Where is the money, Johann Grech? | Matthew Maggi

If the film industry has truly generated €1 billion for Malta’s economy, then where has that money gone?

A few urgent questions arise.

Why are our hospitals still facing shortages of staff, space, and equipment? Why are healthcare professionals burned out and underpaid, struggling under conditions that should not exist in a supposedly thriving economy?

Why do the Armed Forces and Police Force continue to face budget constraints, a lack of investment, and dwindling annual applicants?

Why have MCAST lecturers struggled for so long to reach a collective bargaining agreement with the government, frustrating students who are left uncertain about whether they can even continue or complete their studies?

Why are part-time lecturers at the University of Malta being suddenly dismissed, and their courses cancelled, depriving students of choice, weakening their overall qualifications, and stripping income from Maltese professionals who taught them?

Why is the minimum wage still so low? Why is our economy still heavily reliant on low-paid, exploitative labour from third-country nationals, too often under inhumane conditions?

Why hasn’t more of that claimed €1 billion gone into investing in our culture, a sector that remains chronically underfunded?

Why is public transport still inadequate, and why hasn't Malta made any serious steps toward implementing a mass public transit system, like nearly every developed country?

Why do we still rent an extra ship to cross to Gozo, instead of owning one outright?

Why hasn’t that same money been used to reclaim public land, such as Manoel Island, which has been handed to private interests with the sole aim of commercial development?

Why did I, and many of my colleagues, have to chase down payments that were owed by the same entity: the Film Commission?

Why are the studios and water tanks still operating with equipment from the 1980s? If foreign producers are truly paying so much, Johann, they expect state-of-the-art facilities—not just a new crew canteen.

Why have foreign artists, the award winners, invited to your lavish, self-serving film festival, still not been paid? Yes, the same festival that costs millions, while you proudly boast about the meagre crumbs you give to local artists. Crumbs so small, most couldn’t even afford to produce a project worthy of being shown at the same festival.

Let me be clear: I am not blindly against the Film Commissioner. One must admit to function in such a sleazy industry, especially when dealing with Hollywood, one likely needs to be adept at sleaze.

But it is fair to point out the grotesque imbalance. The distribution of wealth, funding, and opportunity is neither equal nor fair. And so, it is only just to ask:

Why is someone like the Film Commissioner, an individual who heads one of the most well-funded and powerful entities in Malta, not held more publicly accountable?

Why isn’t he chased for answers?

Why isn’t he expected to show us, the public, where our money actually went?

If Johann Grech is going to claim that 18% of Malta’s economic growth comes from the film industry, then it’s time the government starts proving it—not with slogans and self-praise, or red-carpets and galas dinners, but with tangible investment in the people and services this country very desperately needs.