The Opposition said on Wednesday it wants to be actively engaged in the shaping of the economic recovery once the coronavirus pandemic starts to subside.

The announcement came as the Nationalist Party unveiled its ‘Covid-19 Economic Recovery Plan’.

PN leader Adrian Delia said the prime minister had failed to provide a clear timeline on the way forward for businesses in various sectors.

The country needed to know how to navigate through uncharted waters and this could only be done through long-term planning, he said. 

Over the past months the PN had taken stock of the situation and prepared for the future by meeting stakeholders from different sectors, he added. 

While everybody knew that one could not get rid of the virus in a day, people needed to understand how the country would adapt to the normality of the future, he said. 

"Uncertainty is not overcome through fear, but it is also not overcome through a false sense of security. We need to understand there are people worried about getting sick while there are also those worrying about economic failures," he said.

What is the PN proposing?

Claudio Grech, shadow minister for economic services, outlined the PN proposals. 

He said that in order to start reversing the negative impact on the economy as a result of the pandemic, the PN believes it has a “duty to actively participate and contribute to this process”.

It also hopes to rise above party politics by proposing a bipartisan task force with all key stakeholders on board. 

To do so, the party is proposing ten policy pillars which it believes should be followed post-coronavirus. 

Policy pillar 1 - Short-term relief

The PN in its document says short-term relief involves “targeted, temporary and timely” measures to all those enterprises that have been materially impacted but the outbreak.  Specific requirements for targeted industries should be identified. 

The PN also believes the stimulus packages offered to those hit hard by the pandemic should not be abandoned “too early” though it should not be “construed as a bail-out framework”. 

Policy pillar 2 - Instilling confidence 

“Confidence is the raw material for economic activity,” the PN adds. To instil investor confidence, uncertainty should be reduced by setting out a clear time-lined plan of decisions. Enterprise, it says, could not switch on and off and so the government needs to enable enterprises to adequately plan the restructuring of their economic activity and its alignment to the physical distancing regime. 

Policy pillar 3 - Strengthening the relationship between health and the economy

The PN said that “a healthy nation will deliver a healthy economy and a healthy economy will deliver a healthy nation”. 

“This is not a balancing act. Yesterday’s heroes cannot now be forgotten today,” the party said, adding that the success of healthcare services in containing the COVID-19 outbreak needs to be leveraged.

Being a regional health beacon translates to high value-added investment and quality tourism. The party, however, warned about a false sense of security, saying that the virus and its risks have not changed.

Policy pillar 4 - An economic transformation 

The virus and its impact also gives the country an opportunity to fix what is broken it its economic model, the PN said. 

“Pave the path for an economic transformation and shared economic vision and strategy for Malta. Stamp out the economics of senseless consumption, development at all costs and zero-sum activities which pit progress against people,” the PN argued. 

Policy pillar 5 - A new social pact

The PN said the future after coronavirus should also present an opportunity for the shaping and curating of a new social pact between constituted bodies, social partners, civil society and both political parties. 

It is therefore calling for a united platform that “elevates sustainability, quality of life and social mobility to the highest level of our economic priorities”. 

The economy’s “soul” should be shaped for the people and not for its own sake.

Policy pillar 6 - An indigenous private health sector

The private health sector should be complementary and not in competition with the public healthcare services, the PN said, reiterating its call for St Luke’s, Gozo and Karin Grech hospitals to be “returned to the national health service”. 

The existing entrepreneurs and investors in the sector should be appreciated and incentivised while the self-employed professionals’ work in the sector should also be supported in order to help them grow their digital-first approach. 

Policy pillar 7 - Innovative and comprehensive investment aid programmes 

These programmes, the PN said, should be distinct from targeted relief, with those enterprises “committed to reform and transformation” getting the necessary support. 

A number of strategic priorities should help guide such an approach, the PN said. 

Policy pillar 8 - Spearheading local ecosystems

The PN is also calling for the spearheading of the formation, nurturing and growth of sustainable local ecosystems, with a strong accent on the promotion on the circular economy. 

“A structural collaboration” within and across local industries and clusters should be fostered. Industries should also be consolidated to avoid inefficiencies and duplication.

There should also be application of targeted government procurement to serve as a jumpstart for the functioning of the ecosystems in a post-Covid-19 scenario, the PN said. 

Policy pillar 9 - Prioritising public spending

The government should also introduce restrictions on discretionary expenditure as an integral part of the new ‘Social Pact’, the PN said.  

“Consider this an investment intended to deliver a long-term return to the state, once enterprises and employees will restart generating wealth, profits and fiscal income to government.”

Discretionary expenditure towards strengthening industry and creating more employment opportunities should be redirected while spending priority should be shifted to further investment in infrastructure. 

Policy pillar 10 - EU recovery fund and MFF

The PN is also proposing the positioning of EU funding as a primary funding vehicle for recovery and transformation.