Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil today pledged €10,000 as a financial incentive for every young couple who are starting a family and settling in Gozo, or a couple/family return to Gozo.
He also made an appeal for recently resigned Labour Party whip Godfrey Farrugia, who also announced that he would not be contesting the upcoming snap election under the Labour Party ticket, to join the coalition and contest under his wife Marlene Farrugia's newly formed party Partit Demokratiku.
“We would not expect you to turn back on your ideals and contest with the PN, we understand you are a genuine Labour Party supporter who is currently hurt by the current situation. I appeal for you to contest the election with PD and join the coalition against corruption.”
The financial pledge for young couples shows the PN’s commitment to incentivise Gozitan families to live, work and settle in Gozo, Dr Busuttil said when addressing a political activity in Xaghra.
"This shows our exciting, innovative and new ideas. We did not waste four years in Opposition; we studied, learned, spoke and listened to people which helped us come up with new and concrete proposals."
“The PN will commit itself to declare Gozo as a dedicated region, through an amendment in the law. This will launch a process to great a regional committee which would take care everything for Gozo, separate from the Ministry of Gozo.
“This will be done through EU funding, and the financial package we can negotiate for Gozo could reach €205 million."
He was speaking about the dedicated electoral manifesto the PN is in the final stages of producing for Gozo.
“I am proud to confirm that the PN is doing something that no other political party has ever done before, by producing an electoral programme for Gozo and the people of Gozo. This electoral programme was not written in Dar Centrali of the PN, but it was written in Gozo, by Gozitans.
“Who of you remembers that in last January, when we had no idea the election would be so soon, we had already began work on this programme?”
Dr Busuttil gave special thanks to Simon Mizzi for meeting with all those interested in contributing, and gathered all feedback. He is in the final phase and in the coming days the PN will be releasing this programme, he added.
Dr Busuttil slammed the Prime Minister for pledging to fix all of Malta’s roads, when he had already pledged so before the last general election in 2013.
“Is all Joseph Muscat finished in four years was a public toilet in Hondoq ir-Rummien. He did not even manage to finish his great Kappara fly-over project, because he had to call a snap election”.
Vitals Hospital
Speaking about the Public-Private-Partnership contract negotiated between the government and Vitals which would see the privatisation of the Gozo General Hospital and Karen Grech Hospital in Malta, Dr Busuttil said:
“The issue of the only public hospital in Gozo being privatised, I do not agree with. If there was more than one hospital in Gozo I would accept this, but not when Gozo only has one hospital to serve the needs of this people.”
Dr Busuttil called the Vitals public-private-partnership contract, negotiated with Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri who have secret companies in Panama, unacceptable.
A new PN government would instruct the Gozo Minister to, as his/her first task, to go to the hospital and tell its people that the hospital must be given back to the people of Gozo.
He explained that a Gozo Ministry would be strengthened and not removed with the introduction of a regional committee, but it would be under the watchful eye of the committee. The Gozo Ministry would be answerable to the committee, in order to ensure that the people of Gozo are well served.
Asked about a more permanent link between Malta and Gozo, in view of the stagnation of ideas over the past four years, Dr Busuttil said that if the geological studies recommend that a tunnel is feasible, the PN would embark on the “national project”.
“The dynamics of our national territory would change completely.”
Dr Busuttil pledged a fast-ferry service between Malta and Gozo in the next legislature, and reinstate the merchant maritime transport, “which Dr Muscat had removed”, which has reportedly hurt much business in Gozo.
Asked about the difference between the two mainstream parties in view of the generous proposals being waived in front of the electorate, he replied that:
“Difference between parties is honesty. Prime Minster Muscat cannot promise you integrity”.
The Gozo-drugs inquiry was mentioned where two cabinet Ministers were accused of political interference which prevented an individual from being charged with drug trafficking.
Dr Busuttil said that victims of drug dependency are very close to his heart, and expressed disgust that Prime Minister Muscat chose to protect drug traffickers rather than the public and would-be victims of the same drug traffickers.