Opposition proposes restructuring fund for Maltese companies in Libya

Shadow economy minister Claudio Grech announced that the opposition would be pushing two proposals in parliament in the coming weeks.

“The aim is to discuss how businesses in Libya are being treated and can be treated by the Maltese government,” Grech said.

Grech pointed out that it is not the first time that companies related to the Libyan market in some way or another were struck by a crisis in the region as he recalled the year 2011, the beginning of the Libyan crisis.

“In 2011, we had managed to mitigate the majority of problems for Maltese companies but this time the situation is different, as the conflict is much more long-term in nature and it is both internal and external, in that there is a terrorism threat to countries outside Libya,” Grech added.

Grech explained that the party believed that Malta Enterprise should be prepared for a long-term conflict, and that the opposition had come up with suggestions following a number of discussions with entities directly linked to the country.

“The two proposals being pushed by the opposition are the organisation of a restructuring fund to help those companies and businesses negatively effected by the Libyan crisis restructure and diversify its operation in order to be able to branch out to other markets. The second proposal is for the government to create a mechanism to help companies and businesses in Libya and safeguard their interests and assets within the country,” Grech explained.

Grech said that helping these companies would ultimately boost the Maltese economy.

Spokesperson for public administration and government investments Censu Galea, spoke of the possibility of having a contact office where those effected by the Libyan crisis could seek all sorts of help.

“The opposition’s idea is to have an office where those effected would be able to call and where the government would co-ordinate all related aspects, it would be an office that collects all government operations,” Galea explained.

Spokesperson for financial services, IT and gaming, Kristy Debono said that 100s of Maltese companies had previously held used the Libyan market as a strongpoint in their dealings, but that many had by now returned to Malta due to safety issues.

“These employees are generally skilled and they have an area of specialisation that is not so useful in Malta, so they are finding it particularly difficult to find employment in Malta,” Debono explained.

“The ETC should try to provide more training to these workers, or if possible help them in their attempts to find more appropriate jobs elsewhere.”

Debono explained that Malta is also suffering due to the fact that it was previously more attractive to foreign investors due to its close relations with Libya.

“Malta needs to tap into other north African markets so that it can keep its position as an attractive country for investments, just as other countries have already done,” Debono said.

Debobo added that the government should be more holistic in its approach to minimise damage control and facilitate new markets as much as possible.

Economy shadow minister Claudio Grech announced that the opposition would be pushing two proposals in parliament in the coming weeks.

“The aim is to discuss how businesses in Libya are being treated and can be treated by the Maltese government,” Grech said.

Grech pointed out that it is not the first time that companies related to the Libyan market in some way or another were struck by a crisis in the region as he recalled the year 2011, the beginning of the Libyan crisis.

“In 2011, we had managed to mitigate the majority of problems for Maltese companies but this time the situation is different, as the conflict is much more long-term in nature and it is both internal and external, in that there is a terrorism threat to countries outside Libya,” Grech added.

Grech explained that the party believed that Malta Enterprise should be prepared for a long-term conflict, and that the opposition had come up with suggestions following a number of discussions with entities directly linked to the country.

“The two proposals being pushed by the opposition are the organisation of a restructuring fund to help those companies and businesses negatively effected by the Libyan crisis restructure and diversify its operation in order to be able to branch out to other markets. The second proposal is for the government to create a mechanism to help companies and businesses in Libya and safeguard their interests and assets within the country,” Grech explained.

Grech said that helping these companies would ultimately boost the Maltese economy.

Spokesperson for public administration and government investments Censu Galea, spoke of the possibility of having a contact office where those effected by the Libyan crisis could seek all sorts of help.

“The opposition’s idea is to have an office where those effected would be able to call and where the government would co-ordinate all related aspects, it would be an office that collects all government operations,” Galea explained.

Spokesperson for financial services, IT and gaming, Kristy Debono said that 100s of Maltese companies had previously held used the Libyan market as a strongpoint in their dealings, but that many had by now returned to Malta due to safety issues.

“These employees are generally skilled and they have an area of specialisation that is not so useful in Malta, so they are finding it particularly difficult to find employment in Malta,” Debono explained.

“The ETC should try to provide more training to these workers, or if possible help them in their attempts to find more appropriate jobs elsewhere.”

Debono explained that Malta is also suffering due to the fact that it was previously more attractive to foreign investors due to its close relations with Libya.

“Malta needs to tap into other north African markets so that it can keep its position as an attractive country for investments, just as other countries have already done,” Debono said.

Debobo added that the government should be more holistic in its approach to minimise damage control and facilitate new markets as much as possible.

Grech stressed that the opposition was not criticizing the government but presenting points to make it as proactive as possible and that the opposition was open to discussions which hold helping these companies that represent 100s of Maltese families, at their heart.