Over the coming weeks, we will begin to see the extent of economic damage caused by the pandemic and the necessary restrictions imposed. We will likely see a big economic decline, with job losses and business closings that could affect our communities and country long after the virus is contained.
In moments like these, it’s natural to think only about the immediate challenges but we also need to think about the next stage of recovery so we don’t lose that opportunity when it comes.
Many of us are now recognising we are unlikely to see a V-shaped economic recovery, as we were hoping a year ago, and will need to work hard in the coming months to bend the downward curve back to a narrow U.
It won’t be easy. Even if all restrictions are largely gone by summer, the economic scar tissue will remain and take time to heal. To its credit, the government has put together critical relief packages, worth millions of euros.
Over the coming weeks, we need to pull together as Maltese to get these historic commitments to owner-operators, innovators, social entrepreneurs and families in every corner of the country and the economy.
The purpose of these investments, though, is about more than surviving today; it’s about shaping the economy of tomorrow. And that means moving from defence to offence, as Malta is capable of doing.
To make that shift, we need to think about the next normal, as there won’t be an old normal to return to. Shoppers, diners and tourists may choose to stay away from each other for a while. Even the sharing of technologies and innovations may not flow again like they did only a few months ago.
For a small country such as Malta, which has benefited in so many ways from an open world, those are significant challenges. That doesn’t mean we should give up on globalisation. But it does mean we need to think about how to be more self-reliant in the areas that matter most to our competitiveness and prosperity.
Here are some of the tools we have to do that.
Capital: Malta has a strong balance sheet. The government is starting to leverage it more ambitiously and will need to continue to do so, which means Maltese need to be comfortable assuming more collective debt.
We also have strong banks and some companies each with good, well-regulated balance sheets that can be harnessed for our economic recovery. Now is the time to get that capital to work and invest in the entrepreneurs and innovators who can build the markets and supply chains of tomorrow.
Trade: we’ve been able to take for granted the free flow of critical supplies, from medical equipment and drugs to food and agriculture products. That may not be so true in the next normal.
Our governments, leading enterprises and academic institutions need to determine how to best develop and protect more resilient Maltese supply chains.
Technology: the crisis has given many organisations the chance to see how to work differently and connect with customers differently. If we harness new technologies across all sectors – including government – we can accelerate our shift to a more competitive and inclusive economy. And we can ensure these technologies help us better prepare for future public health challenges.
Skills: to make this shift, we need to transform the way we learn and train so our companies and communities are better equipped for a new paradigm of disruption.
Our schools, colleges and universities have to respond with important strides that will make Malta’s education system among the world’s best. But if we’re teaching and learning after this crisis, as we did before, we will have failed.
We need to think about the next normal, as there won’t be an old normal to return to- Philip Micallef
Youth: unfortunately, a new generation of Maltese will be bearing the economic scars of the COVID-19 crisis here for many years. If we get behind them now, they can help lead the recovery and rebuild. As a digitally savvy generation, they’ve been fast to adapt to this new normal.
Beyond just doing things differently, I see us doing things better, which will be critical to ensuring a successful recovery that accelerates into a vastly changed world.
Post-COVID, two words will gain extreme importance: speed and scale. We need those twin forces to drive our business forward. We need them in public policy, too, to develop solutions at the speed of our shared problems and to ensure solutions get to a scale we’re seeing elsewhere in the world.
Over the coming weeks, we will need to move faster than we may be comfortable with and strive for a scale that’s bold and ambitious. We’ll also need to keep pace, even as we’re confronted by questions that make us think about how we can collectively move from crisis to recovery.
We will need to lay out plans for re-engagement, to determine which parts of society can open up first and how we can approach that narrow door without sparking a social stampede.
We will need to protect all people in Malta as we come to grips with the prospect of co-existing with the virus, domestically and globally, before the entire population is vaccinated.
How we respond to those questions and work together in the weeks ahead will be remembered for years.
We know this crisis is already different and deeper than anything we’ve seen. We should also know it can be the beginning of a new economic chapter for Malta, one that allows us to thrive and prosper in a digital age.
We’ll need to learn to work together – even under stress. We’ll need to think about offence as well as defence. And we’ll need to see this not only as Malta’s challenge but also Malta’s moment.
Philip Micallef is former CEO of Air Malta and also a former CEO of the Bermuda Regulatory Authority, executive chairman of MCA, CEO of Melita Cable, CEO of Malta Enterprise and chief executive, Orange Business Services France, and Olivetti Italy, Switzerland and Spain.