BusinessToday Previous Editions

20.02.2020 3 NEWS We're Recruiting Join Our Team SENIOR PROFESSIONAL OFFICER (LEGAL) Permit no. 217/2019 Qualifications & Experience • MQF level 6 in Law; • A minimum of two years work experience in a Legal Office (will be considered an asset) Main Duties & Responsibilities • Provide advice and support to the Chief Officer Legal and the Chief Executive Officer on all matters related to the different units; • Assist various units on legal issues and assess legal documents to ensure the Agency's legal protection; • Be fully conversant with Acts pertaining to the assigned unit and oversee implementation; • Ensure that all legal formalities and other obligations related to the Unit are fulfilled in time; • Ensure that high level secrecy and privacy for all legal data is maintained within the Agency; • Translate policies into strategic plans; • Update leaflets and website information to reflect legislation changes; • Any other duties as directed by the Chief Officer Legal or the Chief Executive Officer. Interested persons are kindly requested to submit a letter of application and a detailed CV to recruitment@identitymalta.com by 23rd February 2020 FROM PAGE 1 It includes 59 recommenda- tions drawn up through a con- sultation process involving 26 top business executives from diverse economic sectors and coordinated by former Enemal- ta CEO and government con- sultant David Spiteri Gingell. Amongst the most salient recommendations is that the government reconsider the in- vestment in the tunnel between Malta and Gozo, and instead direct the investment towards the building of a multi-modal transportation backbone with metro connectivity to Gozo. "All in all, public transport systems in the country need to evolve. Technical and financial feasibility studies should there- fore take place on rapid transit solutions that can be imple- mented in reasonable time frames," the Chamber said. e Chamber said the in- troduction of a fourth ferry between Malta and Gozo had decisively shown, as evidenced by Gozitan civil society and cit- izen feedback, that most of the connectivity issues were now resolved. "A fourth ferry that operates on a 24/7 basis – or even a fifth ferry that connects Mġarr to Valletta – would provide im- proved service connectivity for Gozitans working in the Vallet- ta–Cottonera–Sliema area also by means of the inter-modality links with the Valletta–Cotton- era and Valletta–Sliema fer- ries," the Chamber said. "is will remove traffic con- gestion that results from green- house gas emitting heavy- goods vehicles," it said. "A fast ferry connection be- tween Mġarr, Buġibba, Sliema, Valletta, and Cottonera would potentially attract knowl- edge-based industries to Gozo as it would provide employees with easy access to entertain- ment areas, assuming that these are industries that are mainly resourced by young people who are generally known for their 'work hard, play hard' attitude." Contacted by BusinessToday for a reaction, the Gozo Busi- ness Chamber - firmly in fa- vour of the tunnel as proposed by Government - said that it would this week by analysing the Malta Chamber's proposal and be drawing up its position on the matter. Smart, sustainable island e Chamber's overall vision is for a smart, sustainable is- land which sets the pathway for Malta's future economic growth and social wealth, Mal- ta Chamber director Kevin Borg said. Borg said the gist of the rec- ommendations – which span core industries such as tourism, construction, manufacturing, financial services and iGaming – was that, over the next five years, Malta should achieve economic growth through using innovation, employing knowledge and up-skilling. Malta Chamber president Da- vid Xuereb said the proposals were tangible, real, sustainable and would add to quality of life. He underlined, that, for the first time, the Chamber would be actively measuring the im- plementation of the recom- mendations through a series of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each recommenda- tion, which have been drawn up with the help of an econo- mist and statistician. e KPIs, which will be pub- lished in the coming weeks, will be followed up every six months with the respective ministries and institutions responsible for putting the recommendations in place, he said. Xuereb said the Chamber wanted to "get its hands dirty" to ensure that the progress to implement the recommenda- tions was measured and that they led to tangible benefits. Goals can only be achieved if reputational damage is fixed Borg said that the two- pronged approach rested on four fundamentals: governance and the judiciary, long-term macroeconomic stability, digi- talisation and addressing infra- structural bottlenecks. In terms of good governance, Borg said the reputation of brand Malta had suffered dam- age and that a thorough clean- up was needed. "Without this, we cannot achieve our eco- nomic goals," he said. When it came to long-term macroeconomic stability, he said that while the economy had been doing exceptionally well in the past years, atten- tion must be paid to three ar- eas – pensions, health care and care of the elderly – to ensure the country isn't taken over by expenditure due to people's in- creased longevity. On digitalisation, Borg said Malta should embrace 5G and encourage the more wide- spread use of digital tools. Infrastructural bottlenecks, moreover, had to be addressed and traffic congestions, emis- sions and transport costs for citizens and companies should be lowered. It is within this context that the Chamber is proposing that the government re-evaluate whether it should go ahead with the Gozo tunnel project. Businesses should aim to grown beyond Malta's shores Chamber deputy president Marisa Xuereb said the recom- mendations revolved around sevens strategic principles. e first was quality, which is paramount to the Chamber's economic vision. e achieve- ments of the Chamber's previ- ous vision, covering 2014-2020, had not met expectations, she said. "If we do not keep im- proving the quality of the la- bour force, of infrastructure, and of buildings, we will not meet our targets and sooner or later we will be outsmarted by our international competitors," she said. Another principle is the im- portance of applying innova- tion and technology, with Xuer- eb saying that this is the only way Malta could gain headway over its competitors over, time and have a more efficient level of service and implementation of policy. Xuereb said Maltese business- es should also have an ambition to grown beyond the island's shores, no matter their size. "is makes it even more criti- cal that our international repu- tation be restored as quickly as possible," she said, emphasising that the Chamber was prioritis- ing this, since the future of the country "lies in having a global reach." Investing in human capital is another important principle, she said. In this regard, the Chamber was in discussion with educational institutions to assist them in improving the quality of education provided and working to make this more in line with the requirements of industry. She said Malta had to also attract the right talent from abroad. "It's not about how many foreign workers come, but their quality and our ability to train and retain them long-term." Increasing productivity, im- proving governance and work- ing for social cohesion were the other strategic principles Xuer- eb mentioned. "e long-term ruler will be productivity – how able Mal- ta is to do more with less," she said. "Governance, moreover, is not an optional extra. It is a must and has to be addressed." She added that, when it came to social cohesion, this didn't only concern the rich and poor, but also had to do with the is- sue of multi-culturalism. "We need to ensure our policies are directed towards integrating foreign workers and ensur- ing, irrespective of where they come from, that it is a pleasure for them to work and make a life here," Xuereb said. 'Thorough cleanup of Brand Malta needed in the interest of economic success' Malta Chamber president David Xuereb

• Cover