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06.08.2020 7 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday. The newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EDITOR: PAUL COCKS CONTRIBUTING JOURNALIST: MASSIMO COSTA BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 R ecovering from the economic down- turn caused by the COVID-19 pan- demic is not going to be easy and will require a national effort. e recovery will depend on how nim- ble the country is to continuously adapt to changing scenarios caused by the virus's evo- lution and its impact on both the domestic and foreign markets. Malta needs a three-year recovery plan that includes short-term firefighting measures and long-term goals to tap new sectors and help others adapt to a different reality. e plan will necessitate the government to run a deficit for next year with the target of reaching break-even in the subsequent budg- etary period. It will have to be a plan that includes tax incentives for businesses, assistance schemes to enable renovations and wage support in those sectors where the hope of recovery re- mains dim. Other measures must be targeted at encour- aging domestic consumption – these can be through direct money injections and indirect measures such as a reduction in fuel taxes that leave more money in people's pockets. But apart from the immediate focus, gov- ernment must also chart a course for the future by hitting the ground with crucial in- vestments in the country's digital, manufac- turing and transport infrastructure. e €400 million investment in industrial parks pledged when government announced its stimulus package last June must kick-off to ensure the country creates the right spaces for expansion of existing factories and new foreign direct investment. Part of those funds should also be used to enable home-grown manufacturing compa- nies to develop further locally and expand overseas. From the digital aspect, government must move ahead with rolling out 5G licences and laying down a second fibre optic link between Malta and Gozo. Within this context, the forward-looking document unveiled by the Chamber of Com- merce on Tuesday is a welcome development. e Chamber set up various sectoral think- tanks to come up with policy measures that will help the Maltese economy transform in a post-COVID scenario. "We have to make the necessary changes to develop the future we want," the Chamber said in its foreword to the presentation. e Chamber correctly pointed out that COVID-19 has presented us with "a sub- stantial challenge of survival" but it has also presented us with "opportunities to change where change is needed". e findings cover a range of sectors, their needs, and future prospects. e exercise provides a very solid basis for discussion and consideration by government, the social partners and other stakeholders. e crisis at hand is massive and despite the green shoots, Malta is not out of the woods. As long as COVID-19 is around and no vac- cine is available, the uncertainty will remain. Charting a new way forward is necessary and the Chamber's contribution in this re- gard is commendable. A plan for recovery President George Vella (left) attended the launch of the Chamber of Commerce's report BUSINESSTODAY WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED NEXT WEEK AND WILL BE BACK IN SHOPS AND IN DIGITAL FORM ON THURSDAY 20 AUGUST

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