The need for a change in the country’s economic model is a point that this newsroom has highlighted a number of times in the past.

On Sunday, this media house published an article in which it contacted three economists about just this issue.

All mentioned just how challenging it is going to be.

Professor Philip von Brockdorff, On the matter of shifting to a more sustainable economic model that does not rely on foreign workers, does not believe such a shift will happen in his lifetime. But, he said that admitting defeat and giving up is not the answer, rather there needs to be an “almighty commitment” by the government, social partners, and other stakeholders not represented at the MCESD in order to “take the bull by its horns and deliver a long-term strategy” which would shift the country’s economic growth model to something more economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable.

Meanwhile, Professor Lino Briguglio said that a change to the model will require a government with foresight and a strong political will. He also said that such a change would need to be planned and implemented over a decade or so.

One point Briguglio highlights is that the economy would need to focus on attracting businesses with a high value-added per worker, which would reduce over-crowding and respect the size limitations of the country.

Asked whether he thinks that the import of foreign workers would still be necessary for certain work even in the case of a shift in the country’s economic model as it has often been said that the Maltese seemingly do not want to work certain jobs, Briguglio replied that he would clarify that notion by adding that Maltese do not want to work certain jobs “at the current wage rates”.

He is likely not wrong. The first thing to do would be to eradicate abusive work practices, and the second thing would be to work towards ensuring better wages in the local market. Better wages will likely make jobs more attractive to Maltese workers.

Dr Joe Schembri, when contacted by this newsroom, also highlighted that changing course requires a lot of effort and also needs time. He believes that the point of departure can be simple “but courageous”, measures. Among other things, he mentioned that the country needs to resist the temptation to attract more tourists and instead offer a better experience to visitors in its challenging transition towards sustainable, higher value-added activities, and also spoke of the need, with regards to Foreign Direct Investment, to be more effective at attracting technology and innovation-based companies “that sell solutions to clients outside our shores while offering good salaries.”

It is clear that a change in model cannot happen overnight, but the country cannot continue down its current road. Overpopulation is an issue, and basing the economy on growing the population cannot be the way forward. Cheap labour is also an issue that needs tackling.

The present model resulted in rampant overdevelopment and there was no plan to handle the infrastructural issues such an increase was to bring. A plan wasn’t put into place to cater for the population boom, we would likely not be facing the challenges the country faces today if there was one to cater for such a rise, but a plan must be put in place for the coming years to cater for any increase envisaged. Malta is a small country, and is already crammed with too much construction and insufficient infrastructure.

The economists agree that an economic model change will take time and is not easy. Yesterday the Prime Minister did mention that government is working on a change to only bringing in workers which the job market needs, while investing in economic niches that do place the least impact on infrastructure. He said that while one cannot make the economy smaller or reduce job opportunities, that the country cannot have the same population growth rate it had over the past years.  One now waits to see the details of these ideas and how effective they will be in practice. But a plan forward must include a lot more than just that, including planning changes, a change in mentality when it comes to tackling transport issues, and more.