Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1189756
5.12.19 3 NEWS Chamber of Commerce urges Prime Minister to do the right thing THE Malta Chamber of Commerce- has called on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to "rise to the occasion and do the honourable thing expected of a true stateman" in a fresh bid by the business community for the PM to step down immediately. e Chamber said it was making the call for Muscat's immediate resigna- tion on behalf of all upstanding and ethical businesses on the island. "ere are defining moments in histo- ry that determine the future trajectory of a country, and Malta is currently in one such moment," the Chamber said. "is is when the integrity of our lead- ers matters most, when so many people are genuinely upset and feel profoundly betrayed, when flattery is out of place and provocation is dangerous." "It is the humility to bow out prompt- ly, modestly and responsibly without any shadow of a doubt that distinguish- es the statesman from the self-serving politician. is applies to all politicians irrespective of which political party they are from and whether in power or in opposition. e independence of the country's institutions is another serious objective we have all come to appreciate more." e Chamber said it appreciated the Prime Minister recognising the gravity of the situation, that has implicated his office and his person. His announced resignation was the right thing to do. "e Prime Minister has claimed that he intended to vacate his position in January, which means that he remains head of Government till then. In a separate communication however he has also informed journalists that he shall only be taking care of day-to-day matters until his formal resignation. is has unfortunately brought the country to a standstill, characterised by a level of uncertainty which we sel- dom experienced in the past." is sense of prolonged uncertainty for businesses and investment, is ren- dered even more serious by the neg- ative attention our country is attract- ing, with potentially unimaginable consequences. e hiatus the country has descended into must be lifted, the Chamber said. "us, on behalf of all hard-working entrepreneurs and ethical business- es, who provide jobs and a livelihood for thousands of Maltese families, the Malta Chamber calls on the Prime Minister to once again rise to the oc- casion and do the honourable thing expected of a true statesman," it said. "e Prime Minister can bring an end to this stalemate the country has crashed into. Within the context of current confusion and instability, his- tory will remember him for it." Joseph Muscat FROM PAGE 1 "It's really impacted us," the bar oper- ator said, "Last week was like a ghost town in terms of customers. I've never seen anything like it." e fall in sales happened as more rev- elations came to the fore in relation to the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation, with protesters gathering almost daily to demand Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's immediate resignation in the wake of a political scandal the likes of which Malta has not experi- enced before. Black Friday slower overall than expected While feedback from Valletta shop owners was undoubtedly bad, with few- er shoppers making it to the capital, in Malta in general Black Friday perfor- mance was also slower than expected and did not break any records, unlike the previous year Mamo said. "is years' Black Friday, overall was a busy day for business but did not reach expectations." On the upside, the GRTU received very positive feedback from the elec- tronics and white goods sector, with various businesses reporting similar sales to last year's and others expecting this day to be the best day of the year for sales. Significant discounts and well- planned advertising campaigns could be behind this, Mamo said. Concerns on current 'intolerable' situation and its long-term effects While better days were expected clos- er to the Christmas period, she said there were concerns about how long the political turmoil would last and the pro- longed effect it could have. "e impact of the current state of cri- sis we are experiencing was very much felt imminently, as soon as it started," Mamo said. "We are experiencing a lot of disrup- tion and our country is barely function- ing. Our worse fears are in terms of the magnitude of the problem at hand and for how long it will stretch." Calling the situation "intolerable", she said developments were taking place constantly and tension was still increas- ing. "Unfortunately, it seems that we have reached a standstill and the status quo is something that is being treated in terms of going away on its own with time," she underscored. Businesses and employees were com- pletely absorbed by the unfolding events, she said, and Valletta's commer- cial outlets, which are "in the eye of the storm", were "experiencing great disrup- tion". e capital's businesses were bracing themselves for the news that they will have to spend most of the Christmas period closed and feared customers would migrate to other shopping areas to avoid the protests. "What should they do? Should they send their employees home and not open altogether?" Mamo asked. "Is that fair on all the families affect- ed that had nothing to do with the what has caused this whole chaos? With every passing day the situation of insta- bility is adding harm and also adding to the reputational damage, with a result which will be devastating for Malta. We are not appreciating this as yet because most of it is yet to come," she said. Mamo said instability is "the ghost of Christmas present" and that reputa- tional damage would be "the ghost of Christmas past." She went on to call for a stop to the current instability, adding that political responsibility also meant taking all the needed steps to ensure the country was stable and functioning properly again. 'Current political situation has really impacted us' GRTU CEO Abigail Mamo