Ministers appeal for Gozo region to make better use of blue and green economies

On the eve of the Budget, the Minister in the OPM, responsible among others for social dialogue, Carmelo Abela together with the Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri addressed the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) joint Gozo Regional Committee meeting, with an appeal for this region to make better use of the blue and green economies.

In their appeal, they stressed the importance of supporting innovation in agriculture, training in the tourism sector for a better service and that Gozo attracts digital innovation companies and digital nomads.

Minister Carmelo Abela, mentioned that this Government has promised a dialogue with the social partners in a transparent, open and honest nature, for the protection of both the workers’ sector and employers.

He said that this has been done, not only in terms of consultations on the 2021 Budget, but also in connection with discussions on the Covid-19 pandemic.

“A strong social dialogue that will not only lead to the protection of workers’ conditions and the saving of jobs during the pandemic, but to a 2021 Budget, which will be one whose measures will reflect the results achieved through collective work,” said the Minister.

Carmelo Abela also spoke about the economic potential of Gozo. He mentioned how this does not come alone and therefore there is a need for “all of us together – Government, partners, entrepreneurs and all Gozitans and Maltese – to drive growth in Gozo, growth that is sustainable: economically, socially and environmentally.”

He stressed that the environmental field, is an opportunity where the fields of the green economy and the blue economy need to be further studied in order for Gozo to attract foreign investors for research and testing in these areas.

“This while putting tools, infrastructure and funds in the hands of young people and even established Gozitan entrepreneurs to be able to move to new niches,” said Abela.

The Minister stressed that sustainability also fits into the traditional aspects. “One of the things we can focus on, particularly in Gozo, is the agricultural sector and therefore a national effort is needed to present this field in a new way also because we want to see that we have food security especially in times of a pandemic,” he added.

Carmelo Abela said that it is important that we continue our efforts so that Gozo continues to attract more companies in the field of informatics, ICT and digital innovation.

He concluded by saying how Gozo is attracting “so-called digital nomads,” international workers who do sub-contracting or self-employment and who can live wherever they want in the world.

Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri said that the Government is working hard on accessibility. He stated that it is essential to recognise in a concrete way the challenges that Gozitans have due to the double insularity and to “invest unprecedentedly in the connectivity between the two islands.”

Clint Camilleri went on to say that “this is why this Government is committed to carrying out the tunnel project between Malta and Gozo. This tunnel will be offering many advantages for Gozitans who cross the channel to go to work every day,” he said.

He also explained how in addition to the long-term solution of the tunnel, work is being done to introduce the fast ferry service, the fourth ship has been added and from the beginning of October the new public transport route has been launched with the X300, connecting the Terminal in Cirkewwa with Mater Dei Hospital, University, GF Abela Junior College and Valletta.

Minister Camilleri explained that “we need to diversify so that Gozo does not depend only on tourism, while we continue to invest in infrastructure and we continue to work on digital infrastructure.” He said that final preparations are underway for the fibre optic cable to “become operational by the end of this year.”

Camilleri went on to say that “through this infrastructure we can start attracting markets that we don’t have today and bring investments to this island with an attractive infrastructure.” He went on to say that investors will be able to invest in this island and create more jobs and quality work for Gozitans in Gozo.

Minister Camilleri pointed out that Gozo has attracted domestic tourism this summer through incentives taken by the Government and that although this summer Gozo was the natural choice of the Maltese, “we continued to help by halving the ferry fares so that it was the choice for a holiday not only on weekends, but also during the week.”

The Minister for Gozo concluded by saying that the wage supplement had helped many businesses and that the voucher system not only helped families financially, it also saved Maltese and Gozitan businesses and a number of jobs in the food sector, tourism and business.