The Secretary General of the Nationalist Party Dr Chris Said stated today, that “Gozo has taken a turn for the worse under the leadership of Joseph Muscat.”

He added, “a year ago, the Labour Party won the General Election by making promises for every area of society, including Gozo. But today, a year after the election, the Maltese and Gozitan people are becoming aware that not only has the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat not kept the promises made, but that under his leadership, Malta and Gozo have worsened.”

Dr Said pointed out that “this was most clearly confirmed by its incompetence in negotiating with the European Union, as well as the increasing unemployment figures in Gozo.”

Said was addressing a news conference held at the Zewwieqa waterfront in Mgarr, Gozo. He was accompanied by European Parliament Election candidates, Helga Ellul, Kevin Cutajar and Francis Zammit Dimech.

Chris Said pointed out that “during this first year it became clear that the Prime Minister had completely ignored the problem of unemployment in Gozo. Statistics published by the NSO show that during that period under under a Labour Government there had been an increase of 6% unemployment in Gozo.”

“During this campaign the Gozitan people expected the Prime Minister to give a sense of direction and solutions for job creation in Gozo. However, the Prime Minister has remained silent on the problems faced by its people,” he said.

“To try to divert attention from its failures in Gozo, Prime Minister Muscat was dishonest about PN’s strong track record in obtaining funds from the European Union for Gozo. The Prime Minister spoke about a report that, according to him, showed the Nationalist Party had not worked hard enough for Gozo,” Said stated.

The PN Secretary General explained, “contrary to what he said, this report is the best proof of PN’s work for Gozo. This is because while the report originally recommends that Gozo should have been awarded € 56 million in European funds, in January 2013, only three months after the report was published, the Nationalist Party managed to negotiate an increased package of € 112 million specifically for Gozo, covering the 2014-2020 Budget.

“This shows how the Nationalist Government was able to negotiate for Gozo while the Labour Administration has not offered anything new to Gozo.”

Chris Said said that while “Nationalist Governments have always given utmost importance to the island, Prime Minister Muscat had turned everything upside down and even chose to reduce the responsibilities of the Ministry for Gozo, including the two main pillars of health and education.”

“It shows the lack of importance that the Labour Party gives to the island, something that is reflected in the negative results obtained in job creation, the abandonment of projects like the casino, the fact that the report on the accessibility between Malta and Gozo is still incomplete, and the lack of retail sales,” said Secretary Chris Said.

“Faced with all this, the Gozitan people should send a clear message to Prime Minister Muscat in the European Parliament Elections next Saturday, that Gozo should not be neglected,” Dr Said concluded.

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