Visiting the dilapidated Xewkija Industrial Estate yesterday, Alternattiva Demokratika leader Harry Vassallo said, “The government has neither vision in terms of attracting new, modern jobs to Gozo, nor competence in maintaining an estate free from vandalism.”

Gozo is ready for a change from a political system whose obsession is in absolute majorities rather than cross-party collaboration to stimulate sustainable economic growth and job creation in Gozo, he said.

Dr Vassallo proposed that the ferry fares applicable to Maltese travelling to Gozo in the off-peak periods should be slashed by half in order to encourage more visits to Gozo in the winter season. “We reiterate our proposal that public holidays falling on weekdays are shifted to a Friday or a Monday, thus increasing the incidence of long weekend breaks.”

AD reiterated its strategy for Gozo to be powered completely by alternative sources of energy, creating hundreds of Gozo-specific jobs, while reducing energy bills for every household and business in Gozo.

Dr Vassallo said: “Unlike the MLP, who are insulting Gozitans’ intelligence by promising the return of yesterday’s economy, AD insists upon the establishment of Gozo as an IT centre. However, while an adequate infrastructure already exists in Malta, nothing has been done to upgrade the computer communications system in Gozo to feasibly sustain hundreds of workers employed in call centres.

“Given that the banking sector earns a disproportionately high amount of its profits from Gozitans, AD will ensure that the financial institutions enable Gozitan traders to not only buy products using the PayPal system, but to be able to sell on it too,” said Dr Vassallo.