One of the hardest things to evaluate objectively is the quality of institutions and governance. And if one had to sit down and ask people what they really mean by governance, they struggle to offer any detail. It can mean different things to different people. 

One of the best ways to gauge governance is by looking at the results. Economic and financial achievements can only take place if the right conditions are present. If the incentives and the safeguards are either missing or distorted, results will fall short of expectations.

Some quarters are trying to put the government's positive performance of economic and fiscal management on one side and isolate certain incidents as a mark of bad governance on the other. But economic and financial governance is also governance. Take for example the case of Gozo Channel.

It is positive change that was behind the turnaround in Gozo Channel. Let's not forget that in 2012, the last year of the previous administration, Gozo Channel registered a loss of €1.6 million. Last year, the company made a profit of over €1 million.

Similar to employment and economic growth in Gozo, the turnaround in the financial situation of Gozo Channel did not happen by sheer chance. The reality is that this was the result of good planning and good administration. On one hand, the various initiatives taken by the Ministry for Gozo such as the reduced prices travel schemes led to increased demand. It is enough to note that the number of vehicles that crossed to and from Gozo to Malta increased by 69,554 or 5.4 per cent in 2015 over the previous year while the number of passengers increased by 96,631 or 2.1 per cent for the same period. The numbers are even more impressive when compared with 2012, with the number of vehicles and passengers being respectively 256,261 or 23 per cent and 647,143 or 16 per cent higher.  

Increased trips and increased number of passengers and vehicles do not by themselves guarantee profits. Good governance necessitates that a constant eye is kept on the cost of operations. While under the previous administration costs were left to increase sharply, we are doing our best to get value for money. The results are proving us right.

Under the previous administration, Gozo Channel was a prime example of maladministration and inefficiencies. There were abuses across the board and most of the time any financial surplus was quickly absorbed by either inefficiency or downright abuses. The authorities at that time simply looked the other way. How's that for responsible management and political ownership? 

The financial turnaround of Gozo Channel bodes well for the Gozitan economy. Similar to Enemalta on a national level, Gozo Channel used to be a drag on public finances. Its collapse would have impacted enormously on Gozo, and at one point its collapse was not very farfetched. Having financially healthy Gozo Channel opens up a number of opportunities and makes possible initiatives than would not have been possible otherwise. 

My Ministry is looking forward to sustain the past initiatives and to launch new ones. As I had the opportunity to state in the past, the ultimate aim is for Gozo Channel to offer reduced prices in winter and other months of the year when demand is low. These can only be possible if we have a financial strong Gozo Channel.

These financial results are the latest in a series of positive indicators for Gozo. Let's not forget that economic growth in 2014 increased from 1.8 per cent in 2012 to 8.1 per cent in 2014, four times higher compared to the last year of the previous administration, while the latest figures for registered unemployment shows that in December 2015, the total number of persons registering for employment in Gozo stood at 648 compared with 765 registered in December 2014. This represents a decline of over 15 per cent or 117 persons.

While some are more interested in creating doubt, we are coming out with consistent results. While some can't resist uttering platitudes and consequently are unable to sustain their arguments with solid reasoning, we are letting hard figures do the talking for us.

 

Dr Refalo is Minister for Gozo