Population changes are mainly affected by economic prospects. In prosperous times countries experience growth through immigration as the economy demands more workers. Changing social conditions may inhibit organic local population growth as people in childbearing age decide to have smaller families and postpone this vital regeneration activity for later in their lives.
Malta is experiencing exponential growth in population. The dynamics of this growth are coming from the economic boom that has persisted in the last few years. We have now hit the half a million mark mainly thanks to the inflow of foreign workers, especially from non-EU countries. More Maltese are returning than leaving to work and live abroad.
Many are righty taking stock of the likely effect of this unprecedented growth in population and asking very relevant questions on the pros and cons of this phenomenon. It is indisputable that the current economic blueprint cannot be sustained unless more foreign workers are allowed to stay in Malta. Some may leave after a time but many others will remain.
The record number of tourists continue to put pressure on the physical infrastructure of the island.
The upside of this frothy economic activity is that more people feel they are becoming wealthier as jobs are easy to find and money keeps flowing into people’s pockets. However, is this phenomenon just an illusion of wealth?
The stress on our educational, health and physical environment is beginning to become critical.
Statistics of GDP and employment growth hide more sobering statistics that reveal that this economic boom is creating new losers in our society. The phenomenon of the working poor attracts few comments from politicians. Many on low wages are being crowded out of the property markets. Low-skilled immigrants are forced to live in cramped and substandard accommodation even if they rarely complain about this as they are most thankful for having a job that was only a dream in their own country.
Malta Employers Association president Dolores Sammut Bonnici has warned that Malta is completely unprepared for the economic growth being registered.
The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association president Tony Zahra has frequently questioned the sustainability and desirability of continuing to rely on a massive influx of foreign labour to sustain economic growth.
It is time for policymakers, as well as ordinary people, to start to question whether we want Malta to copy the Dubai, Singapore or Hong Kong model where economic growth takes precedence on the quality of life of people. The sustainability of the dynamics that are driving current economic growth needs to be stress tested. What will be the social consequences when internal or external factors knock the basis of our economic success?
Malta, like other EU countries, is suffering from a dangerous phenomenon of growing inequality.
Rather than promoting growth at all costs, we should be enabling social mobility to encourage the growth of fairness in our society. This mobility can only be achieved if young people can look forward to their future because the educational system prepares them for the challenges of the modern workplace, the property market offers them affordable housing, and their employment allows them to embrace robust family values.
It is time to count the costs of economic growth in a more realistic way.