We are at war. We are facing a long and difficult battle but one that we will win. We will win because we know the enemy, we know its weaknesses and we are developing the weapons that will eradicate it. Until such time that this anti-coronavirus vaccine is developed, we must take all measures possible to survive.

In Malta, we are now in the transmission phase. Had we, as a nation, acted more expeditiously and with greater firmness in controlling the borders, we probably would have seen fewer imported cases. Had we acted more swiftly in limiting social interaction, we would have seen less local transmission.

We now enter the critical phase of managing the situation to ensure that the additional demand on health services is met with adequate supply of facilities and medical personnel.

We have full faith in our health authorities who are working around the clock to manage this difficult situation. On behalf of the opposition, we offered them all the help and resources at our disposal.

This is not only a health emergency. This is equally an economic emergency of the highest order. Global companies are buckling under the strain. From airlines to retail companies, many are signalling their inability to deal with a prolonged crisis.

In Malta, the situation is desperate. Most businesses have seen their revenue drop by as much as 90 per cent and that was before forced closures. These companies are facing immediate cash flow problems. They simply have no money to pay wages, rent and utility costs to keep their company afloat.

In such a situation, the first temptation is to reduce the wage bill by either reducing salaries or laying off workers. This is the solution that as a country we need to avoid.

This is the situation that may help the company in the short-term but will limit our ability as a nation to hit the ground running when things turn for the better. The government needs to do everything possible to help companies ride over this difficult patch.

The opposition is making four specific proposals:

(a) the government should shoulder responsibility for payment of all quarantine leave;

(b) the government should provide for 50 per cent of all salaries up to a capping level that should be agreed upon with all constituted bodies in order to ensure that there will be no unnecessary dismissals;

(c) together with the banks, where there is sufficient liquidity, government needs to ensure that we can provide for a scheme where payments on loan facilities are postponed;

(d) a new scheme of loans in favour of entities that are in such need, whereby government acts as guarantor, and through which a moratorium is offered on repayment of capital and interest rates would be kept at the lowest level possible.

This is the time for the government to show that it is really business-friendly

The opposition has already been recommending that government creates a fund, equivalent to six per cent of the estimated revenue from income tax and social security contributions that will be used to help companies maintain their present level of wage bill.

The government should consider this as an investment fund. In the long-term, this investment will be beneficial to government coffers.

If government does not intervene to save jobs, it will be hit by a double whammy of losing tax revenue and of having to pay more in unemployment benefits. An additional fund should be created possibly by resorting to the National Deve-lopment and Social Fund, to help those sectors which were most impacted, particularly the travel and tourism sector and the retail sector.

The opposition has also called for a 50 per cent reduction in utility bills, especially now that the price of oil has dropped significantly.

These measures would be a good start and give a breathing space to the economy as it prepares itself for the weeks ahead.

The government’s half-hearted measures announced this week simply did not cut it. If anything, they showed a measure of arrogance and insensitivity and rightly so brought about immediate condemnation from the business leaders. This government, which for years boasted of a strong economic performance and surplus, must prove its economic mettle.

We have been through this before. In 2009, the Nationalist administration had a choice: to either stick to its balanced budget targets or to save jobs. There wasn’t even any dithering or second thoughts about what needed to be done.

The government placed jobs as its top priority. It then worked tirelessly to sustain tourism. The end result was that Malta came out of the recession fighting fit and for the years that followed we saw our economy grow from strength to strength. Prime Minister Robert Abela should adopt the same approach.

For years, the opposition has been warning against inflating recurrent expenditure precisely because we wanted public finances to be able to sustain a recession and economic emergency. The government chose to ignore our advice and now wants private enterprise to bear the brunt of the economic fall-out. This is not the way forward.

This is the time for the government to show that it is really business-friendly. This is the time to show that it can manage the economy and not simply rely on shady dealings to push up GDP. As an opposition, we are doing our part.

We are coming up with proposals even though the government has made it amply clear that it does not want us to be around the table. This is wrong.

This may be a time for less social interaction but it is certainly time when we need, as a country, to unite more, communicate more.

We will overcome all hurdles if we act together as one nation, one people.

Adrian Delia is leader of the Nationalist Party