Politicians and public servants are expected to give their best in conscientiously serving the whole community, and it follows that the general public is expected to sustain public service without obstructing or creating unfounded suspicions.
I strongly believe that the most important feature of public administration is the good management of all the resources on behalf of the state and government ministers have this vital role in the specific sectors with which they have been entrusted. I also believe that effective public administration moves through the coordination of people working on set tasks according to specifically established policies. Effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability are complementary concepts that encourage us to carry out our duties and avoid wasting time and energy on fictitious doubts of hidden agendas which may surround our work.
Although I am aware of the endless expectations characteristic to a closed society with a particular texture, my focus is and will always be on achieving results. My 15 years of experience representing the Gozitan community in Parliament has taught me that such expectations are part of a deep-rooted clientele culture which, over the years, has been adopted and nurtured by previous administrations. While fully appreciating that there will always be individual cases that deserve particular attention – to which I will give my very best to achieve what is just and fair – such instances should not be allowed to blur the full appreciation by some for the constant work carried out for the benefit of the whole community.
People’s rights
Let me be very clear: instances involving vulnerable people merit all our energy as politicians and the Labour Government has been committed to create legal structures and proper platforms that recognise rights rather than favours. I will always be proud of the fact that, during my years working in the disability and elderly sectors, I was responsible for creating the position of a Commissioner for the rights of people with disability and a Commissioner for the rights of the elderly.
Full awareness of people’s concerns and a continuous focus on everything that needs to be done to reach our goals is what motivates me in carrying out my duties at the helm of the Gozo Ministry. Loyalty to the approved electoral proposals goes hand-in-hand with the key elements of integrity through which I assume responsibility and show full and transparent loyalty to the people I am called – and expected – to serve.
I believe these are the core values of public administration and leadership. Furthermore, during my stay at the Ministry for Gozo I am determined to erase a most unfair perception that, in Gozo, any level of work is acceptable. I firmly believe that, in the end, people will appreciate that quality supersedes quantity – a basic concept that Gozitans deserve. This will be our mark and it should define what future generations will inherit from our current administration.
The right approach
I am confident that Gozitans are fully aware of the ambitious programme we have to realise in the coming years. As a government minister, I have to shoulder the responsibility of not only coordinating but also supervising all the work that needs to be done, within set timeframes and budgetary targets. I listen and consult, I appreciate and support workers, I promptly address problems, I am ready to listen to positive and constructive criticism and to take on board all ideas in order to reach our goals more efficiently, but I am also fully aware that I am expected to make the necessary decisions.
The first few months have shown that, with this approach, we have succeeded in working as a team and, despite the usual negative criticism, have achieved the expected results. This will be the way forward to succeed in accomplishing the long list of major projects that will make Gozo a better home for its residents and a welcome destination for thousands of visitors. Under my watch, our rights and expectations will continue to be placed high on the national agenda.
The country’s success
While registering a first time ever €182 million surplus last year, the latest figures this week indicate that the government has spent a total of just under €937 million to cover social security benefits, a net four per cent more than the equivalent amount for 2016. Pensions in respect of retirement amounted to around €509 million in 2017, an increase of close to €30 million compared to the previous year. The bulk of this, €415 million, consisted of the two-thirds pension, which was received by almost 49,000 people last year – 2,850 more than 2016 – making them the largest recipient group of social benefits. In addition, 44,000 people received children’s allowance benefits.
Eurostat figures also show that the number of people at risk of poverty went down by four per cent, or 14,000, since 2013. In 2010, 21.2 per cent of the population was considered to be at risk, with the number increasing to 24 per cent by 2013, before falling to 20.1 per cent in 2016. The European average for 2016 stood at 23.5 per cent of the population.
These results show the extent to which the government is addressing the needs of the most vulnerable members of our society, while its policies are actually resulting in unprecedented economic growth. We are equally aware of the fact that several challenges still remain, including the rental market, and we remain committed to addressing the situation.
Cittadella anniversary
On the 1 April 1868, 150 years ago, the military status of Gozo’s dominant Cittadella Citadel as an active fortress was changed to a civilian site administered by the Civil Government. To commemorate this anniversary, yesterday the Gozo Ministry organised several educational and cultural activities. These included informative talks, an exhibition of architectural plans and re-enactments around the streets and alleys inside the walls. The majestic site offers great potential that has never been fully appreciated, and we are therefore working on various initiatives to make it happen.
One particular aspect was the subject of a seminar at the Citadel Arts Centre, at which a number of experts delivered researched presentations on the fortification of the city, the discoveries that were made when this part of our national heritage was being restored, and its history.
In my opening speech to a distinguished audience, I highlighted the fact that re-use is an effective means of conservation – in many ways giving a future to the past. It goes way beyond the customary endless praise we periodically shower on our ancestors and all those who have designed and built such historic sites over the centuries.
Our commitment
In the case of our Cittadella, we salute the excellent work carried out in its restoration, but we need to take on a stronger commitment for its conservation – which is even more challenging. Learning from the past, re-using for the present and conserving for the future is a chronological process that involves not only a high flair of creativity on our part, but also a diligent programme of educational and formative events that highlight all the aspects that such a majestic site can potentially convey to our own and future generations.
A relic will remain a relic unless we inject life into it. This has to be necessarily a life made of the essential meaning of culture – an eloquent narration and an expressive revival of our own lifestyles, beliefs and aspirations intertwined with the same human qualities as those experienced by our forefathers. We perceive culture as an ongoing exposition of all that we have inherited, wisely linked to the existential experiences of our own times.
As Minister for Gozo I feel proud that we have been very active in recent months in using the various aspects of this historic complex through an endless list of educational and cultural events. Together with the endemic and magnetic magic of the fortifications themselves, and hand-in-hand with other government entities and NGOs, we succeeded in attracting around 160,000 visitors to the citadel last year.
The Gozo Ministry’s constant attention to reviving the Cittadella is in parallel with other initiatives we have been taking to reveal and restore other architectural jewels scattered around the island, its landscape and shoreline.