Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1410761
2 NEWS 16.9.2021 FROM PAGE 1 "Next month's budget needs to deter- mine the country's foreseeable future by addressing immediate challenges the country is currently facing" the Presi- dent of the Chamber Marisa Xuereb said in her introduction. "e Chamber once again calls on gov- ernment not to embark on a populist agenda, a so-called electoral budget, but one which directs the economy towards recovery with difficult decisions expect- ed to be made in 2022," she said. e discussion also included a pres- entation by the Chamber's CEO Dr Marthese Portelli about key proposals pushed by e Malta Chamber, based on six themes, namely economic growth and recovery, good governance, human capital and education, digitalisation, sus- tainability, and internationalisation. Most proposals address the erosion of the country's competitiveness and the need strive towards economic resilience. Some of the key proposals include: • Addressing the constant increase in public sector employment, as it runs contrary to business com- petitiveness to have a situation where Government is indirect- ly soliciting human capital from the private sector. e Chamber propose the possibility of second- ment of underemployed resources to the private sector and limiting employment in the public sector 1 year prior to the Constitutional expiration period to call a General Election. • Mitigating ever increasing short- ages in the labour market through appropriate streamlining of ex- isting quarantine procedures for those travelling from specific countries. e Malta Chamber also proposes the introduction of more measures to retain foreign workers by establishing a citizen- ship pathway for those who wish to become Maltese citizens and allow for family reunification. • Providing Maltese businesses with solutions for those who require human resources from or have contracts of work in third coun- tries, such as, installing a testing and vaccination facility within em- bassies in corridor country with frequent direct flight connections to Malta as well as to the third countries of interest to Malta. • e additional 7 days of quarantine leave for non-vaccinated employ- ees should be taken from personal leave (excluding justified cases on medical grounds). • Addressing the reduction of ad- ministrative burdens and bureau- cracy for enterprises, by address- ing the need to streamline cross Governmental departmental data and render support and funding schemes more business friendly. • e importance of establishing a centralised due diligence body with all the necessary intelligence, access rights and international connections to evaluate every new investor / shareholder / UBO be- fore accepted to have business in- terests in Malta. • Immediately embarking on a de- mographic carrying capacity anal- ysis to map out solutions for spatial development and planning, labour market and economic vision. • Introducing revised Night Tariffs to assist manufacturing, retail and HORECA segments. Night tariffs should be available at a lower en- ergy consumption threshold and the advantage of the night tariff over the daytime rate needs to be higher. e Malta Chamber is also suggesting an extend night tariff from the current bracket of 22.00- 06.00hrs to at least 22.00-08.00hrs. In her presentation, Portelli also speci- fied "the need to adopt a more ingrained microstate policy mindset and the need to start a proper discussion dedicated to the specific permanent handicaps of island states within the European single market." Malta is increasing facing supply chain challenges, coupled with potential emerging ones deriving from discus- sions at OECD level to introduce a glob- al harmonised corporate tax, limiting the country's manoeuvrability in terms of at- tracting and retaining foreign investors on the island. "e recognition of Malta's island state revamped status within the ambit of EU Competition Policy will provide fis- cal manoeuvrability on investment aid and assistance addressing cross-coun- try logistics and transportation," Portelli said. "It is therefore essential that a national case is presented to the European Union reflecting Malta's insularity, peripherali- ty and small market size." e above list of recommendations is not exhaustive. e Malta Chamber presented 200 macro and sectoral rec- ommendations following extensive con- sultations with its members and sector groups. 'A reputable competitive island-state': Chamber presents pre-budget proposals SR Technics, a world leading MRO ser- vice provider, is pleased to announce the signing of a Chemical Consignment agreement by its affiliate in Malta. e parties to the agreement are SR Tech- nics Malta, a center of excellence for narrowbody aircraft maintenance that delivers premium MRO services, and Aerospheres UK Ltd., a leader in the re- al-time distribution of aviation-related chemicals for commercial airline and MRO operations worldwide. e partnership, which starts in Sep- tember 2021, covers the storage and supply of Aerospheres' own paints, adhesives, sealants, cleaners and lubri- cants required for aircraft maintenance. All materials will be stored at the SR Technics Malta facility. As there is an average ten-day period from the purchase of hazardous materi- als in the United Kingdom to incoming goods inspection and delivery in Malta, the ability to have inventory on- site will allow Aerospheres to provide almost same-day delivery while saving on in- ventory holding costs. "We are excited that SR Technics is now part of our consignment program. e partnership will benefit both organ- izations through economies of scale and on-time deliveries, thereby reducing investments in inventory and products scrapped. A fantastic customer to ser- vice, and we look forward to support- ing them." says Paul ompson, CEO at Aerospheres. "is new partnership will help ren- der our supply chain more efficient and effective. It allows us to continue re- ducing our supplier base while driving down operational costs. We are happy to have Aerospheres onboard with us as a key supplier," comments Mike Sigley, Head of Supply Chain, Aircraft Services at SR Technics Malta Ltd. SR Technics Malta and Aerospheres UK sign a chemical consignment agreement