Giving Gozo a Chance

21^st April 2006
The Malta Independent - Friday Wisdom

The insularity that disadvantages Gozo means that without outside help its economy is unsustainable and that its young people will find it hard to integrate productively within its economy. To have some chance to overcome these disadvantages Gozo needs help through some positive discrimination.

Given that the traditional agricultural base cannot guarantee productive employment in the necessary quantities and is in any case not attractive to the aspirations of most youngsters, Gozo needs to build its economy round two modern areas where it has natural competences.

In tourism Gozo can and should compete as a destination with its own identity and attractions quite beyond the day trip visits for tourists accommodated in Malta. In other electronic based services the insularity is no disadvantage given the reliability and efficiency of electronic communications.

For the Gozo economy to shift to a sustainable platform offering reasonable employment prospects to its residents who choose to stay there, we need to do more to promote and develop such competences.

I don’t mean to provide a blueprint on how this can be done but I wish to suggest two particular areas where we need to boost our sister islanders with some positive discrimination.

Firstly we need to take measures to remove the additional expenses involved in transport and traveling between the two islands. This transport needs to be subsidized so that a trip to Gozo is not more expensive than the highest normal bus ticket from any point to point in Malta and that this should apply across the board tourists included.

If it is accepted that the State subsidizes inland public transport why should we expect intra-island transport to run on strict commercial lines? I am not in favour of long term subsidies as a matter of principle but there are particular circumstances which make such permanent subsidies necessary and sensible. Public transport is one such justified exception in order to control the environmental damage and economic inefficiencies being caused by the strong inclination to using private means of transport.

Rendering vessel crossing to Gozo not more expensive than a normal bus ticket will reduce Gozo’s disadvantage of being looked at as an pricy and distant location worth visiting occasionally but not too frequently.

I do appreciate that subsidies have to be funded and I quite prefer to create direct and sensible links between the funding and the application of such funds to the suggested subsidies. One should therefore consider some sort of surcharge for fuel at the pump at a national level in order to fund public transport subsidies in general and Gozo crossings in particular. It is only fair that those who insist on using private means of transport pay for those who opt for public transport thus helping to slow the pace of environmental degradation. In a way this will benefit private transport users as well who will benefit from smoother traffic flows and less blockages from accidents and road maintenance interventions .

Fiscal policy is another area where Gozo should merit positive discrimination. If Gozo can be considered as an entire tourist area should we not make all Gozo restaurants subject to a reduced VAT rate of 5%? Should we not consider giving fiscal incentives for Companies who opt to base their back office processing in Gozo? Can’t we consider an incentive to our pensioners who opt to retire and reside permanently in Gozo by allowing them to benefit from a reduced rate of withholding tax for their investment income?

I can imagine many of many readers who are dubious about such proposals both as a matter of principle as well as due to the difficulty to control abuse of such positive discrimination. I respect such views but still think that doing nothing is not a solution either. It is time to do something tangible and real to give Gozo a chance. 

 

Endless studies and discussion will never deliver.