The writing has been on the wall for many years. Everyone could see it. Only Labour’s prime ministers couldn’t see it. Only Labour’s prime ministers couldn’t understand it.
Malta’s long-term successful economic plan, based on cautious steady growth and built on sustainable diverse pillars, was dumped after the 2013 election, notwithstanding Labour’s promises to stick to it. Instead, Joseph Muscat and, later, Robert Abela chose to support speculators across the board, whether this involved land grabbing, approving buildings in restricted areas, destroying village and town life, selling passports and rendering the traditional right of Maltese to own their own homes impossible to achieve.
Their speculation policy was underpinned by a cheap labour policy supported by thousands of work permits provided to the poorer parts of the world to ensure that a selected few maximise their profits.
The fundamental element of this unsustainable Labour plan is that the few people making the largest profits do not run any of the risks. Rather, the risks are run by the State, by honest businesspersons, employees and, ultimately, by you and me. Yes, we are paying the price for this policy through a loss in our quality of life, risks to life and limb, traffic jams and a struggling national infrastructure, whether in health, education or roads.
Instead, State contracts and State assets are handed over to these speculators to compensate for any possible losses or to make their unsustainable projects profitable for them and those that use State assets to subsidise them.
Our island nation can only grow to a limit before the system collapses under the strain of the sheer volume of people living here. And collapsing it is. Simply look around you. Walk the streets or drive around or simply talk to someone. Behind all the glitz, concerts, festivals, internationally renowned actors and comedians, ribbon cutting and fancy marketing, the sight isn’t a pretty one. The word is out – this can’t go on.
A lot of professionals, entrepreneurs and businesspeople are concerned that the government has seemingly given up on its efforts to bring about economic sustainability. I firmly believe the private sector should be at the forefront of this transformation but the government needs to lead, provide policy direction, a long-term vision and support as necessary through appropriate initiatives, funding, fighting bureaucracy and improving the ease of doing business and work to strengthen Malta’s reputation.
The system is collapsing- Jerome Caruana Cilia
Much can be said about what the private sector can do on its own steam but it is the government that needs to ensure a level playing field, effective regulation in the interests of the population as well as political, economic and financial stability.
It is, of course, disappointing that, while the Minister of Finance, Clyde Caruana, has finally recognised that the speculative economic model, pushed by him for years, has failed, his colleagues carry on telling everybody that there is no alternative to importing cheap workers in the years to come.
On the other hand, the Nationalist Party – together with the representatives of many employers and employees – because of its belief that a country can only be successful if its policies – all its policies – are sustainable, has long been highlighting how an economic model based on speculation, excessive government spending, too much consumption, little value added and on increasing Malta’s population with the poor from around the world, and without any plan at all, cannot go on.
The Labour government chose to ignore this red flag for years and, now, faced with a voters’ clock that is ticking fast, is trying to pass the buck onto the established private sector. The mess was caused by Labour’s economic ineptitude and it must either fix it fast or make way for honest people who can and want to.
While the private sector is, without a shadow of doubt, critical to the growth and development of all areas of the economy, all investment is ultimately dependent on the government doing its job of governing. This means: creating the right environment for growth to be created and for businesses to thrive; providing access to funding and eliminating bureaucracy; and giving a sustainable political, economic and social direction and taking decisive action.
All this while ensuring that speculators bear their full share of the risks and the costs of their speculation. This is how Malta’s business owners have traditionally invested and made their legitimate and well-deserved profits.
As a country, we need to seek how to create new economic sectors that provide increasing value-added but we also need to take a good look at existing industries and economic sectors and see how we can incentivise them to grow more. We need to seek new foreign direct investment in an increasingly competitive world.
And it’s not as if the opposition, constituted bodies and the private sector haven’t shared proposals on how to achieve this. The Nationalist Party wants to discuss and aim for careers that add long term value to our lives, that will result in a better quality of life for all.
It’s not just about money, it’s also about jobs that provide satisfaction, that make our younger generation look forward to developing their skills in this country.
Jerome Caruana CiliaWe deserve the best standards in all sectors, we deserve a vision of excellence. This is what we all should aim for. This is what we must all continue to push for.
Jerome Caruana Cilia is the Nationalist Party’s spokesperson on finance.