This week, I read the Malta Chamber of Commerce’ manifesto which contains 36 concrete recommendations for decision-makers. A solid exercise with important calls for change in the current methods of decision-making and administration, which all politicians in office or aspiring should read with attention.

The main thread of the 23-page document is, to my mind, a clear call for more transparency and fairness in government operations as a means to bolster a more ethical way of doing business in Malta. While many business organisations in evolved democracies call for less regulation and more simplification, Malta’s own Chamber of Commerce yearns for a different kind of governance, ensuring more foreseeability and less arbitrariness in government decisions, possibly including more regulation, especially on government itself.

I believe that several ideas expressed in the Chamber document merit further discussion and eventually, deployment in practice. Certainly, any further intervention in the market needs to be carefully calibrated to put the least burden possible on new entrepreneurs. In truth, the main proposals of the Chamber should not risk a higher burden on business itself, given that they relate mainly to the government’s own organisation and how this affects its performance as a main influencer in the business environment.

Clearly, a healthy business environment requires professional handling of public administration. As a candidate for the European elections, I highlighted the need for measures to enhance the competence and the impartiality of our public service. That call was embraced by the Nationalist Party with three main proposals for the promotion of competence over political affiliation and a better coordination of the representation of national interest in European settings.

The needs expressed in those calls are echoed in the mentioned recommendations by the business community. The Chamber manifesto calls for the introduction of a set of minimum qualifications for the recruitment of ‘persons of trust’, which unfortunately have spiralled beyond control, the entrenchment of top civil service functions beyond political control and the investment in a professional research service attached to the house of Parliament.

I believe that the people would indeed be better served if we invest in the quality of our representation. One clear way of doing this would be to equip our MPs with an office for a more qualitative input into policy discussions and most importantly, securing their freedom to operate without conflict or bias by introducing the faculty for full-time MPs who do not need to juggle the responsibilities of public or private employment with their commitments to the electorate.

Enhancing our Parliament with qualified staff assisting full-time MPs goes hand in hand with the increasing work-load of the national parliament as an active player in representing the national interest in the EU. Since a few years ago, national parliaments can ask for revision or block proposed EU legislation when this goes beyond the competences of the Union or contravenes its objectives. This is a power of scrutiny which can play a role in detecting legislation affecting the welfare of Maltese business or other sectors of society. How can we ensure that our parliament effectively keeps a check on European proposals when it is manned by part-timers who are manned by no staff and no office?

Another matter highlighted in the Chamber’s manifesto relates to the handling of public procurement by government authorities. In many business areas, from medical supplies to large-scale urban works, government is the main spender and hence the main business client in the country. Notwithstanding this; and that national and European legislation explicitly limit direct orders to clearly justifiable exceptions, we have grown accustomed to direct orders taking up the lion’s share of government contracts.

The Chamber recommends tighter controls on use of direct orders and the publication of all government contracts, together with a register of lobbying meetings with politicians. This certainly goes in the right direction. The call for transparency and fairness in public and administration has been made very clearly for the umpteenth time. Will government stand up to be counted or will it treat these calls by the business community to the usual photo opportunity for TV and Facebook to trash the Chamber’s document soon after?

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