Chamber on the right track

Last Tuesday, three of Malta’s daily papers gave front-page prominence to a press conference organised by the Malta Chamber.

The gist of the Chamber’s message was that ‘time is up’ as it called for a new economic vision while emphasising the urgent need for immediate action on long-standing issues affecting the country’s economic and social landscape.

The Chamber presented a comprehensive set of proposals to resuscitate the economy, urging the government to ‘Connect, Plan and Reform.’ The message was clear: Malta requires a cohesive economic vision with clear milestones and deliverables.

The Chamber identified twelve key policy areas requiring urgent attention, including competition, fiscal discipline, utilities, renewables, traffic congestion, sustainable tourism, and proper enforcement of laws and regulations. For each area, three critical proposals were outlined.

Among the key areas addressed, the Chamber emphasised the need for a new economic model focused on high value-added activities rather than population growth.

Among other issues the document made proposals on Third Country Nationals (TCNs), working in Malta; the need for significant reforms in public procurement to ensure transparency and efficiency; inflation and its impact on competitiveness; the erosion of good governance as a severe impact on ethical businesses and society at large.

On energy, the Chamber reiterated calls to reduce subsidies, urging the government to rethink the system to benefit those who consume less and invest in renewables. For traffic congestion, it proposed a mix of incentives and disincentives, including paid parking in certain areas and an e-mobility wallet to encourage sustainable transportation.

I do not agree with the proposal of a moratorium on applications for new tourism accommodation to prevent oversupply. This is economic nonsense. By the same argument, Malta might as well apply a moratorium on new applications for cafes and restaurants... and even massage parlours! Why not a moratorium on the importation of cars to solve the traffic problem? Should the state interfere to prevent oversupply rather than let the free market settle down?

It is obvious that in this case the Chamber bowed to the pressure of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) whose members want to suffocate competition in the hotels business. Such a moratorium would only lead to the lowering of standards in existing tourist accommodation ventures. If some hotels are no longer profitable, then the owners should take adequate measures to survive or give up. It is a normal course of events in a free liberal democracy and those hotels who have not adjusted to new economic conditions should fight to change these economic conditions not expect protection to ‘survive’.

Unfortunately, the otherwise very good document published by the Chamber will fall on the current administration’s deaf ears because the survival of the Labour Party in power comes before what the economy needs.

No wonder the GWU’s daily l-orizzont ignored the Chamber’s paper and on the very same day that it was reported in the other papers, it published an editorial about government’s intentions to give more ‘help’ to the middle class.

It seems that the budget for next year – to be announced in October – will include measures to lighten the tax burden for the middle class. It seems that Labour’s disappointing results in the European Parliament elections have led Robert Abela’s administration to think that it can solve its electoral problems by dishing more money to the middle class!

It also means that the government has no intention of changing the current economic model and stick to its ‘winning elections’ strategy by refusing to consider such steps as were proposed in the Chamber’s document.

Unconsciously, the Prime Minister is sending the message that it is not interested in the actual relevance of Malta’s economic direction and prospects, but only in not losing more voters.

Meanwhile, the Opposition is enjoying its summer vacation and will get up from its deep sleep some days before Independence Day.

Collection of rubbish

Mario Fava, President of the Local Councils Association writes regularly in the GWU’s l-orizzont, usually with a lot of sense. Not so on 23 August, when he wrote an article on the current system of the collection of domestic rubbish.

The system is in a mess, but Fava thinks there is nothing wrong with it. He insists that the only problem is caused by people putting out rubbish bags on the wrong day. This means that they cannot be collected on the day when they are placed out on the pavement. I do not think that this is not a problem, especially with flats occupied by tourists or other foreigners.

But the real big problem is the amount of time rubbish bags stay outside in the sun after they are placed there.

When people go out of the house every morning, they place the rubbish bags outside their residences. This happens sometimes even before eight in the morning.... only for the rubbish bags to be collected in the afternoon, sometimes at about 3pm or later.

Many rubbish bags stay outside for several hours before they are collected and this situation has become worse ever since the collection of rubbish was centralised, after a previous PN administration had given this responsability to the local councils.

The new system may be cheaper but it is badly thought out. How can the collection of rubbish bags in Sliema be tackled with the same parameters that apply for rubbish bag collection in Għaxaq?

Forged certificates

In the UK, a Nigerian gang forged more than 2,000 marriage certificates to allow Nigerians to live there illegally. Four gang members of an organised crime group have been jailed for a total of 13 years after they made fraudulent applications for residency between March 2019 and May 2023.

The organised crime group provided false Nigerian Customary Marriage Certificates and other fraudulent documentation to support the applications of Nigerians and help them to remain in the UK.

So, this type of forgery happens also in the UK!

Nothing is new under the sun, of course.

Except that in the UK, it is seasoned criminals who do it, while in Malta it is just seasoned Labour Party supporters!