The latest data released this week by the statistics office about price rises confirmed that the momentum by which they are happening has been sustained. In close to seven months, inflation has doubled, no matter how you measure it. And among where prices are rising fastest according to the price index is the sector that is most sensitive and gets the greatest weight in the calculation of the index -- the group of items which cover food.

There is little consolation in the fact that as very frequently happens, price rises in Malta lag behind what is happening in other European countries, partly this time round because on water, electricity, gas and fuel, there have locally been no formal price rises, since the government blocked them. But as the Minister of Finance correctly made clear, this is not something that can be carried forward indefinitely.

True, the price surge is coming from abroad and very little can be done to roll it back. Still, a strong signal needs to be given that now for our economy, the priority should become that of improving efficiency and productivity. Otherwise we could soon discover that inflation here has not only reached... but is surpassing... European levels.

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DELAYS

It is a complaint that has long been made and in this blog I have written a number of times about it... but little progress has been achieved. Delays in court proceedings have persisted and it seems like nothing can be done to eliminate them. We’ve been told that per capita compared to the rest of Europe, we have the lowest number of judges servicing our courts. Sporadically, information gets published about how the staff complement working in the courts to provide back up for judges is too small, is not paid well and has insufficient electronic equipment with which to do its job.

It seems like we have failed to understand that court organization is not just a question of legal procedure. It also affects in a big way, economic management and social progress across the country. Improvements in this field of activity are just as necessary in the national interest as they are in the interests of justice.

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AGRICULTURAL LAND

Do we have a land area that is sufficient to provide the local population with all the food it needs to live? Obviously not. Is all the agricultural land that is available for farming being used for this purpose? No, surely not. Is agricultural land being farmed at optimal levels? Even less so -- no.

I cannot but smile when I listen to individuals who had worked hard to get Malta into the EU  complain now that agriculture should but is not keeping up with our food needs. They seem not to have realized over the years how agriculture has experienced a process of steady decline. It was being hemmed in by building developments everywhere and where it still persisted, had to give up production areas in which it formerly excelled.

It is still not acknowledged locally that the choice of EU membership meant that the Maltese people had decided to buy almost all their substantive food requirements from abroad.