In view of the chronic lack of space for the Gozo public registry and land registries, which are planned to be housed in a hotel, AD has said that it reiterates that these offices should be incorporated in the new Law Courts complex programmed for Gozo and asks the Gozo Ministry to start immediately planning for the long term rather than just thinking of short term political gain.

Arnold Cassola, Alternattiva Demokratika Chairperson, said, “Alternattiva Demokratika understands that it is useful to have these two Registries located close to each other also because of the “Central Registry Act”, that should be coming into force in the near future.”

Victor Galea, Alternattiva Demokratika Secretary General and Spokesperson for Gozo, said, “We sincerely augur that the Gozo Ministry stops with its attitude of management by crisis. We remind the Ministry that every cent that it spends belongs to all taxpayers. The Gozo branch of Alternattiva Demokratika could, since its early days, foresee clearly two major problems: that the present premises of the Law Courts in the Cittadella are inadequate to accommodate the volume of legal work and that having the Courts in the Cittadella was contributing to further concentration of traffic in the heart of Victoria.”

Victor Galea added, “Alternattiva Demokratika has proposed instead that the law courts be moved to the ex-MMU vacant complex just outside the city. Even in its electoral manifesto for Gozo, AD had said that a Regional Centre should be established. This regional centre could include a Public Registry, a Regional Police Headquarters with lock up cells, a fire brigade and Rescue Centre, the Regional Attorney General office, the Regional office for Local Government and any other departments which fall under the aegis of the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs.”