the blacklisted Chinese company, he said.

He also asked what has become of the fast-ferry service, asking for clear answers from the government as to what has become of this project.