Winners and Losers

The Malta Independent on Sunday

Winners and Losers

The year which will be assigned to history in the next few hours has produced `winners and losers.

The winners are:

Vodafone and Maltacom- for constraining the government to give them a mobile licence on current and prospective technologies free of payment when operators in other countries had to pay through their nose for acquiring such license through transparent competitive bidding.

Richard Cachia Caruana ` for landing the most prominent post in the negotiating team for EU accession which puts him as a front-runner for being nominated as Malta`s first EU Commissioner thus securing his fiefdom in the post EFA era.`

Super One Radio & TV ` for becoming the indisputable leading `media station with the widest audiences as confirmed by the Malta Broadcasting Authority surveys of March and November 2000 ( interest declared).

NET TV ` for landing more advertising revenue from Malta EU Information Centre than Super One even though audiences of NET are much smaller than the audiences of Super One and don`t need much convincing about the benefits of EU membership.

Dr. Lawrence Gonzi ` who has consolidated his position as heir apparent to EFA in spite of John Dalli`s strong challenge `which fizzled out after the 2001 budget first glare was replaced by the reality of its negative impact on the middle class sector of society.

Dr. Alfred Sant ` who has shrugged off without scratch the hideous challenge for his party leadership orchestrated by political opponents and former friends who could not distinguish charlatans from real achievers.

The losers are:

The Maltese people ` who are having to pay taxes through their nose whilst seeing their government missing `opportunities to auction 3G mobile licenses which `are given away for free.to private operators without raising as much as a whimper from the opposition.

Enemalta- who had to carry the full burden of higher oil prices in 2000 thanks to the wisdom of Min Bonnici who refused to hedge the price of oil for year 2000 when he was counselled to do so in the first quarter of 1999 just when the price of oil was hitting rock bottom.

Environment lovers ` who could just watch the problem of power station emissions, waste management and air pollution from congested traffic compound themselves during the year.

Central Bank of Malta and Malta Stock Exchange ` who as Regulators of Malta`s financial structures have shown themselves unworthy of `their national status and incapable of protecting national interest from the `arrogance of the executive.` The Central Bank was incapable of producing a single liner putting the nation`s mind at rest` following repeated and specific accusations` of political pressure in lending `decisions of major government influenced credit institutions.` The Malta Stock Exchange has again behaved like the Minister toy poodle permitting confusion and lack of transparency in the capital markets. Criticism in this sense continues to be ignored rather than rebutted.

We can all be winners in 2001 if we act with single minded purposeness towards clearly defined objectives. The objective is not however membership or special relationship with the EU. That issue can wait definitive settlement at the next general election. The objective is real sustainable economic growth which requires serious re-structuring, substantial re-training and attraction of new direct investment. This needs a national effort which should be achievable if the secondary EU issue is put aside and `subordinated to much more urgent priorities.

If this country can act together and focus its energies `on the issues which unite us through consensus rather than prioritise things which divide us needlessly we can all be winners in 2001. Yet it looks like the stage is set for wasting another year in the history of this young country `chipping `away its credentials for a sovereign statehood.` It is time to shift from sovereign `symbols such as having five national holidays to sovereign of economic sustainability. .

Alfred Mifsud

Inkunu pozittivi

Il-Kullhadd Inkunu Pozittivi

Hekk kif ghadda t-tielet Milied taht din il-legislatura nazzjonalista qed nersqu lejn nofs it-terminu. Dan ifisser li l-partit laburista irid jibda jiffoka fuq l-elezzjoni li qed toqrob u jkun lest biex jammistraha l-poter galadarba jiksbu.

Ifisser ukoll li l-Partit irid jaddatta ruhu biex mhux biss jipprezenta ruhu bhala oppozizzjoni effittiva izda aktar importanti minn hekk bhala gvern alternattiv.

Ghalhekk rizoluzzjoni kbira li rridu naddottaw ghas-snin li fadal sa ma nergghu naslu ghall-elezzjoni hija dik li rridu nkunu pozittivi f\kull ma naghmlu. Irridu nikkonvincu lill-poplu li ahna mhux tajbin biss biex nikkritikaw, ingergru u nniggzu izda tajbin aktar biex inwettqu, biex immexxu, biex nibnu u biex noholqu l-gid.

Huwa car li matul is-sena d-diehla l-issue li l-aktar importanti li rridu nahdmu fuqha hija dik ta` l-Unjoni Ewropeja. Evidentissimu li l-gvern ser ikompli ghaddej bl-akbar ritmu possibbli biex itemm in-negozjati, jekk tista` ssejhilhom hekk, ma l-UE , jaccetta kull ma jordnawlu u jibdel il-ligijiet bla diskussjoni serja dwarhom.

Il-poplu Malti se jigi mixrub minn mewga ta` propaganda li ma thallihx jifhem sew x`ikun qed jigi deciz u l-effetti, tajbin jew hziena, li decizjoni dwar shubija fl-UE thalli fuq pajjizna b`mod strutturali li torbot mhux biex lil gvern prezenti izda il-gvernijiet ohra li jigu wara.

Ghallhekk il-Partit Laburista irid ikun aktar , hafna aktar , effettiv biex mhux biss infehmu ghala shubija fl-UE mhix addattata ghal pajjizna, izda ghala l-alternattiva laburista ta` Svizzera fil-Mediterran` hija aktar tajba u addattata ghar-rejaltijiet ta` pajjizna.

Mhux biss irridu npingu sinjal `no entry` indawwar bl-istilel ta` l-UE izda irridu npingu sinjal Y biex nuru li fil-mixja lejn l-UE il-poplu malti tabilhaqq ghandu ghazla.

U l-ghazla li hija l-aktar addata ghalina hija dik li l-aktar tatina flessibilta` biex bhala pajjiz bla rizorsi nagixxu maljar biex niehdu opportunijiet li l-bidliet li gejjien kontinwament jipprezentawlna. L-ghazla trid tipprermittilna li nkuna differenti minn haddiehor ghax jekk inkunu l-istess bhal haddiehor l-izvantaggi ta` gzira zghira maqtugha mil-kontinent jghelbuna u ma jrendunix kompettivi.

Irridu naghmlu l-ghazla li tifhem li l-pozizzjoni taghna hi dik li, gzira zghira f`nofs il-mediterran, u ma tistax tilghab bl-istess regoli bhal minn huwa fic-centru tal-kontinent ewropew. U fl-ahhar izda mhux l-inqas irridu nuzaw il-pozizzjoni strategika taghna biex niksbu l-ahjar ghal pajjizna permezz ta` leverage prudenti ta` dan il-vantagg waqt negozjati dwar relazzjonijiet ma pajjizi ohra, fuqna u tahtna.

Dawn l-erbgha aspetti ta` flessibilita`, differenti, pozizzjoni u leverage ghandhom ikunu l-aqwa argumenti taghna biex infehmu li l-alternattiva laburista hija ahjar ghal pajjizna.

Irridu nkunu pozittivi dwar l-UE.` It-tkabbir ta` l-UE huwa zvilupp ta` min jinkoraggixxih u niehdu pjacir li dan miexi. Ahna m`ahniex kontra l-UE. Irridu l-ahjar relazzjonijiet ma` l-UE. Nixtiequ lill-UE l-aqwa gid u progress.

Izda dam ma jfissirx li ghanda nkunu membri f`din l-ghaqda.` Ir-rejlatijiet ta` pajjizna jitolbu mod iehor. Bhal ma jitolbu r-rejaltaijiet ta` l-Isvizzera tan-Norvegja u ta` l-Islanda.

Pozittiv u nformattiv huwa l-motto li nzomm f;mohhi ghas-sena d-diehla.

Biting Dust

The Malta Independent

Biting Dust

Another year is about to bite the dust.` For those of us lucky enough to have survived it , it is time to reflect on what sort of year this has been for our country.

Frankly I feel that this has been largely wasted time with priorities inverted in an illogical way.` (Un)Fortunately ours is a small economy where Government`s actions or inactions make a marked influence on the success or otherwise in economic terms of the year under review.

Yet government`s actions throughout the year have demonstrated that it is not concerned with resolution of the country`s real problem. Instead it keeps insisting on making EU membership an objective on its own merit,` rather than a means for achieving the real ultimate objective. The ultimate goal of providing` this` nation with a sustainable economic growth` founded on a` production capacity for goods and services marketable in a ferociously competitive world.

So whilst we keep trumpeting that we are first or second in` the queue of applicant countries our real problems remain obstinately unresolved. We keep biting pollution dust even whilst walking straight.` Public transport remains unsuitable for a third world country even though its resolution could make a quantum leap difference of quality to our daily lives. Waste management is indeed a misnomer. It should be referred to as Wasteful Mismanagement.

Resources continue to be simply burned up in the air.` The efficiency on the revenue side of the government`s fiscal accounts is unmatched with any similar improvement in controlling the expenditure side.` This inevitably leads to waste of scarce financial resources which are sent down the budgetary black hole.

Our under-utilised and overpaid resources in the public sector remain untrained for a real job in the real world and no motivation is given to move resources in this direction. On the contrary the public sector continues to take on new employees without seeking to make optimum use of those already at its disposal.` Opportunities for maximising national resources are simply allowed to pass us by.

Just take what other countries, much richer and more resourceful, are doing with their mobile 3G licences. They auctioned their airwaves and brought in billions.` In Malta we gave them away for free to redeem a monopoly given to a private operator who could and should have been handled differently in the national interest.

Rather than seek national consensus on resolution of these national problems, a consensus which should be quite easily negotiated, we keep pushing blindfolded forward into the EU divisive issue making it the final` destination rather than a vehicle to such destination.

The EU issue could and should be handled after the next general election when the electorate decision will be final and conclusive. This is very much in line with what the EU itself prefers as the risk of losing a referendum on EU membership on this side of the election could put off the EU issue for an inordinate length of time. It would` narrow our negotiating tools for achieving the eventual route chosen by the electorate.

My great wish` for 2001 is for this country to get its priorities right and not let such priorities be dictated by personal agendas of influential individuals. This takes leadership qualities which are noticeable by their absence.