Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1085429
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 FEBRUARY 2019 STOCK TAL-GVERN MALTA GOVERNMENT STOCK Secure Investment Issue of €50,000,000 by auction Fixed Rate Malta Government Stock (subject to the over-allotment option up to a maximum amount of €30,000,000) Fixed Rate Malta Government Stock The Treasury shall be issuing by auction €50,000,000 Fixed Rate Malta Government Stocks subject to an over-allotment option to increase the sum to be raised up to a maximum additional amount of €30,000,000 as follows: (i) 1.4% Malta Government Stock (Third Issue) – Fungibility Issue Maturing in 2024, and (ii) 1.85% Malta Government Stock (Third Issue) – Fungibility Issue Maturing in 2029, or (iii) Any combination of the above two Stocks which in the aggregate shall be €50,000,000 Applications in the form of sealed bids (competitive auction) for a minimum of €500,000 and multiples of €100,000 each open on Wednesday 27 th February, 2019 at 8.30a.m. and close at noon of the same day or earlier at the discretion of the Accountant General. Bids on the prescribed forms are to be transmitted by e-mail at the e-mail addresses indicated on the application form or by fax on 2596 7210 or deposited in the Treasury Tender Box in Floriana. Application forms may be obtained from all Members of the Malta Stock Exchange and other authorized Investment Service Providers or downloaded from the Treasury's website at www.treasury.gov.mt. MALTA GOVERNMENT STOCK FOR SAFE INVESTMENT AND LIQUIDITY WITH INTEREST PAID UP TO THE DAY OF RE-SALE OF STOCK ◆ SECURITY ◆ CONTINUOUS LIQUIDITY ◆ INTEREST EVERY SIX MONTHS ◆ (The value of the investment may go up or down during the tenor of the Stock) Treasury Department, Development House, Level 2-3, St. Anne Street, Floriana, Malta. DAVID HUDSON THE two-party system has en- couraged a winner-takes-all approach, which has "bred a destructive politics of division and mutual distrust" accord- ing to German foundation Bertelsmann Stiftung. The foundation recently published its Sustainable Gov- ernance Index (SGI), ranking Malta's quality of democracy at 35th place. This is behind countries like South Korea, Chile, Greece, Italy, the USA, Czech Republic and Lithu- ania. Sweden is in the top spot, followed by its Nordic neigh- bours. The report suggests that a move from Malta's two-party system to a multi-party system may erode this us-against- them polarisation, which has damned Malta to a persistent culture of impunity. "While accusations of cor- ruption have been a com- mon method of attacking the government of the day since 1921, it is also evident that ac- cusations made by Opposition parties are rarely investigated, suggesting that there is no real commitment to fight corrup- tion," the report reads. According to its by-laws, Bertelsmann Stiftung prides itself as a foundation commit- ted to promoting "science, re- search, religion, public health, art and culture… democracy and social engagement," con- sistently publishing rankings, conducting model projects and sharing expertise. The SGI, published earlier this week – identifying re- forms needed in 41 countries – diagnosed Malta's demo- cratic handicaps and suggest- ed ways forward. The bi-party system was the main target of criticism, as the report points out how this is perpetuated by an electoral system that does not include a minimum national threshold for a party to send members to parliament. "This has enabled the two major political parties to uti- lise patronage and clientalism to retain their grip on power. Consequently, there is little faith that they will weaken their own political position by reforming the electoral sys- tem," the report reads. The report also suggests that Maltese MPs should transition to full-time. "Malta's part-time MPs con- tinue to demonstrate a lack of expertise on many policy is- sues. MPs generally prioritise their private careers over par- liamentary business, lowering their contribution to govern- ment," the report says. For this reason, Malta falls into the lower-middle ranks in the index on executive capac- ity and accountability despite increases in rank relative to 2014. The report highlights several improvements, such as the in- creased consultation with civil society, the newly formed Par- liamentary Standards office, and the increased proactive role of the National Audit Of- fice. It mentions Malta's 2004 ac- cession to the European Union as the flint for social, econom- ic and political liberations that the country experienced in the past few years under a Labour administration. With the EU's liberal ethos on divorce, which Malta adopted in 2011 against Cath- olic Malta's bellicose final stand, the door was opened to the relaxation of censorship laws, extended rights of di- verse gender identities, recent reproductive rights and leg- islation on domestic violence and the right to employment for disabled persons being codified. Malta has extended mater- nity benefits and provided free child-care centers, enhanced pension rights and increased assistance for the elderly, up- graded health services, and embarked on a €50 million so- cial housing project. With these significant im- provements, corrupt practices too increased, the report sug- gests. "Widespread clientalism and corrupt practices are not a new phenomenon, but access to greater resources make them more lucrative," it says, adding that construction, for example – an industry that traditionally drives the Maltese economy – saw an increased demand with an economic boom and a soaring population and this opened the doors for unbri- dled construction and a gov- ernment programme of priva- tisation which lacked, at times, public consultation, transpar- ency and accountability. The report criticised the splitting of the Malta Environ- ment and Planning Authority into two authorities, threaten- ing what remains of Malta's "green lungs." This is why the SGI's rankings for Malta plac- es the country in 30th place, also due to Malta's pathetic renewable-energy share, just 5%. "The country is buying Bul- garia's extra emissions allow- ances… in part because of the high dependence on cars and the growing dependence on air conditioning," it said, add- ing that biodiversity is threat- ened by development and the increase in building-permit grants, and new policies for hunters. Malta's most significant im- provement, the report reads, is the significant gains with regards to economic policies. "Growth rates have been ex- ceptionally strong, and unem- ployment rates have fallen to low levels." But, even here, it's not all sun- shine and rainbows as the doc- ument calls Malta's tax-evasion controls "ineffective" and the Research and Development sector "underdeveloped." Malta is below average in the SGI ranks for quality of de- mocracy, policy performance, environmental and social poli- cies, executive accountability and executive capacity. Only in economic policies does Malta do slightly better than the average ranking. Malta needs more political parties, German experts say