In an address at the 2015 EY attractiveness survey conference, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today that he is “guilty as charged” with reference to accusations made that he is a salesman.
Dr Muscat said that tough calls had to be made in order to turn Malta’s economic direction around. He said that the government’s instinctive reaction was to make the country as open for business as possible. He pleaded with his ministers and staff to act as salesmen like he has done, because Malta is a small island competing globally for business, investment and economic gains.
He said that “Malta is a good place to invest. It does not only offer its local and European market but it also bridges the continents around us. We have an open economy and a business community who are ready to take the plunge and open up even more. “
He said that currently Malta’s economic growth stands at 5%, and continued by saying that although the statistics are positive one must look at the mood of the country in order to see if they are realistic and representative of current trends. He said that the mood of the country is positive, and that this has been confirmed by Eurostat which published a study that Maltese people are the most optimistic in Europe.
Dr Muscat highlighted the priorities for the type of players that government wants to attract to malta by saying that “the top world business players are global citizens with no particular country they call home. That is a sector we are particularly interested to attract even more. Our citizenship programme has helped Malta to become more visible on the world map. It is precisely because we had the courage to reach out to this new reality that we have become one of Europe’s most open and welcoming economies. Global companies setting up shop in Malta are looking to attract the best persons to fill their top management and CEO posts. We are in that sort of competition. And yes, we are open for that kind of business. “
He highlighted the success in managing to turn around key economic niches that up to 3 years ago were considered Malta’s “Achilles heel,” such as in the energy and health sectors. He followed by saying that investors are looking to turn Malta into a hub for attracting leaders in the services industry. He said that the government is “far from done,” and that he believes that the country has many untapped sources.
Turning to Malta’s current main challenges, Dr Muscat spoke about technology and the impact of globalization on our labour market. He said that Malta’s education system was not quick enough to adapt to “supersonic” changes in global markets.
He also mentioned the challenge of improving the general upkeep, cleanliness and the environment of the country.
He said that “as we are trying to attract world class businesses and top high net worth individuals ready to invest in Malta, we need to make sure that they do not only find high-end properties and hotels as well as first-class service, but they will also find in Malta a six-star environment to complement the experience. I am disappointed with the general level of upkeep of the country. It is time for all of us, political leaders, businesses and stakeholders to team up to give our share to clean the country. I want our people to live in a clean environment as well as six-star investments getting six-star surroundings.”
The final challenge that he spoke of related to infrastructure, stating that Malta’s roads are built to cater for less than half a million people, however in the summer months the country’s population well exceeds this figure. He cited that there are 40 new cars per day on the road, and said that traffic impacts the economy and has a direct effect on peoples’ lives and business.
He concluded by saying that there are no short term solutions for such a long term problem, and that the country must team up in order to come up with sustainable solutions.