Prime Minister Robert Abela has named five ‘pillars of economic policy’. Experts assess the situation in each and give their views about what the country needs to do next.
Pillar 1: Sustainable economic growth
‘Lagging on environment’
First, a definition: sustainable economic growth is a type of gradual expansion which can be reasonably maintained without causing harm to society and the environment.
Can some of the means being used to fuel growth right now be sustained in the future?
That’s a no, according to Marie Briguglio. Material growth which comes at the expense of the environment, quality of life and law enforcement, she says, is not what Malta should aspire to. It cannot be sustained in the long term.
On the other hand, Malta’s economic growth has earned it a score of 75 per cent on the Eurostat measurements for quality of life, notes Gordon Cordina.
“Malta does relatively well in material living conditions, housing, employment, health, social relations and safety, but lags in education, the environment, time use and governance.”
While questioning the means of economic growth, Briguglio also points out that work is in progress on around 75 per cent of the goals outlined in the UN’s sustainable development framework.
Marie Briguglio is a senior lecturer in economics and author of No Man’s Land: People, Place & Pollution. Gordon Cordina is a visiting senior lecturer in economics and co-founder and executive director of E-Cubed Consultants Ltd.
Pillar 2: Good governance
‘Muscat’s huge betrayal’
The responsible conduct of public affairs and management of public resources: that’s the definition of good governance offered by George Vital Zammit, citing the Council of Europe.
Good governance, according to Mario Vassallo, is “a prerequisite to safeguard and promote the UN declaration of fundamental human rights”.
However, we risk good governance becoming a cliché, a buzzword used out of convenience rather than conviction, Zammit says, expressing concern about the failure to exercise enough evidence-based judgement.
Vassallo is unequivocal: “A virtuous state enhances potential to attract foreign investment, whereas a fraudulent one does not attract sustainable economic development”.
For both experts, nepotism, clientelism and corruption are three of the most critical issues faced by the country.
Both referred to the Labour government’s anti-corruption rallying cry during the 2013 election.
Labour spoke of people wanting a change from the “power intricacies of the Nationalist administration,” Vassallo recalls.
And for Zammit, Malta has witnessed a “huge betrayal of the pledge Muscat had made on governance”. Instead, there has been institutional decline in authorities like the police force.
“Regulatory bodies like the Planning Authority and MFSA were almost frozen, prevented from acting against blatant power abuse and economic fraud,” says Vassallo.
“Regaining Malta’s reputation and reinjecting public confidence in state institutions is the biggest project of the new Labour administration, apart from COVID-19.
“With the Nationalist Party in seemingly endless internal turmoil, Abela’s administration can concentrate more on designing effective institutional mechanisms to rectify inherited misuse of power and at the same time, deal with its own growing internal uneasiness within the party.”
While there is the spotlight on Malta’s governance issues “for all the wrong reasons,” both acknowledge efforts at remedying the state of affairs, such as the Whistleblower Act, the Standards in Public Life Act and the increased parliamentary scrutiny of public offices.
George Vital Zammit and Mario Thomas Vassallo are senior lecturers in public policy.
Pillar 3: Education
‘Long-term vision is needed’
There is concern among some experts over the idea of adapting education to fit the needs of a digital economy.
Colin Calleja, for instance, cautions against overspecialisation, especially in compulsory education.
“Our emphasis should be on 21st century skills such as critical thinking and productivity based on initiative, along with a value system that emphasizes concepts like humility, curiosity and the seeking of an objective truth as a guide for informed decisions,” he says.
Calleja decries an educational system which tends to focus on training students to solve problems for employers rather than one which “builds up the individual into a creative, cooperative and respectful human being, first and foremost”.
Sandro Caruana argues that “education is a holistic process, so there is no reason to prioritise specific areas through a top-down approach”.
This implies, he says, that other areas such as languages and the arts are less important.
“Future mathematicians, scientists and IT professionals, after all, should also be taught how to communicate effectively, and how to engage with the media, for example.”
Both experts lament the lack of a long-term vision, pointing towards legislation that had been discussed and formulated only to be shelved for years without any effective implementation.
The positive aspects in Malta’s education include “financial investment in education and the personal care that is given to our learners,” Caruana points out.
Still, “reflection” is needed to improve inclusivity as well as minimise the dependence of education on the labour market, he says. Calleja says the system needs to be more holistic and balanced, and “less utilitarian”, focusing on strengthening qualities rather than on being so performance based.
Colin Calleja is dean of the Faculty of Education and Sandro Caruana is a professor of languages and humanities education.
Pillar 4: Infrastructural improvement
‘Wide roads and flyovers bring more cars’
Too much priority is still being given to car culture, according to the experts consulted.
“This is evident in the road-widening projects undertaken in Malta in recent years, instead of a modal shift towards less polluting and more democratic forms of transport,” says Jacques Borg Barthet.
A lack of transport options which accommodate those who cannot drive is “marginalizing” the sector of society that depends on them.
Maria Attard criticises the approach of “implementing old car centric designs (e.g. obsessive building of parking spaces) over modern designs which prioritise quality of life”
Both experts outline the need for greener, non-vehicular transport initiatives, questioning the emphasis on ‘innovative’ mass transport systems as compared to options that are more cost-effective and more easily developed.
“One of our absolute priorities should be the development of a green infrastructure network that provides respite from environmental elements, reduces dependence on fossil fuels and helps combat climate change,” Borg Barthet explains.
“In its most basic form, this would involve the provision of safe and pleasant cycling and walking routes with suitable shading trees, whose planters can accommodate some water run-off; this should also incorporate places for rest and other infrastructure to support walking, cycling and other forms of non-motorised transport.”
Attard questions the investment in flyovers and wider roads. Research in her field points heavily towards the fact that both expensive, supra-elevated and noisy flyovers as well as widened roads only lead to more cars, according to the theory of induced demand.
Additionally, there is the issue with how difficult the modification of a flyover would be. “Just as an example, look at the Santa Venera tunnels built in the 90s; today, they are a bottleneck which is difficult and very expensive to widen.”
She too is critical of the lack of walking spaces. Trips in Malta are about 5.5km in length on average – they could easily be done with a bicycle or on foot if there was the appropriate infrastructure in place.
Focused transport systems that identify ‘corridors’ of rapid transit from different points of interest, with intermittent stops, would resolve major infrastructural problems if well-coordinated, she adds.
“We have a bus system which has no priority over car traffic. It fails because of this. We could implement a bus rapid transit system, almost overnight, but we fail to look at such quick wins which would give priority to public transport.”
Jacques Borg Barthet is a visiting assistant lecturer in spatial planning and infrastructure. Maria Attard is associate professor, head of geography and director of the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development.
Pillar 5: Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050
‘Malta behind the curve’
Carbon neutrality can only be achieved if emissions are measured and a strategy to decrease them is developed, says Margaret Camilleri-Fenech.
“If we are seeking to decouple economic growth from carbon emissions, policies must seek to enhance growth while simultaneously aim to reduce environmental impact.
“However, no serious steps in this direction have been taken. Clearly, this government’s priorities are not focused on the environmental sector,” Camilleri-Fenech says.
A similar idea is outlined by Maria Attard. She points out that without a clear, research-based policy that serves as a blueprint for effective implementation, Malta will be very far off from achieving this target.
Malta, Attard says, is still behind the curve in carbon neutralization, especially in mitigating emissions from transport and industry.
While acknowledging Malta’s shift to gas power, she is not impressed by the lack of sustainable building practices.
“These have been studied and implemented widely in a number of countries; so why not in Malta?”
She stresses again the “huge external costs for our inefficient transport system,” questioning the sustainability of current practices.
“We now pay huge costs for our emissions to other countries that emit less than us. How sustainable is that? And what will be the impact of such denial on us and our children’s ability to reach carbon neutrality by 2050?”
“So much more is needed across all levels of government and in all the sectors!” Attard concludes.
Margaret Camilleri-Fenech is an assistant lecturer at the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Maria Attard is associate professor, head of geography and director of the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development.