A holistic strategy is needed for Malta to regain the quality and charm it once had, CEO of the Malta Chamber of SMEs Abigail Agius Mamo told this newsroom.

The Chamber came out with a raft of proposals for the budget, which is set to be revealed by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana in October.

One such proposal, is for a ‘holistic quality strategy’ that would “stop Malta’s uglification first and foremost and work on a strategy to deconstruct it.”

The proposal highlights that development planning, traffic issues, as well as safety and security should be addressed in it. “A number of activities which would normally only be acceptable as one-off occurrences have become the order of the day, and one-off nuisances are making staying in Malta unbearable both for locals and tourists. A holistic strategy that would normalise living in Malta is necessary.” The proposal reads.

The document says that the country’s main problem is overdevelopment, "which has uglified Malta and taken away too many of the spaces. Lax development regulations and room for abuse have greatly degraded Malta’s overall look and also affected village cores and important historical areas. Overdevelopment cannot be spoken of as something of the past. Development is still rampant with construction sites, heavy equipment, noises and dust a daily nuisance. Apart from affecting locals, this greatly impacts Malta’s attractiveness to tourists."

It also identifies that traffic has become another main downside of being in Malta. "Traffic is now found everywhere and is unavoidable. The sheer amount of vehicles on the road, the frequency of roadworks and massive infrastructural projects happening all at one go and the crazy driving by motorcycle deliveries and scooters have degraded Malta’s roads to be closer to those found in much less developed countries." It also reads that safety concerns are not only related to roads, but also to crime and the level of crime in general. "There is a perception that crime is on the rise."

During an interview with this newsroom, the CEO of the Chamber of SMEs was asked about this proposed strategy.

"We were quite surprised that so many businesses told us that today’s Malta is not of the same quality as it was in the past. They are seeing the quality of our country degrade. They feel that they are not living and working in Malta as happily as they once did,” Agius Mamo said.

"There are a number of factors. Firstly, we need to recognise the need to take a snapshot of the country today, where we stand, and see where we want to head.” 

Instead of tackling it with different strategies here and there, The Chamber wants to tackle it holistically.

The first thing is to document the country’s current situation, she said. "What’s Malta’s crime situation at the moment? How are we feeling about our surroundings? Do we have enough open spaces? Are we using enough of our already developed properties? If we don't have a holistic approach, looking at what the red flags are and how to address them holistically, we will end up carrying out strategies which cannot really have the impact that we want them to have."

While saying that all ministries do their best in order to see what they can help in doing, "A bigger, more holistic strategy is needed, so that we can give Malta back the quality and charm this small island in the Mediterranean once had,” she said.