Dr Gatt had said that the former GBC president told him, during a forum organised by the GBC in Gozo, that the chamber was not interested in Gozo Channel’s financial problems. Dr Gatt had also said that the Ministry had not been invited and that he had called the GBC president and asked to be present at the meeting. Minister Gatt had said that he had told the president that he intended to discuss Gozo Channel’s financial difficulties.

Dr Caruana, answering questions byThe Malta Independent during a press conference, said that the Minister had not told the Chamber that he was going to discuss this issue in such detail and said that Dr Gatt was deviating from the agenda, which was transport between Malta and Gozo. Dr Caruana reiterated that Gozo Channel’s problems of over-staffing and financial restructuring were in fact the business of the ministry and not theirs.

However he stressed that they had not been consulted on the raise in tariffs.

TMID also asked Dr Caruana about a committee that Minister Gatt had said was discussing the Gozo Channel issue and trying to iron out the problems that resulted from any changes in the service. Dr Caruana said that the chamber and the Gozo Tourism Authority (GTA) had met the minister as part of the committee meetings and were open to discussions. However he said, “we made it clear that we did not agree with the raise in tariffs and any talks on the tariffs would have to reflect this point.”

The press conference was organised by the Gozo Forum, an initiative of the GTA, which has the aim of addressing issues related to the social and economic situation of Gozo. It includes organisations such as GTA, a number of unions, representatives from the Church and the Gozitan mayors. The Forum is addressing the tariffs raise because they are a current issue he said The Forum is unanimously against the raise in tariffs. “We see the ferry service as part of the Maltese infrastructure. The money the government is investing in the new fleet cannot be seen as a subsidy to the Gozitan economy.” The channel between Malta and Gozo is the only existing “road” between the islands and should therefore be financed by taxes just like all other networks.