Dr Justyne Caruana, on behalf of the Standing Committee for Gozo Affairs, has tabled in Parliament the first report with its recommendations on – The impact of Covid-19 on Gozo and the way forward.

The Standing Committee, chaired by Justyne Caruana, discussed the report during a series of nine meetings which were held between the 5th of May and the 7th of July, where various entities and stakeholders were also invited to participate.

Those who took part in the meetings were; Chairman of the Committee Justyne Caruana, with members, Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights Anton Refalo on behalf of the Government, and Chris Said and Kevin Cutajar for the Opposition.

The impact of Covid-19 has been felt all over the world and no less on the island of Gozo. The Committee noted that it is worth mentioning that apart from the various negative repercussions that the spread of Covid-19 had on Gozo, it has also led to shortcomings in various areas that already existed being addressed.

The Standing Committee for Gozo Affairs said that it had therefore decided that this issue should be a priority and therefore immediately started discussing the topic and agreed that, after hearing a number of experts and stakeholders, issue its recommendations on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Gozo and the way forward, as indicated in the report.

From the various discussions it had, as well as the documents seen by the Standing Committee for Gozo Affairs concerning the way forward for Gozo, the Committee agreed on the need to treat Gozo differently, due to the particular realities and challenges facing this island, chief among them the double insularity.

The Committee said that this requires impetus and a holistic exercise to address the challenge of state aid in the context of the need for a particular and specific package addressing the needs of Gozo, and to not only diversify, but also strengthen the Gozitan economy.

Following these meetings, the report was tabled in the House of Parliament on Wednesday as well as circulated to all entities concerned for the implementation of the recommendations.

The Committee also formally submitted this report to the Minister for Finance and Financial Services for consideration when formulating the 2021 Budget.

The report, which is in Maltese, can be read in full by clicking here.

Photo by Alain Salvary

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