Recently, in past weeks, it seems like I saw  quite a number of media adverts announcing the intention of the advertiser to set up an employment agency -- one that would also be doing business by way of supplying foreign workers to the Maltese market.

It is claimed that this is happening mostly for low paid jobs. Indeed on this matter, clear cases of abuse and exploitation have been revealed involving workers from Asia and Africa. But it is not so evident that employment agencies deal only with low paid workers. It seems like their activities also include sectors that require good technical and academic qualifications. As in the cases of nurses, accountants and computer technicians.

To be honest, what amazes me is that at the same time that employment agencies seem to be passing through a phase of robust expansion, a government exercise has been announced to limit the intake of foreign workers because of the social imbalances that their growing presence triggered on the island.

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SOCIAL AUDITS

It’s been many years since I first puzzled about whether we could possibly keep track of how social policy programmes launched by the government were being really effective. A big chunk of budgetary expenditures gets allocated to such programmes.

Actually, it so happens that on financial operations, recognised methods by which to conduct an audit exists. They are most useful since on their basis, it is possible to see whether the funds that are being spent have been well allocated in line with the targets set for them. Which is what the NAO does. (Keep on hold for the moment, the point that NAO reports are not used the way they should be...)

Even regarding the environment, an auditing system is being developed to estimate how programmes and funds earmarked for progress in this sector are being effective or otherwise.

I am unconvinced that the same is happening on social issues. If this is the case, I fail to understand why this should be happening. It is a top priority for government to be able to tell whether every euro allocated to social priorities could have been spent better.

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THE QUALITY OF INVESTMENTS

How is the amount that the government will be earmarking for investments going to be determined? How are the projects that will be included in the list of public investments going to be selected?

Obviously political criteria dominate but too often, these easily shift over a short interval of time, or else encounter circumstances which enforce a change of priorities. One finds that in the initial government budget, investment targets are set at a very high level with impressive projects and capital commitments. Then when the financial year is over, one finds as well that many of the set projects did not even get past the starting line. The finance minister of the first Fenech Adami administration was a past master in this technique.

Moreover, “artificial” criteria come into play to determine which investment choices are made. For instance since Malta became an EU member, projects that got preferred were those that would be attracting the participation of EU funding.