In the midst of the political crisis of GonziPN, which is definitely having an effect on the country, the Social Affairs Committee travelled to Gozo for a meeting with a number of organisations

Before delving into the meeting itself, I would like to reiterate, as I did in previous weeks, that out of this political crisis, the only clan which is benefitting is GonziPN, who at all cost wants to remain in power while the country is urging for a focused government and for decisions to be taken seriously.

Everyone, especially people who are in business, know that the country cannot continue like this. The economy is jammed and it came to no surprise that the country entered into a recession. This happened because of the government or, better still, because of the GonziPN clique. Adjacent to the political instability, we have the economic one too but now people are also talking about democratic credentials. If this is democracy, can someone please tell me what is dictatorship? This criticism is also coming from within GonziPN and as such, it cannot pass unnoticed.

Now speculation is rife as to when the general election will be held. Of course, one cannot really tell, since all this is speculation. As time passes, the options are also narrowing. But what is most worrying is that the country is already in election mode and due to this fact, the effects on the economy are being felt. And that is why a concrete decision is required. The government is unstable and the economy, likewise. But here we are not playing politics. GonziPN is playing with people’s lives and the future of the country.

So in these circumstances the Social Affairs Committee last Wednesday travelled to Gozo. We were invited to the Gozo University Campus where the meetings took place. Approaching Xewkija, one can notice the works going on yet for another summer and with the problems that such works bring to commuters and residents. The way these were planned leaves much to be desired and the Gozo economy is being hard-hit. Arriving to the Gozo University Campus, we were greeted by the Pro Rector, Professor Joe Friggieri. He showed us the facilities of this building and the work being carried out to make things better.

Finally, we sat down and the meetings got underway. First we met with OASI, the non-governmental organisation that deals with the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Their presentation corroborated what was said by Mgr Victor Grech, the Director of Caritas some days ago, that our country has a big problem in tackling these abuses, that these abuses are rife and that only a few people are asking for help. The conclusion of what is happening seemed to be that society is passing through a very difficult time, especially the family, and that society is not strong enough to combat these and other issues.

Then it was time for the University Campus to inform the Committee of its programmes and the plans for the future. During the discussion it emerged that there is room for more collaboration between the Gozo Campus and NGOs. Some fruitful ideas were also mentioned and discussion in the coming days and weeks will hopefully continue to bear fruit in the coming months.

The third aspect which was dealt with by the Committee members was the concept of Eco Gozo. Maybe the emphasis should be on the word ‘concept’, since it seems that not even those involved in this know exactly what Eco Gozo should be. During the discussion, I had the feeling that this was a duplication of the Gozo Ministry at times and in other instances, an opportunity for some groups to tap funding which was not available elsewhere. It also emerged that Eco Gozo needs to be explained in simple terms and clearly to the general public. In concluding this discussion, there was broad agreement that other changes were required after the introduction of Eco Gozo and the group of people that are working on it. Different workers in different entities needed to adjust their work in relation to Eco Gozo. This if the government was serious about it and if this was not a gimmick like most of the other things that GonziPN deals with.

I would like to conclude with something that has nothing to do with our meetings in Gozo but still concerns the sister island. Some weeks ago, I received an invitation from the Malta-EU Steering & Action Committee (MEUSAC) for a National Conference on Gozo, an island region in the European Union. When I saw the list of speakers, especially those in the first part and conclusion of the so-called national conference, it seemed to me that there was nothing national about it. The Opposition did not even have one speaker on the list and I do not know why this sort of conference is called national. Maybe even this needs to be changed but of course GonziPN and his acolytes prefer not to have Opposition speakers so as to only have a single voice heard. And all this in the name of democracy.