Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1507818
ON paper, it all sounds very promising. Government has just published a 'Gozo Regional Devel- opment Strategy Document'; and the number one item on the agen- da, it seems, is a proposal to re- consider the (incredibly daft) idea, of 'building an underwater tunnel connecting the two islands'. Now: even if this were the on- ly proposal in the entire docu- ment – and in reality, it's just half a sentence out of 44 pages – it would still be enough to warrant front-page prominence, in any local newspaper. (In fact, it was the main focus of all the head- lines I've seen so far). Not so much because it spells an instant end to the actual 'Mal- ta-Gozo tunnel' controversy, in itself. Let's face it: it doesn't, re- ally. All the document actually says, on that subject, is that: "the project of linking Gozo and Mal- ta by an underwater tunnel needs to be reconsidered, and its cost/ benefits trade-off re-examined." As such, it might be a little pre- mature to announce the project's ultimate demise. For all we know, the result of this 're-examination' could just as easily be to decide that the tunnel IS feasible, after all... and to simply go ahead with it, as planned. Nonetheless, it certainly marks a significant departure from the government's last-known posi- tion on the issue. (And even, as shall be seen, from the govern- ment's last-known position on 'National Strategy Documents', in general.) This, for instance, is what Prime Minister Robert Abela had to say about the same tunnel project, just over two years ago: "During a business breakfast in Gozo on Wednesday morn- ing, Prime Minister Abela an- nounced that a permanent link between Malta and Gozo WILL BE HAPPENING. [My empha- sis] "Abela stated that the Govern- ment is committed to getting things done, RATHER THAN JUST PUBLISHING STUDIES [ditto]; and will go on to evalu- ate companies' construction bids for a subsea road tunnel between the two islands." (Malta Daily, March 3, 2021) And I suspect that this – more than anything contained in the Gozo Strategy Plan itself – ex- plains why so much media atten- tion was bestowed only on that one, single, solitary detail. It seems as though Robert Abela has been caught up in yet anoth- er U-turn, of his own making... actually, make that 'two U-turns, rolled into one'. (He contradict- ed himself both on the need for the Malta-Gozo tunnel... and also, on the need for 'publishing studies'.) And given that the same Robert Abela has likewise managed to back-track on pretty much every other topic he has ever men- tioned, since becoming Prime Minister – anything from abor- tion, to COVID-19, to the Jean- Paul Sofia public inquiry, and beyond – it stands to reason that most local newspapers would lead with the 'tunnel' proposal... and not any of the others, con- tained in the same document: which, for the record, also in- clude an apparent confirmation of government's (equally contro- versial) plans to build an 'fixed- wing airport' on Gozo. There is, however, another rea- son why around 99% of this new 'Gozo Regional Development Strategy Document' was largely glossed-over, by the press. Like I said at the very beginning: it all sounds well and good... ON PA- PER. In practice, however? We all know – from our experience over the last 10 years – that this government has developed a rather nasty habit, of constant- ly publishing 'National Strategy Documents'... without ever ac- tually IMPLEMENTING any of their recommendations. For instance: it cannot escape notice that this new 'Gozo Strat- egy Plan' was launched on the same day as a number of environ- mental NGOs – including all 'the usual suspects': Moviment Graf- fitti, FAA, FOE, Birdlife Malta, Din L-Art Helwa, etc. – issued a joint statement, complaining about government's failure to ev- er implement its National Strate- gy Document for Gozo's nearest neighbour... the long-suffering island of Comino. In a nutshell, those NGOs called on government to: > Prohibit large boats carrying hundreds of tourists to Comino; > Drastically reduce the num- ber and size of kiosks; > Abolish all music from kiosks and boats and loud generators; > Control all commercial ac- tivity around the Blue Lagoon to operate on the basis of permits, with strict rules regarding per- mitted activities and waste man- agement. In other words: to implement all the proposals contained in the 'Natura 2000 Management Plan for Comino', published by the same government way back in 2016. Yes, folks, you read correct- ly. Seven whole years ago, the (Muscat-led) administration had launched the equivalent of a 'Regional Development Strategy Plan' for Comino, too. Among other things, this doc- ument proposed that "tourism at the Blue Lagoon needs to be controlled efficiently in order to ensure that it is in harmony with the site's conservation needs"; whilst calling on government – as an 'operational objective', please note – "to plan and imple- ment a tourism carrying capacity assessment of the Blue Lagoon". But oh well. Fast-forward seven years, and we find that the pres- ent government has not lifted so much as the littlest of its fingers, to actually implement any of those lofty 'operational objec- tives'. Moreover (according to the NGOs' statement), "since the island's management plan was published, the daily number of visitors to the Blue Lagoon has increased, not decreased, from 5,000 a day in 2016 to a stagger- ing 8,000 a day this summer." Wait, it gets worse. It also turns out that Tourism Minister Clay- ton Bartolo himself does not 'believe' in imposing any carry- ing-capacity limits on Comino, because – wait for it! - "by reduc- ing the number of deckchairs, we automatically reduced the num- ber of people who visited Blue Lagoon this year." Huh? What? Come again, please? Because if I'm under- standing our tourism minister correctly, he seems to be arguing that: "The problem with 'carry- ing-capacity limits', is that they... um... limit the number of tourists that Comino can actually 'car- ry'!!" ... which, of course, is exactly the same thing as saying: "The problem with 'speed-limits', is that they... erm... 'limit the speed at which you can actually drive!!!" So, what more can I possibly say? Yes, Mr Bartolo! Congratu- lations for finally 'getting it', after all these years! That is, in fact, PRECISELY what the Natura 2000 Management Plan was all along suggesting, back in 2016. If Comino (and especially The Blue Lagoon) is to remain the in- imitable 'jewel in Malta's tourism crown', that it is today: the num- ber of daily visits must be RE- DUCED (and drastically, too!)... and certainly not INCREASED (which would only benefit the operators currently exploiting that island; while ruining it for everybody else). But there is a more pertinent maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 SEPTEMBER 2023 10 OPINION What's the point of 'National Strategy Plans'... if we never actually implement any of them? Raphael Vassallo