The eyesore caused by a large building under construction at scenic Dwejra has still not been removed, and no one has assumed responsibility for it.
MEPA stopped the project in March but nothing has happened since.
The Gozo Ministry and San Lawrenz Council need to realise that quality tourists do not visit Gozo to see a concrete monster in a place of natural beauty. It is not enough to promote Gozo and distribute pictures of the Azure window, only for tourists to then be surprised by such a state of abandon and irregularities when they visit the place.
As I stated earlier, around Dwejra alone, some 80 enforcement notices have been issued, for anything from illegal rooms to boathouse extensions, illegal quarries and dumping sites and even an extension of the chapel, also without a permit. READ BY CLICKING HERE.
Hope that our plea will not be part of the Echo in Gozo but part of Eco-Gozo.
The news in brief can be seen through this pictorial. Simply click on the photos to enlarge them if you are curious to know what the two Right-Wingers talked about :)
Recently, we, The Green Party (AD) praised the Nationalist Government for promising that Gozo will be turned into an Ecological island, an idea that had been put forward by Alternattiva Demokratika, two years ago.
I was one of the first who wrote to the Minister of Gozo and asked for an official meeting so that AD could submit its proposals so that this electoral promise could become a reality.
Those able to follow what we are proposing, we tailored an electoral manifesto specifically for Gozo which would create new, modern sustainable jobs and which would ensure the protection of the environment whilst promoting high quality tourism. (Read Here) .
Now that the government is adopting AD's political position, I feel that it is appropriate that we be the first to support the concept of an Eco-Gozo and offer our proposals to the Consultation Process which we hope will also be adopted by the Government.
Innovation of this magnitude calls for the involvement of all Gozitans and Alternattiva Demokratika is keen to share its knowledge and expertise.
In spite of the fact that nobody from Alternattiva Demokratika was invited for the official opening of the consultation process for Eco-Gozo, I attended anyway and also put forward to the Minister verbally our request for dialogue on the subject.
Despite that I already sent two reminders to the personal assistant of Govanna Debono, we received no reply at all.
I also e-mailed from the eco-gozo website set-up by the Gozo Minister informing that we are ready to sponsor this project even though our finances are extremely limited. What did I receive back? I simply got an automatic reply from her webmaster saying "Thank you for your feedback".
What a pity!
While I hope that the Minister for Gozo grants the request of AD for this dialogue, we hope that the Ministry for Gozo does not work in isolation but with other experts so that this ambitious project reflects a true representative democracy.
We also hope that the Minister for Gozo recognizes the whole of civil society as well as the contribution of individual entities which do not necessarily work closely with the Nationalist Party.
Eco-Gozo has to transcend party politics and this would be for the purpose of the Maltese public's full enjoyment of Gozo or whoever gets to visit the Island. At the end of the day, this project is for benefit of the future generation and not simply those who are going to vote in the next election.
Thousands of resident Non-Maltese EU citizens paying their taxes in Malta (and Gozo) are presently not registered to vote even though they have a right to do so for both the loacal councils elections and the European Parliamentary elections due to eleven months from now.
This is sad.
The Authorities do not inform YOU of this right. I was amazed to read one of the comments of the Times on-line saying that the government should not waste money on you!
I'm sure there is a reason behind this. The electoral offices in Malta and Gozo are not being pro-active in enrolling Non-Maltese EU residents in the electoral register for the EU Parliament elections. On the otherhand, I'm sure that the Income Tax and other Taxing Departments chase these people constantly.
The deadline for enrollment in the European Parliament electoral register to be eligible to vote in the European Parliament elections next year is late February 2009.
So my advice is, respect yourself, and don't wait for anybody to inform you of your basic right. I believe that you invested in this country and am sure you would like to give a message to your authorities that as a resident here, the beauty of our islands should be respected and safeguarded for present and future generations.
Unless you register yourself before February next, you will be unable to exercise your basic EU right to vote either in the local elections or in the European Parliament elections, scheduled for June next year.
For your convenience and that of your friends, relatives and colleagues, please avail of the following link to download and print the prescribed European Parliament voter registration form:http://www.electoral.gov.mt/getresource.aspx?id=71
This must be presented, along with your Maltese identity card, to your local Identity Card office in order to enrol on the electoral register for the European Parliament.
Should you experience any difficulty following procedures or meet any bureaucratic problems at any stage, or wish to ascertain if you are registered to vote or not, please send me an e-mail with your name, surname, locality and full postal address, corresponding to that printed on your identity card and we will let you know. My e-mail is victorgalea@onvol.net
The eyesore caused by a large building under construction at scenic Dwejra has still not been removed, and no one has assumed responsibility for it. 
