Nearly half the funds awarded by the European Union to local councils were picked up by localities in Gozo, figures obtained from the parliamentary secretariat responsible for the sector show.
In all, until last October – which is the last available official figure released – Gozitan local councils obtained 46.45 per cent of the total received by all local councils for projects completed by that date.
The 68 local councils together received the sum of €2,508,247 for the 104 projects that had been approved; the 14 Gozitan local councils between them collected €1,165,060 for 47 of the projects, nearly half of the total.
The amount obtained by Gozitan local councils appear staggering in proportion to the size of the island and its population. Gozo makes up 21 per cent of the total area of the Maltese Islands, while its population is nearly eight per cent of the total. And yet, the local councils there took 46 per cent of the funds.
MEUSAC helps local councils “in identifying the EU funding programmes that are best-suited for their purposes and for the projects they want to implement,” the parliamentary secretariat for local councils said in reply to questions by The Malta Independent on Sunday.
Incidentally, both local councils and MEUSAC fall under the responsibility of Chris Said, who is Gozitan and contests the election on the Gozo district. Nadur, where Dr Said was mayor before he was elected to Parliament, obtained €184,872, or 15 per cent of the amount allocated to Gozo, for three projects.
Only Gharb received more money, and this was mostly for the upgrading of Wied il-Mielah for tourism purposes. One such project for Wied il-Mielah, on its own, cost €484,258, more than 40 per cent of the funds obtained by Gozitan local councils put together.
The San Lawrenz local council, in the news last week for alleged irregularities that partly led to the suspension of a scheme encouraging the installation of photovoltaic panels, won funds for 22 of the 47 Gozitan projects that were approved. They were mostly exchange programmes that involved funds up to €26,000.
Whether Gozitan local councils are more enterprising, or whether they are encouraged to apply for funds more than others, or whether they receive more support in their endeavours, is debatable.
But this trend “in favour” of Gozitan local councils is also evident when it comes to projects that are still pending.
Again, the last available figures provided to this newspaper last week by the parliamentary secretariat for local councils are for October 2009. By that date, there were a total of 66 projects submitted by local councils that will obtain EU funding, of which only 14 were from Gozo.
But, the amount of funds that Gozitan local councils could eventually receive for their projects totals €7,967,244, which is 42.39 per cent of the €18,796,251 allocated for the 66 projects.
Again, the biggest beneficiary will be Gharb, with nearly €2.7 million for a folklore museum and the restoration and upgrading of a stone cross, San Dimitri and Taz-Zejt chapels, a bridge and rubble walls. The most expensive single project is the conservation of rubble walls in Xaghra, at a cost of €2.3 million.
The cost of other projects in Xewkija and Ghajnsielem are still to be established, therefore the Gozitan proportion could grow.
In all cases, the funds given by the EU amount to between 75 and 85 per cent of the total costs, while the rest is made available from council funds.
Apart from this, Gozitan councils can also apply for extra funds from a Co-Financing Scheme, for which they can apply directly to the parliamentary secretariat, which is responsible for the grant. In 2009, the funds available were €300,000, which increased to €500,000 this year.
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