The Coalition for Gozo, composed of the Gozitan eNGOs Din l-Art Helwa Ghawdex, Ghawdix and Wirt Ghawdex, has issued a joint statement, noting its “surprise” to see a response posted in the media within just a few hours of the statement issued by the Coalition for Gozo which criticised Shadow Minister for Gozo Alex Borg for “his continuing defence of an apartment and apart-hotel mega development in the historic Fort Chambray.”

The Coalition’s surprise was due to “several reasons,” it said.

The Coalition for Gozo noted that “the response was issued almost immediately and was released ostensibly on behalf of the PN and the entire PN candidate team in Gozo. It took the Coalition for Gozo days of careful research and fact checking for it to be drafted and approved, for the Coalition, consisting of a serious group of NGOs, carries out its work with diligence and the seriousness our country deserves.”

“The PN, however, seems to have taken just a few hours to carry out their fact checking (if any such took place), write their response, and secure the approval of the PN and the entire PN candidate team in Gozo – a notion which defies belief,” stated the Coalition for Gozo.

The Coalition for Gozo added that it was “taken aback by the PN’s statement, which gave the impression that it had been endorsed by the Gozitan MPs and all candidates contesting for the PN in the next general election in Gozo.”

The Coalition pointed out that, “Dr Chris Said, along with PN candidates Norma Camilleri, Beppe Galea, Luke Said, and Dr Frank Anthony Tabone, have all signed the Coalition for Gozo’s demand for the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage (SCH) and the Planning Authority (PA) to schedule and preserve the 1890s British Barracks at Fort Chambray.”

For this reason, the Coalition for Gozo said it “would find it quite strange indeed should these candidates have agreed to this statement by the PN. This, in turn, begs the question: were these candidates informed in advance about the statement issued by the PN, after all? And if they were, did they really agree to it?”

“The title of the PN response was interesting: ‘Condemning the misinformation campaign regarding Fort Chambray and the attacks on the Shadow Minister for Gozo.’ This title is strange because the Coalition for Gozo was itself condemning the misinformation campaign,” it said.

The Coalition went on to say that “we will leave it up to the public and fact checkers in the media to form their own decisions as to who is peddling the misinformation.

“Is it the NGOs led by selfless volunteers who, at great personal sacrifice, dedicate their time and resources to protect Gozo and its environment with absolutely nothing to gain except the satisfaction of doing the right thing for the country, or the politicians from both sides of Parliament and the developers who, in their short-sighted quest for quick profit are destroying the very fabric of Gozo’s heritage and history?”

The Coalition for Gozo said it is “crystal clear about the issues. Without fear or favour, we will do whatever is necessary to protect our island and its environment against any and all politicians whose job is to foster the public good, but who are engaged in saying one thing and doing the opposite in many cases”

The Coalition insisted that it “has had enough of empty talk about Gozo and the lack of action. MP Alex Borg was singled out in our statement only because in the case of Fort Chambray, one of the biggest issues facing the island at the moment, he has been the single most visible politician supporting the project, and in doing so engaged in lies, half-truths and misinformation.”

Moreover, in the said podcast he tried to throw mud at the eNGOs themselves. However, the wider issue is not just this particular politician but the whole mass of politicians who need to get their act together and start to take appropriate action to address the real issues.

In this regard, the Coalition for Gozo noted that in 2023, “the respected Gozo Regional Development Authority had published the Gozo Regional Development Strategy, a document that discusses strategies dealing with the sensible use of land and the environment, re-aligning economic growth with wellbeing, and re-valuing Gozo’s identity. To date, however, precious little has changed.”

“We would expect the PN to focus its energy on holding government to account on such matters, rather than wasting its energy on trying to defend the indefensible,” the Coalition said.

The Coalition for Gozo concluded by saying that it is “prepared to sit down, yet again, as it has done before and will continue doing, to discuss with the PN, the PL, government, and any authority that shows genuine goodwill and has the ability and political intention to make the changes that should have been implemented years ago, in order to put the island of Gozo on the right track.”

Photo credit: Studjurban Fort Chambray before and after photo montages on the PA servers – Coalition for Gozo

Permalink: “Without fear or favour” – Coalition for Gozo on Fort Chambray