The announcement of a disaster recovery plan, made by Minister Owen Bonnici in parliament, should serve to inject fresh energy and funds onto the path to normality after a pandemic that has crippled economic activity for more than a year.

The strategy document, the work “of an entire cabinet of ministers and a whole government”, aims to create a safety net for future crises. Although no mention of figures has been made, the government stated its intention to work on establishing long-term plans for sea, land, air, energy and digital connectivity. In spite of potential legal action from the European Commission, it appears that the much-maligned IIP scheme will be the main financing vehicle for this fund.

Interestingly, the government’s vision is to create a balance between “quality of life and well-being” and the drive to a strong economic recovery to safeguard jobs and businesses.

There is no doubt that the planned recovery fund is necessary, especially considering the tragic effects of the pandemic on the business sector. The strategy document lays emphasis on the need to help businesses restart and restructure into a more sustainable economic model, with the state planning to develop programmes to encourage business and workers to become future-ready.

On paper, this seems the logical way to go, especially when it comes to the reform of public finances and “protecting the island’s natural resources”.

However, the government’s own current policies fly straight in the face of both public finances and the protection of our natural resources. A main question arises: can the government and its ministers be trusted with the protection not only of our natural resources but also with the protection of our quality of life? Successive administrations have grossly failed at improving the quality of life of many residents and communities around Malta, largely because the focus was on continuous economic growth – and as we have also seen during the pandemic – at all costs, including our health.

While the government is signalling the intention to change direction, the temptation to rely on construction to stimulate economic growth is very real. This is neither sustainable nor an improvement in our well-being.

Neither have the government’s green initiatives been anything to go by. While the countryside is ravaged by illegalities or locked off illegally, our towns dotted with construction sites and our newly- widened roads clogged up by a sea of commuters in the age of teleworking, ministers from various constituencies have focused on cosmetic projects such as urban greening, without even trying to tackle the source of all these issues. By contrast, the exorbitant spending of EU funds on many new road projects indicates a deep-seated recalcitrance to start off on a new course.

Much of the government’s recovery plan will depend on enforcement. The strength of the institutions has been weakened no end in the last few years, with most authorities lacking man and willpower to see their own laws are adhered to. Robert Abela admitted the government cannot rein in tax evasion on its own, choosing to throw the ball in the business community’s court.

But the prime minister should know well – FATF grey lists notwithstanding – that without a clear intent to enforce, the post-COVID strategy will remain nothing more than a pre-electoral wishlist. In this regard, one questions the wisdom of throwing money at a problem instead of seeking a genuine shift of cultures, possibly because changing cultures may be seen as electorally costly.

That would amount to squandering a golden opportunity which comes, in the government’s own words, “at the right moment to start planning for the future”.