Now that Malta has a strong and vibrant economy, we need a good infrastructure to complement it, to avoid escalating congestion costs and give the people what they deserve in a safe environment.

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna gave a clear indication of this during the pre-budget discussions. Despite the fact that next year's budget - to be presented in the coming weeks - will focus on infrastructure and related areas, it will also include social solidarity measures, as is customary with Labour administrations. Infrastructure does not only mean improving the country's roads, but it also includes better connectivity in areas such as communication, electricity and energy. The consultation process is result-oriented to ensure that social responsibility develops in line with economic advancement. 

Gozo's requirements

The relative session in Gozo last week was a fruitful consultation, reiterating the island's particular needs to strengthen the wellbeing of Gozitan families and businesses. Together with the Gozo Ministry's input, our social partners gave their views on the current performance of the economy and issues to be tackled by the budget. The people's massive choice of Labour's proposals leads everyone to appreciate that we are to be guided by those same plans - and others as may be required - with the first batch of measures to be implemented immediately during the coming year.

I have been fully involved in the compilation of those proposals and it obviously followed that they were thoroughly discussed during the long list of taking stock and consultation meetings I held with Gozo's constituted bodies during my first 100 days in office. Meanwhile, the Gozo Ministry was proceeding with a more efficient and cost-effective completion of projects initiated during the past administration and carrying on with infrastructural work in preparation for new projects. Tangible progress can already be seen around the island, supported by incessant work behind the scenes as is necessary for professional and effective planning.

Gozo's fair share

Apart from the infrastructural programme we have been carrying out during our first hundred days, we have injected considerable impetus in respect of public tidiness, thus ensuring the desired upgrade to a more welcoming ambience for the thousands who have visited Gozo during the summer. These efforts have been heavily supported by cultural initiatives that continued to make our island a destination of its own class. Festivals of various types held for the first time on the island proved to be successful and as a result will be given their rightful place in an all-year cultural calendar.

During the consultation session it was widely agreed that, while the tourism sector was an important one for Gozo, the island needs to develop other sectors - including the financial services and digital sectors - in order to reduce its vulnerability to fluctuations in tourism trends. With an-all-hands-on-deck attitude, and the collaboration of all concerned, Gozo has become a tourist destination in its own right, and no longer an appendix to Malta. It is, in fact, a pleasure for me to note that determination and hard work pays. In the next national budget, Gozo will be given more importance than it has been given in previous budgets.

Moving ahead

Our second Labour government is moving ahead at speed with increasing the country's wealth and has been working incessantly to achieve our goals for Malta and Gozo. We have a very clear mandate to implement our plans and nothing will deter us from achieving success. Only this week, we have seen two important results that may not have been given sufficient importance. One is that the first intake of students for the Barts Medical School has been welcomed to Gozo to begin their studies. Induction courses are being held this week before tuition gets underway in a refurbished area of the Sir M.A. Refalo Sixth Form College in Victoria. This is, in itself, a first for Gozo and the immediate fruit of the huge foreign investment to the island during the previous administration.

The other positive result announced last week adds to Labour's positive record in respect of employment. In July, the number of people registering for work stood at 2,499 a reduction of 25.6 per cent compared to the corresponding month last year. Data provided by Jobsplus for July indicates that unemployment fell among almost all age groups. Employment is a strong indicator of a country's economy and such positive news stands to prove that the government's diligent planning is yielding success.

Waste management

It was a pleasure to preside over a conference last Wednesday week on the potential improvement required in waste management in Gozo organised by the EcoGozo Regional Development Directorate within the Ministry for Gozo. The aim of the conference was to bring together all the major stakeholders in waste management in Gozo: mayors, local council members and contractors. We freely discussed the major issues of waste generation and collection in Gozo and came up with proposals for both short-term and long-term solutions to these issues. The data presented indicated a significant improvement in waste management practices in Gozo, an increase in recycled and organic waste and a reduction in the amount of mixed waste.

Despite these improvements, those present revealed that there are several difficulties that need to be addressed. The inadequate collection service at remote locations, businesses and restaurants in Gozo was a key talking point throughout the discussions. Several local councils raised the subject of the high cost of waste collection and the lack of enforcement. Several strategies for addressing these issues were proposed, namely the use of cameras, green wardens, the stricter enforcement of regulations (including fines), an improvement on the current infrastructure, collection schedules and a closer collaboration between those involved in order to achieve the desired goals.

I stressed the importance of treating waste as a resource and said that Gozo must bridge the gap between waste generators and waste processors within the realities of the island. Well-planned strategies must be adopted to fit the specific needs of Gozo and we cannot simply use a 'one-size-fits-all' model. We need to keep in mind the fact that, while catering for our own domestic and commercial waste, specific arrangements need to be worked out to handle the constant influx of visitors to the island all the year round, which may - at peak times - double the size of Gozo's population.  

The constant increase in tourism figures shows that progress has its own price, but we are sufficiently resilient to turn challenges into opportunities.