Gozitan representatives from three non-governmental organisations with a ”youthful framework” – namely Ghawdix, GUG and KNZ took part in a joint action in Xlendi on Saturday to voice their concerns over the ”excessive development that is being allowed to take place in Gozo.”

Their rallying cry was ”against the lack of control, vision and wisdom in the field of construction, and how the actions that are being taken are killing the islands unique social character.”

They stressed that ”as a young generation of Gozitans, we representatives are raising the concerns of many who, like us, feel that they are not being given enough attention.”

A spokesperson for the National Youth Council (KNZ) insisted on the need for integrity and accountability. ”Its appeal is twofold: for all those who live in Gozo to take active action to strengthen the cry against what is endangering the common good; and so that politicians, authorities, and developers no longer ignore the fact that we are facing an unprecedented problem, and that the best way to overcome this challenge is not by continuing to put their heads in the sand, but by addressing it.”

They added that, ”if the route is not changed, tomorrow our children will not understand why we were once proud of our island.’’

The beauty of Gozo, ”which is buried’ under cranes, concrete and shapeless blocks,” was highlighted by the spokesperson for environmental group Ghawdix.

They argued that ”although the people’s taxes supply authorities and politicians who have a duty to regulate this sector in the name of the good of the many, the will to change the failed policies is not there.”

They also pointed to what is the the ”source” of many problems in this regard – ”there is the vote in the middle, there is the slander, and there are the interests of those who fill the parties with donations in a highly contradictory system where political parties are funded by those with personal and non-public interests. What chance does beauty have when it is competing with money?”

The spokesperson from the Gozitan University Group (GUG) looked at the future of Gozo and asked ‘’but really, is there a future for Gozo if an imminent change is not implemented?”

They went on to say ”we are disillusioned and disappointed with the situation in our home … we have been promised heaven for years … and it seems we have gone in the opposite direction!”

”It is not a coincidence that many young Gozitans no longer feel comfortable in their own homes. We are not saying that no progress has been made: but the manner and rate at which this is happening is currently leaving only frustration and sadness,” they said.

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