Malta Chamber: Country is in a ‘nose-dive’ and its leadership needs to step up

The Malta Chamber has called out the country’s leadership for failing to step up and take the right decisions with the required urgency.

“The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry is seriously concerned about the current state of play and the way the challenges we face as a country are being handled. The economy and the quality of life of people are suffering because of lack of foresight, poor planning, lack of transparency, weak enforcement, and slow action where action needs to be taken,” it said.

It said the government needs to listen more to the warnings voiced by people whose interests are non-partisan, and address structural issues that are impairing productivity and undermining competitiveness, the country’s attractiveness, and people’s well-being and quality of life.

“It is time to stop trying to please everyone at once and to prioritise the long-term national interest over immediate partisan interests,” the chamber insisted.

It said despite the occasional improvements, there is an uncoordinated approach and the general situation continues to deteriorate because “when issues are not addressed promptly and effectively, they grow bigger.”

In order to address the situation, the chamber has put forward a number of proposals such as attaching car license fees to usage, introducing parking fees in central urban areas with fees paid being transferred into an e-mobility wallet for use of sustainable means of transport, and restricting certain congesting activities during peak hours.

It also called on government to ensure a reliable supply of electricity that can cater for hot summers without recurring power outages, and ensure proper maintenance and cleansing of public areas.

The chamber also proposed direct subsidies to businesses operating a sustainable model to help such businesses become more viable and prevalent in our economy.

“Incentivise a shift away from labour-intensive activities towards an economic model which is not dependent on increasing the population - the present economic model requires the importation of an additional 20,000 workers annually, which is unsustainable and is pushing the country’s infrastructure to breaking point,” it said.

The chamber reiterated the country needs “to overcome the illusion that because we are small, we only need to attract a small portion of the business from the global economy to succeed.”

“Our GDP may be growing, but the country is progressing way too slowly in addressing what will increasingly mean more to people and to sustainable business models. Eventually, we will be outpaced by our competitors on all fronts. We cannot continue to grow the bottom-line GDP without a clear strategy beyond the seemingly quick-fix solution of importing foreign labour indefinitely, in the hope that this will help support the growing needs of our ageing population, not least of which is the pensions timebomb,” it said.

The chamber urged government to rise up to the challenge and act before it is too late.