We are struggling to cope with a population of 536,740 because we did not address the challenges of an increasing population identified seven years ago: its impact on wages and the labour market, rents and property prices, traffic, intense urbanization, hospital, schools, roads, sewage and electricity. When the alarm was raised seven years ago, instead of taking the necessary action, it was decided to switch off the alarm system and let future governments deal with the problems. The future has long arrived, and the alarm bells are still switched off. How will we be able to cope with a population of 800,000 by 2040, just 16 short years away?

We are allowing an unsustainable increase of foreign workers to turn into a dangerous zero-sum game where they are experienced as invaders, and are being blamed for higher rents, crowded schools and hospitals and traffic congestion. In short they are increasingly being blamed for the deterioration of our quality of life. Instead of blaming our short sightedness and short termism we scapegoat the foreigners amongst us.

We need to seriously address the problem of sustainable social and economic development in the years ahead. Whether we like it or not we need to change our business model to meet challenges beyond our control: European and international regulations regarding tax, aviation, energy, banking, anti-money laundering … and the geopolitical reality of a new multipolar world with the G7 trying to perpetuate its dominance and with BRICS working to develop alternatives to the hegemony led from Washington.

In the 60 years since independence when we started building our national economy to serve our people instead of serving the strategic military priorities of the foreign power controlling us, we have had to reinvent ourselves repeatedly to ensure that we can survive on these islands.

We need to change our business model into one where we can participate fully in the global and regional economy and attract investment for products and services from overseas markets. It is obvious that we do not and cannot depend only on our construction and tourism sectors, though they are the most visible. We need to nurture the other economic sectors we have and develop new ones if we are going to have enough jobs and revenue to support a strong welfare state and public services.

Drifting without a compass

Why invest in Malta? What do we have to offer? In which areas? Being cut off from our continental neighbours and with a small market where we have to import and export nearly eveything, answering these questions has always been daunting. The answers cannot be the same as in the past as the world has changed and continues to change. I ask a person who has dedicated most of his life attracting businesses to Malta: are mine the questions of a prophet of doom? “Of course, not” he says.

Another person involved in nurturing start-ups told me: “I fully agree that we need to answer the questions you raise. I have been wondering since the post-Muscat era how Malta envisages its economic future. I see nothing! No vision, no plan, no idea. Just warm air. This train is going down a dark tunnel and there is no light, or at least hardly any light, at the end.”

He believes that our political parties, business organizations, the unions and civil society need to address this serious issue. He complains about business organizations: “They only want good ideas if they don’t cost anything, and they ignore how much work, time, and know-how one would have to be put into it. That’s a sad status and outlook.”

Another person who retired a few years ago after spending a lifetime developing the local insurance industry told me: “As a matter of priority Malta must revisit its future strategy within the EU and the rest of the world. Malta’s much needed 2050 macro plan should be based on the concerns which you’re raising.”

And finally, a business leader who is still very active: “We have a miracle economy. People get lazier every day. No foresight. We keep each other busy eating out and building rubbish. We try to get tourists to keep going. Luckily, we are small enough that a drop of the global tourist market is enough to flood us. And when someone tries to do something more intelligent, we make it very difficult for him because we have no clue what he’s talking about and we suspect it’s a sham.”

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana told the Sunday Times of Malta on 30 June 2024: “… the type of investment we have – and that we are attracting – is very labour-intensive. We have to change that. It’s easier said than done, because at the end of the day we have to go for something that is more capital-intensive, something that produces more value-added.

“But we have to start, because if we keep repeating the same thing we will keep on attracting thousands of workers to the islands, and that is having its effects on the infrastructure. I said that we will be 800,000 people by 2040. If the current trends continue, we will already be at 600,000 by the end of this legislature [in 2027]… This is not easy to do. It involves long discussions. All the social partners have to be on board, for the simple reason that changes will have implications on their members.”

We need our people in politics, business and civil society to engage in a robust debate about our future. Navel gazing is only healthy if it leads to a deep understanding of where we are, making an honest assessment of our shortcomings and drawing up a national inclusive and strategic action plan on the way forward. If we do not treat our current national myopia, it can only degenerate into further loss of vision and wilful blindness as we continue to drift without a compass.

Times of Malta 12 July 2024