A couple of weeks ago, the Foundation for National Competitiveness launched a seven-point plan aimed at boosting the island’s competitiveness and at making Malta smarter. The proposals made in the report were not earth-shattering; there was nothing new. A lot of what was proposed has been heard before, under different guises maybe, but it is still the same rhetoric, the same solutions, the same vision.

We are not trying to cast a shadow over the work carried out by the foundation whose members are leading entrepreneurs in Malta. On the contrary, the foundation’s report not only makes sense but it once again highlights a recurring problem in this small island – we know what needs to be done but we never get round to doing it. And when we actually get the ball rolling, we come up with enough reasons to drag the process on and on.

This is happening on a regular basis because there is too much bureaucratic red tape. The issue of excessive bureaucracy was raised by various speakers during a business breakfast organised by the Labour Party last Tuesday.

Labour leader Alfred Sant, in fact, criticised the government’s numerous authorities because they were the cause of problems for many people. He said the Labour government would streamline operations.

Yet, is bureaucracy the only problem? Are we blaming the government for everything that happens? Is the Labour Party offering the solutions that the government does not seem to have? The root of the problem goes much deeper than what the two political parties believe to be the way forward for Malta.

The Labour Party’s proposals are excellent. Of course, Malta needs a growth rate of three to four per cent a year. We’ve been saying that for over five years. The tourism sector needs a huge boost. We know that. Education is one of the economy’s three pillars. Right again. Bureaucracy is harming the country’s competitiveness. Agreed.

The real challenge is actually achieving all this. How?

Well, not expecting the government to do everything would be a good starting point. The secretary general of the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, Gejtu Vella has once again insisted on the need for a social pact in Malta. This blessed pact, which would lead to a national economic and social blueprint for the next five or 10 years, is just what the government – be it Nationalist or Labour – needs to achieve its targets.

As things stand at the moment, the government is struggling to introduce hassle-free reforms because it does not have across the board support. With a social pact, half of the government’s problems would be solved. Even if the MLP is elected in two years’ time, it would need a high level of support that can be derived from the social pact.

As Mr Vella rightly said, the country has to work together to achieve its long-term goals... otherwise we might as well stick our heads in the sand and ignore reality. The secretary general of the General Workers’ Union, Tony Zarb agreed on the need to work together but on the sole condition that the burden was shared equally among employers and employees.

Unfortunately burden sharing has proved to be the obstacle that everyone is stumbling over. At least the social partners do agree that they need to sit down and discuss the matter all over again. Whether they are confident enough that an agreement can be reached is another matter.

The Foundation for National Competitiveness’ choice of title for its report, Smarten Up!, is just what this country needs to do. We need to be smarter not only in what we do but how we do it. The political parties are smart enough to defend their hard-earned votes. The social partners are smart enough to defend their members’ interests. But is everyone smart enough to realise that we are walking down a blind alley?

We need to be smarter. And that should be the

political parties’ credo in the coming months... not platitudes.