Alternattiva Demokratika's Regional Committee for Gozo has described the budget as lacking in any courageous decision to create the sustainable employment which Gozo needs. AD Chairperson Dr Harry Vassallo said that "Although in his budget speech the Prime Minister acknowledges that Gozo is an island with unique potential and opportunities, the speech was full of empty promises which Gozitans have already heard enough of.

Dr. Vassallo insisted that "the Prime Minister does not have the courage to announce that development at Ramla l-Hamra must stop once and for all, by having the area declared a zone of special conservation status in order to prevent any speculator from thinking of applying for development permits. Nor had he the courage to give tha Ta Cenc area to Gozitans by buying it back and turning it into a national park. Nor has he listened to calls from Alternattiva Demokratika to safeguard the Hondoq ir-Rummien area by turning it into a geological and hertitage area as well as a wooded area. Although the government claims to believe in the potential of Gozo's environment, it is still unable to create the jobs that can be created in this sector. Gozitans want facts not words."

Speaking of employment in Gozo Dr Vassallo said that "It is pointless for the PN and now also the MLP to promise two a penny jobs when there is no clear vision of Gozo's future. The government should investigate why some Gozitans do not find employment although they attend interview after interview. Alternattiva Demokratika is glad that the government has at last taken up the proposal it has made over and over again for the establishment of call centres in Gozo. Elected to Parliament Alternattiva Demokratika will be able to create hundreds more jobs especially in the alternative energy innovation technology and IT in Gozo."

Victor Galea, AD Spokesperson for Gozo said that "We have heard a lot of rhetoric about the construction of schools but we hear very little about support for teachers. The private tuition plague in Gozo continues to be a significant burden to many families negatively affecting the quality of life of children and their families."

"As in previous years the Prime Minister mentions the same projects which Gozitans have grown tired of hearing about, among them the rehabilitation project for the Taz-Zwwieqa shoreline and the old harbour in Mgrarr. It appears that the Prime Minister is altogether detached from the Gozo reality, because he appears to be unaware that public land is being given over to private enterprises including the public seating that has always been available to the public."

Dr. Vassallo said that the Government's record on heritage conservation is abysmal, with existing development at Chambrai to be outdone only by the proposal to build a seven story tower at the fort. The destruction of the urban fabric of Gozitan villages has carried on at a rapid pace with the construction of flats on an island in which 48% of all housing units stand vacant. What the Prime Minister failed to say is that the rehabilitation works he mentioned, particularly the restoration of bastions, will only start in 2010."

"We have not heard a word about vacant property and the exorbitant prices of property afflicting every Gozitan couple looking for a home. Now that it is documented that half the properties built in Gozo stand vacant, the PN and the MLP cannot remain silent in order not to offend the developers who finance their electoral campaigns. What explanation do they have to offer young couples obliged to embark on a lifetime of debt when almost one half of all properties in Gozo stand vacant?" Dr Vassallo asked.

"Gozitans are looking forward to the election to parliament of their Alternattiva Demokratika MP, in order to ensure that MEPA rules apply to everyone equally in Gozo and to see the end of nepotism and the client patron system, to have a system which encourages those who want to move ahead regardless of partisan affinity. Until these issues are radically addressed all budget speeches will be hardly worth the paper used to report them. Dr Vassallo concluded.