Qawmien

Il-Kullhadd



Illum l-Ghid il-Kbir , jum il-Qawmien. Jum meta l-hajja tirbah fuq il-mewt hekk kif ir-rebbiegha taghti hajja gdida fl-ambjent ta` madwarna wara d-dlam tax-xitwa.

`Meta l-poplu Malti qam u qal li minn issa `l quddiem ahna l-Maltin rajna f`idejna`

`Illum l-Ghid il-Kbir jahbat ma jum ta` qawmien iehor. Ghalhekk huwa jum ta` qawmien doppju. Jahbat il-31 ta` Marzu li jifakkar il-jum meta il-poplu Malti qam mir-rassenjazzjoni ta` sekli shah li jista biss jghix bhala seftur f`pajjizu fejn baqa` jikkmanda l-barrani.` Meta l-poplu Malti qam u qal li minn issa `l quddiem ahna l-Maltin rajna f`idejna.

Jahbat ukoll il-bidu tal-hin tas-sajf fejn il-gurnata titwal u l-lejl jickien.

U dawn huma tlett hsibijiet li jispiraw lili biex inkompli nahdem ghal gid tal-pajjiz fi hdan il-partit laburista.

Ghax il-partit laburista biss jista jwassal lil dal-pajjiz ghal qawmien gdid mir-rovina li gabuh fiha dawn li ilhom jiffoxnaw 15 il-sena u li hlief jonfqu ma kienux kapaci, tant li wasslu lil pajjizna f`xifer falliment. Tant li d-dizastru ekonomiku li riesaq lejna jaf jhedded il-helsien u dritt li nibqghu rajna f`idejna.

`jekk inzommu rajna f;idejna ahna kapaci naghtu lil dan il-pajjiz it-tmexxija serja, dinamika u krejattiva li ghandu bzonn biex jerga jaqbad it-triq tal-progress`

`Qawmien mir-rovina ekonomika li qeghdin fiha fejn hadd ma jhallas lil hadd hlief lil gvern li bhal estorsjonist sar jitfa` rati ta` l-imghax qawwija` ghal kull min jizgarra xi naqra. Fejn il-gvern il-flus li jiehu mill-idejn juzhom biex jismen u jonfoq izjed u mhux biex tassew jinvesti u jimbotta l-ekonomija `l quddiem.

Qawmien mil-marda morali li waqajna fiha , fejn donnu xejn m;hu xejn u kollox sar jghaddi. Fejn is-solidarjeta` ma ghadiex tizisti fil-prattika u qed inhallu jikber faqar gdid filwaqt li min harbat u gerfex qed jithalla liberu biex ikompli jhawwad u jgerfex.

U qawmien fir-rieda li nghozzu il-helsien taghna u li jekk inzommu rajna f;idejna ahna kapaci naghtu lil dan il-pajjiz it-tmexxija serja, dinamika u krejattiva li ghandu bzonn biex jerga jaqbad it-triq tal-progress, tal-gid u ta` l-armonija socjali fejn kull min jiflah jahdem u minn ma jiflahx jigi mghejjun u mghallem.

U dan l-ahhar nibet qawmien iehor. Qawmien fost iz-zghzagh universitarji li permezz ta; l-ghaqda PULSE, li waqqaf` ibni Silvan flimkien ma ohrajn, iz-zghazagh ta` twemmin xellugi fl-universita ma ghadhomx jisthu jghidu li huma jemmnu fis-socjualizmu demokratiku u lesti jifthu it-twieqi mmuffati ta` l-universita ha jidhol hemm ukoll il-progress u l-liberalizmu.

`Il-gid johrog biss mix-xoghol u l-efficjenza u niftakru u nfakkru li r-reppbulika taghna mibnija fuq id-dritt u dmir sagrosant tax-xoghol`

40% taz-zghzagh li vvutaw fl-universita qalu li jridu arja gdida.` Fadal biex niksbu l-maggoranza izda din qed tinbena.` Huwa ferm sodisfacenti li meta nzur id-djar tal-haddiema f`Rahal Gdid , Hal-Tarxien u l-Marsa niltaqa` ma zghazagh studenti li qeghdin l-universita` jew il-junior college. U niftakar kemm fi zmieni kien kwazi impossibli li ulied il-haddiema jibbenefikaw minn studji universatiraji u kellna nistudjaw separatament ghal rasna wara x-xoghol.

Hemm qawmien gdid fost iz-zghzagh li huwa ta` awgurju tajjeb. Hekk kif fl-Ghid il-Kbir in-nisrani johrog rebbieh fuq il-mewt il-Partit Laburista bil-ghaqal u bix-xoghol ser jinjetta entuzjazmu gdid biex fit-tests elettorali li gejjin il-Maltin tassew jivvotaw ghal gid ta; pajjizhom u ta` wkiedhom u wlied uliedhom. Biex ma jibqghux jibilghu il-weghdi ta` min iridna nemmnu li mill-ghaks u l-paroli jista johrog il-gid. Il-gid johrog biss mix-xoghol u l-efficjenza u niftakru u nfakkru li r-reppbulika taghna mibnija fuq id-dritt u dmir sagrosant tax-xoghol.

L-Ghid it-tajjeb lilkom ilkoll.

Can the EU save them

Maltastar

Much as they try to put up a brave face on it, the result of the last local election is not lost on the Nationalist Party. Whatever interpretation one cares to give to the result, one simple fact stands out clear.` The electorate is fed up and losing faith that PN can run our domestic affairs.

The PN strategists, whose job it is to perpetuate the PN`s stay in power to protect the interest of the sectors they represent, are not stupid. They know that if they face a general election where domestic issues are allowed to take the centre stage of the political agenda. their future looks grim indeed.

`then rely on the wide media resources at its disposal to ensure that the EU issue would be the central issue and domestic affairs are dimmed to the background `

In theory they have two choices. The most logical one, you would think, would be the decelerate on the EU project and give more attention to domestic issues. In practice this option is a non-starter.` The EU project is not the switch on,` switch off type and there is at stake the great personal ambition of Prime Minister Fenech Adami to end his political career on a top note of taking Malta into full membership of the EU. There is also the question that the fiscal position is still extremely tight and the PN are still hoping for some` EU funds without which it will be difficult to re-generate the feel-good economic factor .

So in practice there remains only one option. To press harder on the accelerator of the EU project and then rely on the wide media resources at its disposal to ensure that the EU issue would be the central issue and domestic affairs are dimmed to the background.` So when it comes to measure public opinion in the forthcoming electoral tests electoral the voters will not judge on the bad PN record on the domestic front but make its choices on the EU vision of the two major parties.

This reasoning has probably put paid to the possibility of calling a general election before the referendum.` Which leaves the government with two options, namely that of holding a referendum before the general election or that of holding both together.

`So the most likely scenario is that the PN strategists will go for a referendum as early as possible in the new year which is likely to be mid-February 2003`

The latter option has considerable risks for the PN.` The biggest would be to elect a Labour Government and vote for EU membership.` Many floating voters are fed up to their ears with this government but have difficulty in following Labour`s non-membership reasoning. By voting for a Labour government and for EU membership at the same time such voters would be certifying that Labour has much better credentials to run domestic affairs and is better at negotiating favourable terms for the eventual EU membership.

So the PN`s strategists are seeing their options narrowing down to only one possibility. That of holding the referendum before the next general elections. And as the next local elections have a fixed date in March 2003 the PN strategists cannot risk another defeat as the one just suffered in the run up to the referendum.

So the most likely scenario is that the PN strategists will go for a referendum as early as possible in the new year which is likely to be mid-February 2002.` The PN strategists hope that if they carry the referendum they would have wounded Labour to a sufficient extent as to be able to perform acceptably in the March 2003 local elections,` and then proceed to a general election before the onset of Summer 2003.


This is not a risk-less strategy for the PN. If they lose the referendum and have a drumming at the local elections which would follow hot on its heels,` they will have just 8 months or so to engineer a miraculous recovery in the general elections which would then be delayed till autumn 2003.` But it is still the least risky strategy of all available options for the government and they can rely on much more resources than the MLP can hope to muster for the referendum.

With the generous funding given to MIC ( which no doubt would be again increased in` the 2003 budget) and the EU structures available to the government, including regular influential visitors who repeatedly tell us how much the grass is greener on the other side of the fence,` the MLP will be hard put to match the media challenge for the referendum.` And with the Broadcasting Authority reduced to a PN lap dog forgetting its constitutional obligation for media balance on matters of national political controversy, the PN strategists have good reason to feel confident that the EU referendum could be the lever to change their fortunes from` the certain doom which would normally await them in the following electoral tests.

There is also the shared feeling that floating voters, general unhappy with both political parties, would be more likely to vote for EU membership as a sort of imposed discipline which our political system has denied us since Mintoff achieved his life-long ambition on 31st March 1979 and started behaving like a rebel without a cause.

The PN strategists plan has only one snag. With such an imbalance of resources and with an election due within months Labour will have every reason not to lobby specifically and simply` for a no vote,` but to recommend to its faithful and sympathisers the option also not to vote or to cancel or invalidate their vote. This could check-mate the PN strategists and they would need to re-examine their options all-over again.

So you can expect many english language` editorials, as we have seen this week, explaining why Labour must not boycott the referendum.

Considerations for the referendum

The Malta Independent on Sunday


There is no use hiding it.` It was written on all the faces that gathered at the Centru Nazzjonali Laburista for the mass rally of 15th March to celebrate the excellent results Labour scored in the local elections.

They were not just happy for the near 8 point advantage Labour scored over the PN in the local elections. What they really were hoping for was that this result would be a trial run for a Labour victory at the next general elections.

The future is uncertain to all and nothing should be taken for granted.` Only the future can give a contextual meaning to the wide Labour victory at the local polls. Will the future certify this victory as an important point on the trend line to a Labour victory at the next elections to continue its mission to modernise the country` A mission` cut all too short in 1998 but that remains necessary and valid, probably more so, today. Or will it just a stitch in a fabric which patterns Labour as the ideal party to run local government but without the credentials to run the whole country`

Labour leadership was thankfully cautious in dampening enthusiasm and stressing that the celebrations should serve as an occasion to resolve harder efforts for the general election victory. It is good for Labour`s soul to realise that success at the local level presents no automatic guarantee for the true success the party aspires for.`

There is a` major obstacle which could prove to Labour that there is many a slip between the cup and the lip. It is the EU referendum.` If the party loses the referendum on an issue which is a central platform to its foreign policy it would have to face, whilst in a bad shape,` a general election which would follow the referendum within months as a matter of course.

Labour rightly insists that the EU issue needs to be resolved by an election preceding a` referendum. And Labour ought` to stress more forcefully that its policy of partnership with the EU, which` thankfully is much more understandable than Switzerland in the Mediterranean, does not intrinsically exclude eventual membership if the EU develops into a dynamic organisation which fosters diversity and moves away from the current one size fits all of the acquis communitaire.

So Labour needs to stress that it is not in Malta`s interest to have a premature referendum that could evoke a negative result that sends the wrong signals to the EU. A result that could be interpreted as a rebuff when in fact all it would be saying to the EU is that much as we love to work with you, your current rules do not provide for a self-respecting small island state to protect its own identity and destiny.

One could draw parallel to the independence referendum.` Labour`s no in the referendum of 1964 was not a no` to the concept of independence per se. It was a no to the independence as negotiated by Borg Olivier`s government.

Labour and the PN in 1964 were both in favour of independence and only the small parties ( at the time represented in parliament) were against independence as a matter of principle. The difference at the time between Labour and the PN was that Labour wanted independence without any conditions and wanted to negotiate a defence agreement with Britain after independence.` Labour wanted to conduct such negotiations from a position of strength as a sovereign state.

The PN showing weakness which ought to call for no celebrations, accepted independence as part of a package which involved inter-alia a defence agreement which basically preserved for Britain many of the rights hitherto enjoyed as of right but which now had to be obtained as a concession from Malta as an independent country.` So in giving us our statehood Britain wanted to tie us not to use it against their commercial and defence interest. The PN fell for it whilst Labour resisted. True, Labour still played it back 7 years later when they gained government.

And as many pro-PN rightly argue this was only possible because we were independent.` Independence was a process lasting hundreds of years and its merits is not exclusive to whoever, exposing political weakness ` well meant no doubt but still a weakness- accepted a conditional independence whilst Labour was fighting for an unconditional one.

Labour`s` success at next general election could well depend on taking a leaf from the experience of the independence referendum. Rather than just seeking a straight yes/no fight Labour should include in its net all who are not prepared to vote yes to EU membership on current terms. Labour should include in its net those who say no as much as those who say not yet,` and do so by either not participating in the referendum or by invalidating the vote.

As Labour today celebrates a premature Freedom Day, it would do good to remember that to grow the local victory into the richly deserved national one, smart choices have to be made before for the EU referendum.` To remember also that it in the referendum it would not only be facing the PN with enriched resources from our tax money, but the whole structure of the EU,` eager as they are to see Malta melting is sovereignty, thus` taking back what Labour had acquired in the seventies` reverting` to independence style 1964.

Alfred Mifsud

Bla valuri

Il-Kullhadd


X`valuri fadlila socjeta` fejn zghazagh jiggieldu ghal xejn b`xejn fid-dawl tax-xemx, igorru fuqhom hgieg u armi li jwasslu biex` zghazugh ta` hmistax il-sena joqtol zaghzugh iehor ta 23 sena li qas biss kien jafu`

X`valuri ghandha socjeta li flok mibnija fuq ix-xoghol u l-bzulija kif hemm imnaqqax fil-kostituzzjoni saret mibnija fuq il-qerq, fuq l-ghazz u fuq ix-xalar ta` bla ghaqal`

X`valuri fadlilha socjeta li flok igewwez u ssorr saret tincensa il-hala, it-tberbiq u konsum eccessiv ta` affarijiet li` jpaxxu il-gisem` u jherru r-ruh`.

Jew l-ispirtu u ruh ta` dan il-gens tant tmermru li xejn ma sar xejn`

Fejn hu l-ghaqal li ghallmuna missirijietna li nohorgu saqajna skond il-friex, li nfaddlu xi haga mqar jekk ma ghandniex bizzejjed biex nieklu u li l-uliedna nhalluhom pajjiz ahjar milli sibnih u mhux pajjiz midjun u mnitten`

Donnu l-konsumizmu qered go fina kull` rieda li nghozzu il-valuri veri tal-hajja. Gvern li tela` b`ghajta ta` valuri demo-kristjani fil-fatt qered il-valuri li bnew missirijietna fuq mijiet ta` snin u rawwem socjeta bla sinsla u bla principji li tfittex il-pjacir u mhux is-sewwa.

Socjeta li saret tiddandan bl-artificjalita` u tghixa daqs li kieku kienet ir-rejalta sagrosanta.

Socjeta` fejn nisthi` nidhol f`restaurant u hemm insib negozjant` jiekol ikel bnin u jixrob inbid fin waqt li jhalli lil fornturi tan-negozju jistennew ghal pagamant dovut lilhom. Flus biex ihallsu kontijiet dovuti ma fadalx izda flus biex niddandnu u nixxallaw fadal kemm trid.

Socjeta` fejn iz-zaghzghah jixxalaw waqt li zghazagh tamparhom ta` pajjizi ferm aktar sinjuri ikunu qed jistudjaw jew jahdmu biex ma jkunux ta` piz finanzjarju fuq il-familji taghhom.

Socjeta` fejn l-istudenti, li f`pajjizi zviluppati huma l-kuxjenza safja tas-socjeta`, f`pajjizna donnhom illupjati u ma jimpurtahom minn xejn jekk mhux l-istipendji taghhom u l-facilijitajiet ta` parking fl-universita`. X`jimporta li l-pajjiz qed jitmermer taht il-muntanji ta` l-iskart `X`jimporta li qed jinbet faqar socjali gdid` X`jimporta li l-kriminalita` qed tnaqqar il-kwalita` tal-hajja tal-maltin biex jghixu fil-kwiet f`darhom u johorgu barra ghall-affari taghhom bla biza

U nsejniha dik il-halfa li ghamilna nhar il-31 ta` Marzu tal-1979 li pajjizna qatt ma jservi ta` bazi tal-barrani u li l-portijiet taghna ma jibqghux il-latrina tal-forzi marittimi barranin`

Niftakarha qisu l-bierah f`dik il-lejla umda u kiesha gewwa l-Birgu b`ibni ta` sentejn (Silvan illum` il-President tal-Forum Zghazagh Laburisti ghandu 25 sena) bix-xita traxxax irqieq. Riedna nkunu hemm kburin b`dak li ksibna u ridna nahilfu li niddefendu dak li ksibna ha nibqghu hielsa u kburin bis-sovranita` taghna.

Illum demm dan nazzjon ma ghadux jikwi biex jibza ghal dak li ksibna` Tant qtajna qalbna li mmexxu lil pajjizna fil-progress, fis-sliem u fil-helsien li lesti nerhu lhietna f`idejn il-barrani u nreggghu l-arlogg lura biex inkunu indipendenti kif konna bejn l-1964 u l-1971 Fejn l-indipendenza kienet biss teorija u l-Inglizi baqghu hawn daqs jew aktar minn qabel jikkmandaw kollox u `l kullhadd.

Hemm bzonn li l-festa tal-31 ta` Marzu niccelebrawha b`hafna aktar pompa u sinjifikat milli qedin naghmlu ghax jekk le` m`hu ser ikollna xejn x` niccelebraw.

Ha nislet bicca mid-dokument li hareg mis-summit ta` l-EU ta` Barcellona li nzamm fil-15 u s-16 ta` Marzu li ghadda. Rigward ir-ratifikazzjoni tat-trattat ta` Nizza li gie rifjutat mil-poplu Irlandiz f`referendum is summit qal hekk:

`Il-Prim Ministru Irlandiz fisser kif il-gvern tieghu qed jahdem biex it-trattat ta` Nizza jigi ratifikat sa l-ahhar tas-sena 2002 halli t-tkabbir ikun jista jimxi kif ippjanat.

Il-Kunsill ta` l-Ewropa ferah bil-proposta u kkonferma ir-rieda tieghu biex jghin b`kull mezz possibbli halli jghin lil gvern Irlandiz f`dan il-process u ftehmu li jergghu jiddiskutu is-suggett mil-gdid fil-laqgha ta` Sevilja.`

X`tiswa is-sovranita` tal-poplu Irlandiz li qal le ghat-trattat ta` Nizza` L-UE lesta tghin b`kull mezz possibbli halli lill-Irlandizi jibdlu fhemthom.` Dawn x`affarijietiet huma` Mela l-Irlandizi ma jafux jiddeciedu ghalihom U jekk timxi hekk ma l-Irlanda li hi hafna ibkbar minna kif ser timxi ma Malta meta nitilqu rajna minn idejna Jew irridu npartu l-helsien ma xi salib iehor tal-fidda`

Id-destin qed jerga jsejjah lil Partit Laburista biex jiehles dal-pajjiz mil-jasar ekonomiku u biex jerga` jikseb il-valuri li jaghmluna kburin li ahna maltin u ghawdxin.

Early retirement

The Malta Independent


Restructuring at the corporate level involves downsizing, mergers or complete change of the area of competence. This inevitably leads to labour redundancies which are often cushioned through early retirement schemes.

At the micro-level employers operating early retirement schemes are considered more caring than employers who merely shut the doors or just give the notice period for termination of employment in accordance with minimum requirements stipulated in the employment legislation.

But at the macro-level what sense does it make for restructuring to signify not much more than operating early retirement schemes, offering thousands of liri of taxpayers money to those that elect to give up the security of public sector employment`

Restructuring principally involves the creation of new employment opportunities. Only through creation of such opportunities would it be possible to achieve labour mobility in a socially just and efficient manner without wasting resources in paying people for not working.

As it is,` only the able bodied and capable would accept the early retirement offer.` The less capable prefer the security of public sector employment to the lump sum offered as this would run itself out quickly unless alternative employment could be found.

Common sense would demand that funds earmarked for early retirement schemes could be more productively channelled for re-training opportunities to all employees, public and private, whose employment is threatened by` redundancy and technological obsolescence.

Re-training and skills enhancement are the basic ingredients that contain the seeds for a sustainable solution for the much talked about economic re-structuring which never seems to happen. Re-training facilitates labour mobility.` Employees can only be expected to change jobs when they see better prospects in the new jobs and have the skills necessary to qualify for them. This could address the structural public sector excessive recurring expenditure in the only meaningful way possible ` that of making central government operate with much less resources.

More importantly it could provide the real incentive to attract foreign direct investment without which strong and sustainable economic growth would remain a castle in Spain. Investment is attracted much more by available and trained labour resources rather than by any other fiscal or tangible incentive.

New foreign direct investment attracted by the availability of trained and competitive labour resources will create the new opportunities so much necessary to grease the re-structuring process and smoothen the mobility of labour which has become completely jammed by the insecurity fanned by the current economic downturn.

Without excluding that at the micro-level there could be instances where early retirement schemes make sense, it makes no sense at all to make early retirement the centrepiece of economic restructuring at the macro level.

The only early retirement that makes sense at the macro level is that of the government.

Being there!

Di-ve Being there!

I was there!` It was cold and drizzling rain but with my two year old son on my shoulders I was determined to be there, to be witness to history as it was being written.

It was a matter of pride.` After so many years of colonialism and 15 years of` neo-colonialism finally the country had reached the objective to detach itself from its economic dependence on its military values. We were proud that the quiet revolution was achieved in peace without any bloodshed and it was being translated into enhanced economic well-being for the population at large.

Twenty three years later I will be there again.` . That little boy is now a 6 ft plus 25 year old and following his dad`s steps is the president of the youth division of the Labour Party.

As for myself after 17 odd years working in the back office of the MLP,` I am now an official candidate of the MLP for the next general elections seeking to form a strong part of the winning team which is destined to carry Labour to new glories.

I will be there this time not with` pride but with fear and trepidation It is the fear and trepidation in my heart that has forced me to take the step which I have long avoided. The fear that we are gradually slipping back to our pre-1979 days. That the Trojan horse of economic mismanagement and spending laissez-faire` has rendered dormant, if not dead, our national will to stay in command of our own destiny as much as is possible in an economically inter-dependent world.

The fear that we are losing confidence in our ability to run our affairs in our own interest and that we need the big daddy of the EU to protect us from our ourselves.` The concept that we need to join the EU to impose upon us the discipline that we cannot find the political will and savoire-faire to impose on ourselves.

This is indeed a pity. Former President Buttigieg who presided that eventful ceremony is long departed and has his deserved monument at Blata l-Bajda. Dom Mintoff is thankfully still with us but twenty three years have left their mark. He no doubt deserves the tallest monument any Maltese will ever have to mark the apex of the fighters for` Maltese sovereignty from Vassalli to Dimech. But whilst Mintoff was the freedom fighter who achieved all he worked for in 1979 he did not have the properties to lead this country to further post-freedom economic prosperity as Lee Kwan Yu had for Singapore. Even worse he did not realise that there comes a time when he has to let go.` Yet whatever his failings,` nothing will change his greatness leading to the achievement of 31st March 1979.

Let` all Maltese who really believe in Malta as a sovereign island state, whatever their political beliefs,` be there next Saturday to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of Freedom Day. We will be there to honour Malta`s freedom not to demonise the EU.

Indeed I can look forward to Malta being a member of the EU but only if and when the EU chooses for itself a model which provides for respect for diversity, which allows flexibility for co-operation at different levels whilst preserving for member states the permanent right to opt out of the provisions which do not suit their realities. For a future time when EU members formally acknowledge that Malta could retain its sui generis neutrality and will respect its commitment in the constitution that it will not serve as a military base and will not host foreign warships in its port and defence hardware and personnel on its land.

In the meantime the partnership which the MLP is seeking with the EU was given substance by the EU itself in the Barcellona summit. Quoting paragraph 52 of the Barcelona Presidency Conclusions proves the point.

52. EURO MEDITERRANEAN FINANCIAL CO-OPERATION

The European Council reiterates the crucial importance of the Mediterranean region and its determination to develop the Euro-mediterranean partnership. In this connection, it welcomes the decision by ECOFIN Council on a reinforced Euro-mediterranean Investment Facility within the EIB, complemented by the Euro-mediterranean Partnership arrangement and EIB representative office located in the area.` On the basis of an evaluation of the Facility`s performance, and taking into account the outcome of consultations with our Barcelona Process Partners, a decision on the incorporation of an EIB majority owned subsidiary dedicated to our Mediterranean Partner Countries will be considered and taken one year after the launching of the Facility.

Rather than wasting so much time and resources to adhere to an acquis communitaire totally unfit for our realities,` we should really be lobbying for Malta to become the host of the EIB Mediterranean area office,` to take maximum benefit of the Facility and to take a leading role in the formation of the envisaged subsidiary. Opportunities have to be grasped when they happen.

As a` tangible meaning to` being there next Saturday I will be lobbying with the EU in this direction to give substance to the partnership concept without excluding membership if circumstances would change to permit membership to be in Malta`s own interest.

Freeport - saying it again!

Maltastar

Freeport - Saying it again!

This article I had published in April 2000. It`s about time to publish it again as the situation at Freeport is getting more serious. Rather than building up volume so necessary to achieve the critical mass to make Freeport a successful commercial concern, Freeport is in fact losing clients.` Clients` who are fleeing to competitors like Goia Tauro who started behind us but are now much ahead.

Freeport has attracted too much investment and we are too much exposed to let Freeport lose the game. So it`s time to say it again

Freeing Freeport from Family Feudalism

Ever since the Marsaxlokk Port ( as its was commonly known until 1987 under Labour administrations that gave birth to it around 1980) was renamed Freeport the name of Marin Hili became synonymous with it. He has been spearheading this project and has chaired the Corporations which were eventually set up to own and operate the Freeport in the name of the Nation which still owns it.

Many were surprised that not even the Labour administration of 1996 ` 1998 did de-throne Mr. Hili from the Freeport`s chair in spite of his being branded a baron by the incoming Prime Minister in the run-up to the 1996 elections.

Over the years we have been bombarded with media hype, press releases, open-days, glossy brochures and what have you all telling us what a great project Freeport is and what a marvelous job Mr Hili was doing in directing it. At one stage we had it from Prime Minister`s Fenech Adami`s mouth that the Maltese nation ought to erect a monument for Mr. Hili in recognition of his sterling service to the Nation.

For those of us who read the figures and are not easily blinded by the hype we have known for some time that the situation at the Freeport is not as rosy as it was depicted.` Financial Statements regularly returned a profit but this was always dependent on government handouts. Sometimes these were in the form of management fees for overlooking the spending of government`s own money, millions of liri, voted in the Capital Budget of central government for the development of the port which would eventually be used by Freeport.` It seems like my charging you project fees for building my own house at your expense! Recently it took the form of a subsidy on interest charges regarding external financing for the development of terminal 2.

My first brush with Freeport came about two years ago. They were trying to refinance the US$ bond to finance terminal 2 into a 30 year $250 million sovereign guaranteed bond. Some other time I will tell how I had to ruin my Easter of 1998 to help saving this issue from sure disaster to an over-subscription success. But it must be stated that without a sovereign guarantee this bond would have been a non-starter.

Freeport`s own financials were nowhere near enough to support such a line of credit and most projections of 1994 were grossly off-mark. Freeport could only boast of increasing throughput measured in TEU (units which measure the equivalents of twenty foot container moves) without any assurance that such increasing turnover would indeed produce a bottom line near enough to service the Bond, let alone the millions over millions which we as a nation have been pouring annually into this project since 1980.

Following this experience I had supported an initiative to see whether Freeport could be networked with some international` port operator to give it stability and assurance of throughput at optimum rates.

We spoke to the best of the breed. The Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) had just made an investment in the port of Genoa and was looking for a strategic partner in central Mediterranean.

Without any commitments or assurances on either side the then Labour Government and PSA agreed for the latter to conduct a due diligence exercise and after that to discuss possible future co-operation on the basis of informed positions. This was effectively carried out in Summer 1998 as the country was undergoing political turmoil leading to early elections. The PSA team first arrived in Malta on the same day that Dr Sant was demanding Mintoff`s resignation at that fateful Vittoriosa meeting.

By the time PSA concluded their due diligence we had a new government. A government that later tried to parry criticism for the scandalous way it privatised Mid-Med Bank by suggesting that Labour Government had intended to privatise Freeport the same way. This is absolutely false as no assurances or promises were made to PSA except that future co-operation, if any, will be discussed after their conclusion of the due diligence exercise.

As it happened following their due diligence PSA informed the new nationalist government quite curtly that from their findings they saw no scope of co-operation. No reasons were given and none will ever be given. But for those of us who can read looks, interpret signals and understand silence it is clear that PSA did not like what they found.

Eventually the Freeport Financial Statements for 1998 were published and the jig-saw started to form. Freeport was trading at a significant loss.` Turnover was being built by quoting sub-optimal rates. Criticism to this effect surfaced in the Malta Independent but it went unanswered` and unheeded.` `Freeport continued to organise open-days, and to distribute glossy brochures in the Sunday papers telling us what a great project it is and what a formidable job its Chairman Marin Hili was doing. The monument he deserved was growing taller.

The advent of the new millenium started to bring talk of privatisation plans for Freeport. One only privatises the best. So for those who believed the hype and were convinced that Freeport was in good financial health the choice was sensible. For those of us who can see through the gloss into reality for what it is,` privatisation of Freeport appeared unreachable except on terms which would wash out the hundreds of millions which the Nation invested in this project.

My long ears with major international investment banks that were invited to advise on this privatisation confirmed all my thinking. Freeport is unprivatisable except by giving it out on a management contract to an international port operator that would drive stepped improvements in efficiency and assure maximum throughput at optimal rates.

My fears were all confirmed with the front page report of the Business Weekly of Thrisday 20th April 2000 titled `French shipping line and German partner show strong interest in Freeport`

As we approach privatisation Mr Hili seems to have stopped singing his glory to Freeport`s potential. Instead gloom is now falling all over. He is quoted as saying `But risks are getting too big. The answer is sell the hub to private investors by year-end`. He is also reported as saying that the investment required to keep pace with rivals is simply too big for a small island.

I am smelling that the 1999 Financial Statements will be making bad, very bad reading.

How is it that as we approach privatisation rather than enhance the enterprise value we start talking the enterprise down` How is it that just when Terminal 2 is ready and operational and we have invested all that was needed to invest in it, we are now suddenly seeing that the investment needed is too big`

We have invested too many millions in this project to let it be run as a family business whose losses are underwritten by big daddy. Before Freeport can be put on a serious privatisation track it must first be freed from family feudalism. Privatisation is serious business and has to be conducted in the most transparent of matters free from conflicting interests, apparent or real.

Ulied l-azzar

Il-Kullhadd

The ides of March

The Malta Independent

The ides of March

What tidings do the ides of March bring to Malta`s political parties following the local elections of last weekend`

The 7.4% gap in a direct contest between the two political formations is the largest I can remember for any election free from the mortal sin of the sixties. Some conclusions are easy to deduce and ought not to be subject to any argument as they represent factual reality.

The most obvious is that Labour have won this round of local elections hands down. The reasons for this could be many and varied but they surely include the following:

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Labour-led councils terminating their first 3 years in office could boast of a much superior performance to PN-led councils even where these were in their 2nd or 3rd term.

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Government, showing lethargy at national level, cannot but bestow it upon its own local government.

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Government deserved to be given the yellow card for its shoddy management at national level.

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Labour-led councils offer better guarantees of corporate governance and defence of citizens' rights free from extreme partisanship even at the local level so typical of the Nadur Gozo PN-led local council.

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`Labour guaranteed that local councils will not be used to add to the tax burden, a pledge avoided by the` PN in spite of exhortation to do so on the part of` Labour`s Leader.

Having come this far should the interpretation of the result be extended further into the future to smart guess the outcome of the forthcoming electoral tests` Labour must resist the temptation to do so.`

Much as the result is undoubtedly a strong boost to Labour activists to work with renewed vigour and courage for the final objective,` it does not really add much to the chances of winning a general election contest or the EU referendum,` should it precede the general election.

Reality is that voting motivations in a national contest could vary substantial from the motivations of a local contest. Reality is that the 28% that opted not to vote in the local elections will, in their large majority, think it differently in terms of a general electoral contest or a national referendum.

Whilst the local election result has broken the spell of screwed Xarabank surveys and consigned them to the trash can where they statistically and politically belong, they have limited value in terms of` leveraging Labour`s chances of winning the next general elections. This will much more depend on Labour`s performance between now and then and on the the PN`s reactions to this result. Rather than his ears the Prime Minister ought to` bring his feet back on the ground.

Disconnection

Maltastar

Disconnection

`is it fiction or fact,` am I really going mad go` the lyrics of Malta`s entry for this year`s Eurovision song contest` - Ira Losco`s 7th Wonder.

And I can ask the same question about` what is was going around in Malta in the financial and political spheres` last week..

Take the financial aspect. Stock Exchanges the world over had a bumper week. On average they registered an increase of 5% and in case of Japan the increase was more pronounced in the region of 9%. Apart from that,` the increase is not considered speculative but well under-pinned by an array of economic data which provides compelling evidence that both the US as well as the European economies have started to grow again and that there are some indications that the growth will be stronger than anticipated. Increase in manufacturing output, reduction in stock levels and increase in non-farm employment, added with positive indices of business sentiments are considered by market analysts as positive harbingers of a fresh wave of economic growth leading to increased consumption and corporate profits.` The up-turn in share prices world-wide price this growth into equity valuations.

In Malta the local stock exchange, had its third consecutive negative week. Investors continue to shun Maltese equities` preferring the bond market and other capital guaranteed investment products. The share prices` of the major banks and of Maltacom, the relative big caps on the Exchange, continue to drift aimlessly with the direction inclined south whilst all other international` bourses are moving north.

What`s the source of the pronounced disconnection of the local finance market from international capital markets sentiment` Reality is that local business sentiment is still gloomy and` investors feel that the government has no serious plan to place the local economy on a serious and sustainable growth path.` They feel that government`s only success in more efficient tax collection mechanisms,` rather than addressing the underlying deficit problem, is facilitating government avoidance to control its excessive expenditure and wasteful consumption habits.` It permits the government to continue buying a dozen Alfa Romeo cars for the consultants in charge of administering the hundred million direct order of the Tal-Qroqq hospital!

Business pessimism` leads to restrained consumption which threatens corporate profitability and leads to suppressed equity prices. Whilst other countries that in the nineties got their deficit problem under control have had the facility to pump prime their economies through fiscal demand management and lose monetary policy, in Malta government`s tight fiscal position constrain it to apply the fiscal brake on an already fragile and contracting economy. Hence the disconnection.

The political disconnection is the government`s feel ( or lack of it)` for the mood of the electorate. Whilst Labour should avoid interpreting local council election success as a near guarantee of similar achievements in the general election, the nationalists cannot but admit that their disconnection from the population is now achieving chronic and irrecoverable proportions.` If Labour cannot assume that they will win the next election the nationalists must necessarily assume that unless they engineer a turnaround of mega proportions they are well in line to lose the next elections.

May be the nationalist could learn a lesson from this.` Stop telling the people that all is well,` that there are no problems ahead, that you have all the answers to their questions and that all they should do is just continue to place blind trust in you until Brussels start raining funds upon us.` People have been bitten enough and now they are twice as shy.

The electorate is feeling disconnected from its government. In fact they feel they are not being governed at all and show more faith in Labour local government`s achievements. People feel disconnected from its government because government is not being honest and keeps pretending that all is well in spite of their feeling the pain of economic retrenchment.

People are demanding the truth about the state of the economy and seek real practical solutions from whoever expects to govern them. They know they can`t get them from the present government and some feel that this can only come from the EU and therefore choose the EU option for the wrong reasons. In the remaining months to the next election Labour has to prove that it has the right solutions for the country`s problems and that it deserves to be trusted to implement its good housekeeping policies at the local level to the national economy. The disconnection with the people needs to stop.

Alfred Mifsud





[TS1]

[TS2]

Thirty three

The Malta Independent on Sunday

Thirty Three

It is thirty three to the day. On this day in 1969 as a very timid youngster I stepped into the real world where one works to earn one`s living. I have not yet stopped working since and would not mind working for another thirty three years.

I well remember joining a rather large group entering the Merchants Street Branch of the then Barclays Bank DCO and being called into the office of Mr Castillo to learn that the customer is always right and that we were expected to earn our salary and not take it as a divine right.

My first mentor at the Bank was Alfred Mallia, the current Chairman of the Malta Stock Exchange. As it happened we have since had many opportunities where we found ourselves on opposite sides but we have never failed to respect each other whilst often disagreeing.

Life is a long stair case gradually passing from one level to the next, each step taking minimal effort, but collectively helping` a person to reach grounds which a few steps back would have been unthinkable.

How could I have ever imagined on that fateful day thirty three ago that twenty eight years down the road I would be the Chairman of the organisation (Mid-Med Bank) successor to my first employer And who could have imagined just a bit over` three years ago as I made my final act as Chairman of the Bank that this very event, which at the time looked shattering and taking my professional life back a few steps,` would open up opportunities where I myself now greet` timid young lads on their first day of employment in my own private organisation`

And how could I have imagined` just three years ago that events would push me to step into politics seeking to take my career to higher levels in order to reach my continually evolving objective`

And as I pause to reflect my thirty three years of professional working life I ask myself what on earth could politics give me that I could not achieve outside it. Having come this far should I not be happy to continue operating at the current level rather than seeking further notches up the stairs leading to who knows where`

Whilst normal commercial logic would find easy affirmative answers to this reflection, sentimental and intuitive contrary reasons for it abound. Obviously there is the pride of never taking no for an answer; that if an objective was not achieved through one method there are other ways how to get at it. Labour government of 1996 `1 998 had an objective to modernise this country. It failed as its life was cut too short and instead this country has slipped into an economic fatigue which is dragging us down to third world status and threatening the economic survival of a wide cross-section of the population.

The objective of turning Malta into a real modern and democratic country is still burning inside and I realised that it is only through politics that one can bring about the real changes to achieve the objective.

I obviously put a lot of personal pride into it as well and have a burning need inside to prove to the new political masters who felt I was politically untrustworthy to run a supposedly non-political organisation such as Mid-Med Bank, that I can take their` punches on the chin and fight back to win and move on to higher grounds.

And politics have the virtue of taking you back to ground zero.` They take you back to your origins and see how people live their everyday lives, their sufferings, their anxieties, their expectations and their needs.` It is good for the soul to see things one is used to take for granted meaning luxuries for families who are experiencing new poverty.

Politicians owe it to these people to bring about positive change in this country. They owe it them, those least that can protect themselves, to change course of this country from the economic disaster it is heading to. To rediscover that things don`t just happen but are made to happen. To relearn that salaries and wages have to be earned and that every lira taken in undeserved social support, every lira taken in unearned wages or wasteful overtime, every lira of tax evaded is being stolen form those most in need in society whom the state is finding difficulty to find the necessary resources to give them proper assistance.

Politicians needs to re-instate the reality that wealth has to be created before it can be distributed, that nothing is free and that our economic independence cannot co-exist with a culture of spending largesse thinking that we can spend ourselves out of any problem.

If the local council election campaign just ended` has thought me something it is that we need a different way of doing politics. That politicians have to be kept responsible to their promises and that people should punish those who do not deliver rather be blinded by those who cover their failings by new additional promises.

Thirty three years have thought me that real success depends on serious hard honest work, accountability and a strong love for and belief in the final objective which need to be consistently kept not only in view but in focus. All the rest is eye-wash which will have to be paid through higher taxes by us or our successors.

Alfred Mifsud

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Il-battalja ghal Haz-Zebbug

Il-Kullhadd

Il-battalja ghal Haz-Zebbug

Meta taqraw dan il-Hadd fil-ghodu tkunu ga tafu r-rizultat ta` l-elezzjoni tal-kunsilli lokali. Meta qed nikteb dan jien ma nafux u ghalhekk ma nistax nikkumenta fuq li gara izda fuq li messu jigri.

Il-Partit Laburista tella` kampanja qawwija fejn zamm l-objettv car li dawn huma elezzjonijiet lokali u jkun xi xjkun ir-rizultat ma ghandux ghalfejn jiddetermina, lanqas b`mod indikattiv x`ghandu jkun ir-rizultat ta` l-elezzjoni generali meta din issir daqs sentejn ohra jew anqas.

Li hu zgur huwa li l-Partit Laburista deher superjuri ghall-ahhar fuq il-Partit Nazzjonalita f`din il-kampanja. L-ewwelnett il-Partit Laburista kellu x`juri filwaqt li n-nazzjonalisti kellhom x`jahbu.` `Il-performance tal-kunsilli laburisti li resqu mill-gdid ghall-approvazzjoni ta` l-elettorat kienet` konsistentement tisboq bil-kif lil dik ta` kunsilli nazzjonalisti.

Kien ghalhekk li in-nazzjonalisti ppruvaw jizvijaw bil-bicca tal-gandotti ta` Haz-Zebbug fit-tradizzjoni tas-suppost skandlu tal-Laj Laj fl-ahhar elezzjoni generali. Izda `l bicca splodiet f`wicchom hekk kif il-Partit Laburista kixef min tassew jaghmel l-affarijiet minn wara dahar il-poplu.` Meta wera bil-fatti kif San Michel Bonnici tant ihobb l-ambjent li kkapparra ghalih propjeta` pubblika u bghat il-kont tal-benefikati` biex jithallas mil-gvern.

U wara li tghidx kemm hawwad meta l-gurnalist Charlon Gouder ta` One News beda jgibu dahru mal-hajt. Imbaghad wara li qala tbezbiza, beda jobdi l-istruzzjonijiet tal-media spinner tal-PN, is-segretarju generali Joe Saliba,` li kellu jirrispondi biss bil-kantaliena li lil ta` Super One ma jafdahomx.

Hu ghandu ragun ghax ta` Super One gabuh dahru mal-hajt u hargulu l-gharaq u allura ma jistax jafdahom ghax jikxfulu ghawaru.

Saliba u Bonnici t-tnejn Zebbugin u ghalhekk din l-attenzjoni kollha fuq Haz-Zebbug.` Fuq kollox Saliba mela l-vojt li halla Fenech Adami li jidher li ma ghadu jinteressah xejn hlief l-aspett internazzjonali tal-poltika. Dan il-vojt suppost imlieh Gonzi izda dan deher dghajjef ghall-ahhar u kellu jirfdu Saliba filwaqt li Dalli qaghad fil-genb joghrok idejh jittama f`xi disfatta ghal Saliba u Gonzi.

Jien perswaz li f`Haz-Zebbug` ser johrog sinjal qawwi dwar xi jrid jaghzel il-poplu Malti ghal futur tieghu. Ser jaghzel lil min iwieghed fil-vojt, joghmod id-diskors, jaghmel l-affarijiet minn wara dahar il-poplu u jtellef lil min verament qed jahdem biex igib il-pajjiz `l quddiem` Jew irid jafda lil min jemmen fis-sustanza u mhux fil-paroli u li tassew jahdem fl-interess tal-poplu.

In-nazzjonalisti ghandhom raguni ghaliex jiffokaw fuq Haz-Zebbug. Dan il-lokal dejjem kien rapprezentattiv dwar kif qed jahseb il-pajjiz u rari xi hadd li tilef Haz-Zebbug rebah l-elezzjoni. Ghall-elezzjoni li gejja fuq Haz-Zebbug il-Partit Laburista ghandu formazzjoni qawwija.` Biss biss hemm jien u l-Professur Zammit li se nziedu mal-qawwa tat-tim ezistenti u niccalengjaw lin-nazzjonalisti fil-voti ta` min mhux lest jafdahom izjed u lest jafda lil Partit Laburista imsahhah kif inhu bil-prezenza ta` ucuh li ghalkemm godda huma maghrufa u rispettati fil-professjoni rispettiva taghhom.

Ghalhekk qed jinkwetahom Haz-Zebbug lin-nazzjonalisti. Mhux jinkwetahom daqstant ghall-elezzjoni tal-Kunsilli Lokali ghalkemm qed jaghmlu minn kollox biex anke jekk jitilfu kullimkien jergghu jiksbu Haz-Zebbug. Qed jinkwetahom ghall-elezzjoni generali.

Fl-elezzjoni tal-Kunsilli Lokali ghad hemm hafna nies , l-aktar Laburisti, li ma jmorrux jivvutaw .` U huma dawn in-nies li johrogu jivvutaw fl-elezzjoni generali li mbaghad jiddeciedu `l hawn jew `l hemm.

Ghalhekk ikun x`ukun ir-rizultat ta` l-elezzjoni lokali ta` Haz-Zebbug tistghu tibqghu certi li l-battalja vera f`dan il-lokal ser tkun fl-elezzjoni generali.` Inlestu ghaliha!

The Sadim touch

The Malta Independent

Sadim touch

Midas turned everything he touched into gold. A person with flair, ability and acumen to add value to his endeavours and brings success wherever he goes is often referred to as having the Midas touch.

The antithesis is someone who brings disaster and destruction wherever he goes. Whatever he touches is turned into raw lead. I would refer to such a person as having the Sadim touch.

Labour governments over the 70`s had the Midas touch. `They built organisations which started pumping revenues into the national coffers from activities which hitherto where conducted by foreigners and the profits there from used to escape the national economy.

The famous `ahleb Guz` became a quotable quote. Enemalta, Telemalta, Air Malta, Gozo Channel, Medigrain and others all generated commercials gains which were passed on to the national exchequer to finance the central government`s expenditure without having to revert to excessive borrowing.

Many of these organisations were and still are monopolies or quasi monopolies. There are of course strong economic arguments against the fostering of monopolies but the reality of the local market is what it is. Given its small size monopolies are natural and for certain activities there is no breadth and depth in the market to allow healthy competition.

So where a monopoly is dictated by the size of the market there are strong arguments for the monopoly suppliers to be kept in public ownership to ensure that monopoly profits remain in public domain and the monopoly supplier remains accountable to the general public.

But the Sadim touch of the PN government has done the impossible,. It has turned public organisations rendering monopoly services from cash cows to cash drainers. Instead of administering monopolies for the general well being of the public they administered them for their own political self interest.` One organisation after another are reporting losses and are augmenting their demands for public financial support. `Ahleb Guz` has lost its meaning and became `Erda Gann`.

Enemalta is returning losses. How a monopoly provider of energy can run operating losses just baffles me, except that political convenience demands that profits on sale of petroleum products` subsidise politically sensitive electricity and water rates.` Freeport is challenging Malta Drydocks for the top post in claimants list of public subsidies and with the loss of its major client, the Grand Alliance, to Gioia Tauro,` Freeport is clearly losing the international game in transhipment and feeder services opening the prospect for more and more demands on public subsidies. Water Services is a regular client for public subsidies. Air Malta is losing its shirt and will soon join the queue. Maltapost has been partly privatised as the commercial profits left behind by the Labour team was given the Sadim touch and turned into a loss even though the rebate to government on the rates it pays for postal services was removed.

And now the news is out that Gozo Channel is also reporting mounting operating losses even though they are operating the new vessels without incurring any charge for their lease/depreciation and without carrying the substantial financial cost of such vessels, which again is coming out as a subsidy from the public budget.

Beware the Sadim touch ` it could burn your pocket!

The tilt is in his eyes

Di-ve

Is devaluation so dirty

Maltastar

Is devaluation so dirty`

Devaluation of Maltese Lira is anathema. Not just for the government, but for a large cross-section of society including the unions and those who inspired the economic policy of the last Labour government of the 1980`s. To these and to others` devaluation should not even be mentioned.

Now this is quite strange. In a world of fluctuating exchange rates among the major economic blocks, exchange rate policy` is still an important tool of economic management.

Thus the euro area saw their currency devalue some 26% against the USD since the official launch of the euro currency on 1st January 1999. The Japanese yen lost 15% of its value against the USD during the last 3 months. Nobody screamed crisis, nobody obstructed, nobody suggested that such a thing is undoable. It was done by the market in an orderly fashion to reflect the relative difference inthe level of domestic inflation and in the level of productivity.

If Japan and Euro have problems of slow economic growth (for the euroland area) or outright recession (for Japan) just imagine how much more compounded these problems would be if they were operating under fixed exchange rates regime.

I admit, in Malta`s case devaluation could be much economically and socially disruptive. Being a small minute economy substantially integrated with the global economy (so that our imports and exports reach a much higher percentage of the gross domestic product than larger economies with much bigger domestic market) devaluation on its own is no panacea and ought to be avoided if at all possible. But is it possible` Should we at least discuss the issue soberly without being looked at suspiciously as if I am` suggesting bringing down the roof on the whole government edifice built as it is,` on the shaky foundation of debt` and on cardboard walls of consumption based growth.

I compare devaluation to a very sour medicine which is desperately needed by a sick patient.` The medicine on its own might not give a 100% remedy and has to be accompanied by regular exercises, healthy eating,` total stoppage of smoking and excessive drinking and other precautions.` But without the sour medicine recovery would just not start.

In such a situation should the application of the sour medicine be completely ruled out` purely on the basis that it is just too sour. Should` the sick patient be left to` rot in his malady`

So when government ministers issue outright denial statement that devaluation of the Maltese Lira should not even be talked about , let alone considered or proposed, are they saying that the country is not economically sick or are they saying that in spite of the economic sickness acknowledged by one and all,` we should not give the patient the needed medicine just because it tastes so bad`

So the argument should be: is the economy sick enough to make devaluation a remedy to be considered`

Not all sickness require the same type of medicine.` Devaluation is the sort of medicine that economic managers should consider when they have enough proof that the country has lost its competitiveness with the rest of the world and is suffering from lack of inward investment and lack of export led-growth and possibly from balance of payment problems.

Applying this to Malta`s case our competitiveness with the rest of the world is measured technically by what is referred to as REER( real effective exchange rate).` REER is derived by taking the NEER ( nominal effective exchange rate) which is based on a trade-weighted average of changes in the exchange rate of the Maltese Lira against the currencies of our major competitor countries, including our trading partners,` and adjusting it for relative movements in consumer prices.

May be its too technical to explain in one paragraph but take it from me REER is an effective measure of competitiveness with the rest of the world. The graph herewith is reproduced form the December 2001 quarterly of the Central Bank of Malta (page 31) and shows that since 1995 we have lost 10% of our competitiveness with our trading partners. The REER was at 100 in 1995 and exceeded` 110 as at September 2001. Without the slightest doubt we have lost our competitiveness which is keeping away foreign investment; except from those industries that are already established here and that,` more often than not, keep` investing` to remain competitive by` reducing labour cost and shed off employment rather than to create new opportunities.

I have no doubt that Malta`s` economy is sick because we lost our international competitiveness.` The solution cannot exclude a devaluation although I grant it that on its own it would produce very short term benefits complicating the search for the durable true solution. But as a part of an overall recovery package devaluation cannot be excluded provided its is managed by capable hands, adequately dosed and supported by an array of other compensating measures, social, fiscal and moral. This is too complicated for the current administration that continues to seek simple solution in amassing horrible debt and shocking privatisations.` So the government prefers letting the economically sick patient rot in its malady.

Devaluation is a dirty word only to whoever` cannot use it as part of an effective recovery plan.

Alfred Mifsud

Il-latrina ta` Kastilja

Il-Kullhadd

Il-Latrina` ta` Kastilja

Donnu li l-Prim Ministru Spanjol` Aznar kellu xewqa li juza t-toilet ta` Kastilja. Gie fuq vizita ufficjali ta`ftit sieghat.

Baqa` sejjer dritt dritt Kastilja. Laqgha mal-Prim Ministru, konferenza stampa, mixja sal-Barrakka ta` fuq u dritt dritt lura ghal ajruport.

Issa wiehed jifhem li l-Berga ta` Kastilja kienet il-headquarters tal-lingwa Spanjola tal-Kavalieri ta` Malta. U allura Prim Ministru Spanjol ikollu certu nostalgija biex izurha.

Izda ma nistax nifhem x`valur jista jkun fiha zjara bhal din bla ma jsiru laqghat mas-setturi kollha tas-socjeta` Maltija. Lill-Prim Ministru Aznar lanqas tawh` cans jiehu mistoqsija minn ghand gurnalisti ta` One News waqt il-konferenza stampa.

Din il-bicca li hafna barranin li lanqas biss ghandhom ideja tar-rejaltajiet ta` Malta jigu fostna u jippontifikaw dwar x`ghandha jew x`ma ghandiex taghmel Malta issa saret iddarras. Saret iddarras daqs il-viziti wisq frekwenti tal-vapuri tal-gwerra fil-portijiet taghna li donnhom regghu saru parti mis-snin sittin. Differenza biss li l-mecca tan-nies tal-militar li jinzlu l-art issa saret Paceville u mhux il-Belt Valletta.

Nahseb li wasal iz-zmien li nidhlu dahla fina nfusna u naraw x`irridu minn dal-pajjiz ghaziz taghna. Irriduh li jerga` jsir kolonja u f`pajjizna ma nkunu nikkmandaw xejn u nergghu nigu ekonomikament dipendenti fuq l-infiq militari u fuq il-valur militari tal-gzejjer taghna` Irridu nippreguikaw il-helsien li taparsi ser niccelebraw fl-ahhar ta dan ix-xahar ta` Marzu`

Jew ahna kburin li ahna stat sovran, hieles, kommess li ma jintuzax ghal skop militari li jista` jurta il-girien ta` taht daqs ta` fuq, tal-genb tal-lemin daqs tal-genb tax-xellug` Jew il-letargija tal-konsumizmu herriet ghal kollox l-ispirtu tar-ruh Maltija li mhix qed tehodha bi kbira li qed tizzerzaq helu helu biex terga` tibda tghix mil-prostituzzjoni militari ta` pajjizna.

Tajjeb li dan l-argument qed naqilghu illum fil-bidu tal-konvenzjoni Ewropeja dwar il-futur ta` l-Ewropa. Konferenza li ghandha taghti timbru ghal dak li jridu jiddeciedu il-pajjizi prezenti ta` l-UE biex jibdlulha il-mod kif tahdem kmieni fl-2004 qabel ma jsir it-tkabbir li jmiss.

Il-Partit Laburista jemmen fis-shih fl-ghaqda Ewropeja.` Jemmen li l-kontinent Ewropew ghandu jilqa lil pajjizi tal-lvant bhala membri ugwali biex tinqata darba ghal dejjem id-diskripenza ekonomika li tezisti bejn il-lvant u l-punent.

Izda ma jhossx li huwa fl-interess ta` Malta li tikkommetti ruhha b`mod inkundizzjonat ghal shubija taht ir-regoli prezenti li huma maghrufa,` jew taht regoli li ghad jinbidlu u ghalhekk mhux maghrufa.

Il-Partit Laburista jemmen li kull relazzjoni ma l-Unjoni Ewropeja trid tkun suggetta ghal zewg kundizzjonijiet induskutibbli. `L-ewwel li Malta tibqa` newtrali u li ma jsir l-ebda uzu militari minn artna u Malta ma tippartecipax f`xi pjan ta difiza u politka barranija komuni.` Ovvjament Malta tiggarintixi li t-territorju taghha qatt ma jintuza kontra l-interessi ta`l-Ewropa.

U t-tieni huwa li t-tibdil ekonomiku mehtieg isir ghat-temp taghna, temp li ma jkissirx il-fibra socjali, li jirrispetta d-dinjita` tal-haddiema Maltin u li jkabbar ix-xoghol u l-gid.

Leljiet konvenzjoni kbira li twassal ghal tibdil fil-mekkanizmi ta` l-UE u sahansitra possibilment ghal kostituzzjoni ta` l-UE,` Malta tizbalja jekk tidhol ghal shubija b`mod inkundizzjonat.`

Issa zmien li nghatu prijorita` biex nirrangaw l-ekonomija u nsewwu l-hsara ta 15 il-sena li herrew ir-ruh tas-socjeta` Maltija bl-irresponsabbilita` ta` money no problem. Irresponsabbilita` tal-kultura vizzjuza` li ma hemmx ghalfejn tahdem biex taqlaghha.

Fuq l-UE niddeciedu meta l-fatti ta` kif ser tahdem ikunu maghrufa u nkunu nistghu niggudikaw kemm il-kundizzjonijiet indiskutibbli li semmejt jistghu verament isehhu.

Sadanittant Kastilja ma ghandix tibqa sservi bhala latrina ghal min jigi jzurna qisu qabdu xoghlu waqt li kien ghaddej, isserva u kompla fi triqtu.` Malta jixirqilha ahjar!

You cant believe anything these days

The Malta Independent

You can`t believe anything these days!

Put yourself in the PN`s shoes and ask yourself what is the best survey result you could hope for from the obliging Xarabank team. `A Labour overall majority in the upcoming local elections has to be provided for otherwise the survey` would be nullified in a matter of weeks. But the credibility of forecasting a Labour victory at the local elections ought to be used to bolster the prognosis of a wide PN victory at the general election. That`s the best the PN could hope for and that is what they got.

Anyone with average common sense would definitely question the validity of such conflicting results between the local and the general election surveys. One would also question why a fatigued government mal-administering a shoddy economy should find growing popular support at the general elections level

Clearly the appropriate answer is that the survey is totally defective. Any survey with a large chunk (30 % - 40%) that` report that they will not vote do not know whom they will vote for, carries no correspondence with reality. Add to this the large reject rate, i.e. people who refuse to take part in the survey and failure to adjust for such rejection effect and the` whole survey becomes a mockery.

Equal mockery of reality was made by the editorial of this paper singing glory to the HSBC`s good results for 2001 and interpreting them as a sign that the worse of the `recession` is over.` This is typical of poor analysis of the figures which are accepted at face value without any real probing or intellectual mining.` HSBC` Group reported an operating profit before exceptional items of Lm16.6 million which is Lm1.3 million down on the comparable figures of last year which has been re-stated down in this year`s financial statements. That is bad enough for the Group.` It is even worse for the Bank itself.` Operating profit before exceptional items is down from Lm10.2 million to Lm8.3 million.

If bank results are a barometer of the general economic tempo than the bank results are a more appropriate guide than the group results. The core banking activities of lending and advancing are conducted by the parent company while the rest of the group conducts non-lending activities which tend to move inversely with the economic tempo.

At times of uncertainty savers consume less and save more for the feared rainy day,` by raising their long term savings in life policies and fund investments carried on by the group subsidiaries. If HSBC results tell anything on the macro-economic performance it certainly does not say that things are getting better.

But even more serious playing with figures was the government pompously announcing an Enron-style off balance sheet financing trick on us this week.` We are expected to applaud. The Foundations for Tomorrow School would be raising Lm70 million debt off balance sheet of Central Government to finance public school development programme.` In so doing, just as in the case of the new hospital, it is mortgaging future governments` manoeuvrability by forcing them` to pay off currently assumed debts raised off balance sheet. Central government financing are so tight that it is constrained to finance social infrastructure development off balance sheet,` hidden in a remote Foundation in parallel to Enron notorious partnerships.

Like Enron`s balance sheet, you can`t believe anything these days!

Alfred Mifsud