The Gozo Civic Council : a case study of local government in colonial and independent Malta, 1961-1973

Abstract

The Gozo Civic Council may be said to have been the first attempt at decentralisation in Malta. This dissertation is aimed at analysing this scarcely researched British experiment in local government in Malta. Devolution was a common practice throughout the British Empire. Ultimately the practice was. also tested in Malta. Researching this study was not so easy because historical work relating to local government is very limited. This being such a modem concept, most of the literature on it has been written from a political and administrative view point. The Goza Civic Council itself has rarely been the subject of professional research. The idea of a local government materialised mainly because of the hard work of Dr. Anton Tabone and the other civic minded people who supported him. The development and general well being of a neglected Gozo was the central concept behind such an idea and drive. This materialised into the formation of the Gozo Civic Council. It is no coincidence that the first British experiment in local government materialised in Gozo. Being a peripheral area separated by the sea from Malta, Gozo developed certain distinguishing characteristics and needs, which other peripheral areas in Malta did not experience. The political and social climate prevailing in Malta and Gozo after the Second World War persuaded sections of the Gozitan population to press for local autonomy for Gozo, an idea which was welcomed by the British rulers. However with the advent of independence, the Gozo Civic Council entered into its second reality, one which would ultimately bring about the Council's demise.