Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1406636
MANY hopes were raised on the return to normality with the opening of the air- port for travellers on 1st June. We ex- pected a steady flow to resume but not- withstanding issuing of cash vouchers, numbers were not so encouraging and did not match pre-2019. Many expected normality to grace our shores this sum- mer and the fledging hospitality sector will bounce back into action. Sadly, it looks, as if we are still not back to any normal lifestyle all the while election hysteria rages on, developing ever more fake news. e Delta variant is more transmissible than the patho- gens that cause SARS, Ebola and small- pox, and as easily spread as chickenpox, quoting a presentation given by internal US Centers for Disease Control. Life must go on and we are advised to keep social distances and avoid crowds un- less we wear face masks. Moving on the main topic of missing or vanishing workers, Sherlock need not labour too much to discover its or- igins. e political incumbent tries to recruit more soldiers of steel to join the bloated public service and win votes. is corrupt practice is endemic in the local political system, (both parties practice it). Of course, it is sin of po- litical patronage which carries a heavy cost for the economy. It is equitable that our priorities for budgets planned in the next five years, have to repay the massive national debt buttressed in the fiscal battle against the pandemic. Economists tell us we need more hands-on deck to fast grow GDP. Short- term electoral priorities are again taking precedence over longer-term objectives to the detriment of people's well-being. Malta is grey listed by FATF yet it hopes to quickly regain the reputation it once enjoyed therefore a caveat on political patronage is a must. Naturally, this is easier said than done as electoral pressure grows daily and political agents are busy looking to fill cracks in the system. One such exam- ple is the tender for the provision of evidence-based research and delivery of training for MCESD as part of ESF Project – ESF.04.158. PKF Malta Lim- ited was rated technically eligible and cheapest but was disqualified for no valid reason. It is dissatisfied with the Evaluation Committee's decision which blatantly ignored the second, third and fourth cheapest bids, and instead, the tender was bestowed not to cheapest (as per tender conditions) but to Idea Man- agement Consulting Service (an outfit run by Silvio DeBono of MCAST fame) being the highest bidder. is does not bode well for MCSED in its drive as the ultimate stakeholder body to brighten our tarnished integrity as a grey-listed country. Continuing on the main theme of the Covid menace, we remind ourselves on the success reached by China last year to combat the spread of the virus yet now it has not escaped the scath- ing effect of the Delta virus. China re- ported the fast-spreading Delta variant reached over 20 cities in more than a dozen provinces. It is lamentable how such a scenic spot of Zhangjiajie, the virus has resulted in a lock down of all 1.5 million residents whereas Beijing has blocked tourists from entering the capital during the peak summer holiday travel season. Upon happy reflection, locally the daily rate of infections has plateaued after the onslaught of higher social in- teractions during the national holiday in mid-August of St Maria. Locals still fear foreign travel so a good alternative to relax is booking a short sojourn at a private farmhouse with a pool in Gozo. Others with deep pockets enjoy sipping chilled wine on their yachts while sail- ing to nearby islands and feast in quality restaurants in Bella Sicilia. All the while, political bigwigs sur- reptitiously embark on sailing holidays to maintain their sanity and relax with family and cronies. Next month, will see office staff returning from holidays to grace desks at offices while a few now opt to work from home. A moment of reflection is poignant to understand how successfully has been the remote working experiment for most white col- lar staff. is led to the clocking of long hours, taking meetings on Zoom or Teams and keeping the cats fed - all the while finding time to driving children to summer school. e public sector had reported good progress by its online workers to meet enhanced summer business exigencies and most worked diligently. e fly in the ointment since the opening of the tourist season, is the unforeseen prob- lem of missing workers. e Malta Em- ployers' Association is calling for the phasing out of the Community Work Scheme (run by JobsPlus in tandem with GWU) as it insists that a rising shortage of employees in Malta needs to be addressed with urgency. It is a blessing that unemployment in Malta is presently low, and the num- ber of registered unemployed has been falling steadily. According to the latest available figures, just 1,600 people were on the unemployment register. Could it be that the sudden shortage of work- ers can be attributed to a pre-election recruiting splurge. A survey of the Malta Chamber of Commerce highlighted that 77 per cent of businesses reported having trouble finding workers, of varying skills, with operations being negatively affected as a result. e media is full of articles com- menting on this phenomenon. While Malta Enterprise boasts of hav- ing saved the jobs of over 100,000 work- ers (apart from 62k working for the state) yet the sudden disappearance of workers is an enigma. Some blame the cavalier way of shedding foreign work- ers at the start of the pandemic as most did not return. Commentators point to the scarcity of workers exacerbated by the dilemma of testing unvaccinated workers as a precaution prior to enter- ing sanitized factory/office premises. Perhaps this may lead to the quar- antine of more workers and extended absence away from work. A blessing would be the return of normality, where skilled foreign workers return to roost. Only then, will Sherlock Holmes chide Watson on how elementary it was to solve the mystery of acute worker short- age. Sherlock Holmes investigates a case of vanishing workers George Mangion George Mangion is a senior partner of an audit and consultancy firm, and has over 25 years experience in accounting, taxation, financial and consultancy services. His efforts have seen PKF being instrumental in establishing many companies in Malta and ensured PKF become one of the foremost professional financial service providers on the Island 8 OPINION 2.9.2021