Gozo, land of Giovanna

Giovanna Debono, whose unrelenting hold on Gozo is no match for the pretenders to the throne, talks about the persona of being Minister of Gozo

Giovanna Debono, first lady of the slumbering island of Gozo, spent a good number of years toiling at the lower end of political drudgery - despite her instant popularity with the Gozitan people, her promotion to minister came late in the day.
Although ministers are not made in a day, Debono’s allure for the Gozitan people was striking - she inherited a great deal of votes from Gozitans who prior to Debono’s first electoral stint in 1987, rooted for her father Coronato Attard, another PN Member of Parliament. With 2,703 first count votes, Debono had already pipped PN favourite Anton Tabone, who was Minister for Gozo up until 1996.
Her electoral vote counts confirmed her ascendancy in the PN echelons on Gozo. Always winning more votes that the current minister, Debono maintained a 4,000 plus vote right up till 1998, and then won in 2003 with a stunning 6,500 votes, a veritable confirmation of her electoral staying power.
As Minister, Debono’s persona has been overshadowed by the aura commonly attributed to any regional bureaucrat. Gozo, just half an hour’s jaunt by ferry, retains its insular buffer as the ultimate it’s-who-you-know-that-counts society, protected by an unwritten code of tradition and reticence. Debono represents the island’s human nexus to Malta’s bureaucratic ‘labyrinth’. If you need something done, Giovanna is bound to take care of it.
She is known to be indefatigable in offering her time to hear the complaints and needs of the Gozitans who convene at her office, Labourites or Nationalists. If Giovanna’s not around, then they will speak to her husband, Tony Debono, the officer-in-charge of Gozo’s Construction and Maintenance Department, who will relay to her any lament.
In Malta, Debono’s persona is larger than life, much as is the perception of Gozo as being an island where no VAT is paid, and over-development continues unfettered. The Minister is aware of this perception.
For example, much is said about Debono stepping down to the MEPA offices in Floriana to give staff a what for on tardy permits for Gozitan construction permits. Debono makes no bones about her tenacity:
“I do not accept the word ‘lobbying’,” she says when asked of her personal interest in shaking up MEPA. “I only speak up when somebody has applied for a permit at MEPA and has not yet been given an answer. Of course I do that – can a person apply for something and not receive an answer? People have to be respected. These are taxpayers who pay for our salaries. We would be neglecting our duties.
“It is our duty as MPs to assist these people and to help our administration work better. Unfortunately, our departments and entities are manned by human beings who are either just, hardworking and capable in their work, or else are sleeping on their job. And who sleeps, has to be woken up. This is the type of intervention that one can make, and we are obliged to do so. If I hear a comment and I do not act upon it, I would be neglecting my duties.”
This is, in fact, part of the character of the unrelenting Debono, whose personal interest in her constituents’ demands carves her own personal charisma with Gozitans. Her husband Tony too, by her own admission, represents a link between the people and power. She had been asked by this newspaper on the role of her husband, whose department is responsible for providing supplies for the construction and maintenance of roads. In Gozo, over 90 per cent of roadworks are carried out by one major contractor. It is sometimes said, in Gozo, that the island has two ministers.
“When you first asked me about my husband, I answered that he was a government employee, who carried out his job as any government employee. For the very reason that he is my husband, he is ‘sidelined’ in the sense that he was never placed on an adjudication board for a tender although his role entitles him to such responsibility, and I agree that he should never be on any such board. He was never offered such a responsibility, because they assumed I would not be pleased about it, and because he would not have accepted it in the first place.
“People do speak to people – if they don’t find me, they will give me a message through my husband. I think that is quite normal for any Minister, be they female or male.”
She is quite aware of the perceptions of the Maltese when it comes to discussing what many depict as a feudal lord on an insular island held back by traditional codes of honour. She says that if she did not serve her country and its people she would not be respecting the oath she took when elected an MP. “God forbid that MPs do not pay attention to their constituents,” she cautions. “We have to hear these people out. Something that I have always done, and I say it with a clear conscience, and anybody can challenge me on this, is that in any way I could, I have helped people in what was right. That’s what I have done, and as long as God has me remain in politics, that’s what I will keep on doing.
“People know how I am – if you ask me for something which you have no right to, I will tell you straight up that you have no right to it. People have grown accustomed to me on this. Many people vote for me because I have been sincere with them. If you have a right to something, I will work for it. God forbid we should close our doors to the needs of the people.”
Her increasing popularity with constituents has in fact clashed with other PN hopefuls whose attempt at clinching a parliamentary seat has so far been unsuccessful. Not all is in fact well in the PN clan in Gozo. Local councillors who attempt to seize a parliamentary seat have to face up to Debono’s powerful hold on voters’ sympathies (and demands). Debono is diplomatic about the allegations of PN infighting in Gozo.
“The rivalry won’t affect me. I am known for assisting both Labourites and Nationalists. Political rivalry does not affect me in the same manner that criticism about me helping Labourites does not affect me. My message to the party is that we are an open party, open to all different opinions. Divergence of opinions exist in every party – they exist in cloistered convents, let alone political parties.”
As a region affected by ‘double insularity’, Gozo remains underfed when compared to Maltese standards. Its particular tourist industry, which enjoys reprieve only in the summer months, is believed to be the recipient of breadcrumbs of investment. Lately, the helicopter service to Gozo has been resurrected. But at a price of Lm50 for regular tourists, the service is deemed to be expensive, and doubts surround its longevity.
“When one hears the word ‘fifty’, myself included, one says ‘how expensive’. There was continuous discussion on these prices. But we have to look at the interests of both sides – the interest of the Maltese government, and therefore the interest of the tourist industry, and that of the company.
“What I insisted upon, as well as Minister Censu Galea, was to have special prices for Maltese and Gozitan residents, students and elderly, even if they do not reside in Malta, at Lm16 single and Lm26 return. Then you have the Lm30 single and Lm50 return for the rest. However we also wanted to have the fares negotiated into special packets. In fact, the company met all the Maltese and Gozitan stakeholders, including the Gozo Tourism Association and the Malta Tourism Authority, so that every company and handling and travel agents could negotiate a special packet with the company, and instead of the Lm50 fare it would be a reduced price.
“The quality of the two services should also be considered. Today we have a service which will be good, reliable, secure, and is of a certain standard. When we talk about Gozo we talk about advertising it as a distinct tourist destination, for quality tourists, with a quality service. The previous air service on offer to tourists was not a quality service.
“It is true that Lm50 is expensive, but we have to see all the circumstances which led to that price. I always say you will succeed insofar as much as you work hard for what you want. If we start complaining without doing anything, nothing will come out of it. Let’s start advertising the service, let’s start working together, and let’s not kill the service before it actually takes off.”
Debono takes pride in having formed the Gozo Tourism Association five years ago, confirming what she calls her “belief in the participation of stakeholders”, from which a new strategy for winter tourism was devised. In particular she says the added impetus was poured into investing in the diving sector, using EU funds for the provision of a decompression chamber, an artificial dive site with the scuttling of two more ships, an allocation of funds for marketing, a master-plan for scuba-diving, and another study related to diving as a form niche tourism. Another idea is for a training hotel in Gozo in a bid to bury the reputation of Gozo’s untrained catering and hotel staff.
“Problems in tourism do exist in Gozo but we strove to address them. I would like to see more investment in Gozo’s tourism industry. It is not true that the statistics show investment in Gozo to be at levels of one per cent. It is an incorrect idea and we have proof that shows the contrary. I appeal to the concerned office to publish statistics on Gozo’s tourism industry.
“I am not satisfied with the level of investment going into Gozo. We would like more. I could be criticised for investing much of my energy into tourism particularly. The tourism industry will affect every person in Gozo directly or indirectly. I criticise those establishments in Gozo which overcharge tourists because this is causing irreparable damage to them. We welcome everyone who comes to Gozo and we have to work to sustain our reputation for hospitality.”
Many Gozitans are however worried about the rising level of unemployment in Gozo. It has been coming for long. Factory and hotel closures are a hard blow for the island, where jobs tend to be limited, meaning Gozitans have to look towards Malta for employment.
“The problem of employment in Gozo is felt more than it is in Malta. When one job is lost in Gozo, finding alternative employment is harder than in Malta. However we have to say that we had some factories which closed, but we also know the reason why these factories closed. It wasn’t the government’s fault, neither because of our membership to the EU, but because these factories found cheaper labour in other countries.
“The majority those who lost their employment in factories found other jobs, shifting onto other services such as tourism, and construction, and even started off their own business. With EU funding, we have set up courses in education, skills, trades and crafts for people. We are also offering a start-up grant for those who are interested in setting up a business.”
Although rumours are rife that most of the former employees from the factories which closed down were boarded out in a scot-free ride to pensionable age, Debono downplays the allegation.
“I wouldn’t know precisely about that, although I know more about who is unemployed, but as for those who are boarded out, I would not have any statistics about that. That is something in the hands of the Ministry for Social Solidarity. However, I also know that according to ETC data, many unemployed have found alternative employment elsewhere. It so happens that workers of a certain age, from 52 onwards, may not find employment immediately. That is something that Minister Louis Galea is currently addressing.”
Gozo slumbers as its image of a hospitable, easy-going, Mediterranean bastion is contrasted with the deathly silence of omertá, and the myths of tax evasion and bad restaurants.
Debono, the powerful Gozitan minister, defends the reputation of her constituents. A report on Gozitans contributing just one per cent of total VAT collection was met by Gozitans with some umbrage. She maintains it is not “the true picture”, and that the fact is that many large Gozitan companies are actually registered in Malta, so the majority of VAT and tax collection occurs in Malta, even from those Gozo companies registered in Malta. “I hope that a clearer picture will emerge of tax collection in Gozo, because it casts a dark shadow over the island which is not right.
“There are good perceptions and some which are less pleasing. You have to pay attention to them, but only to a certain point. If somebody wants to keep on harping about certain perceptions, let them do so. If these perceptions can be rebutted, then they should be.”