Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1443447
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 JANUARY 2022 OPINION It's about a better economy, and it's not stupid ing, prima facie, AGAINST the charges they themselves have only just pressed against him in court… OK, let me try putting that another way. If, for argument's sake, you found yourself charged with 'murder'… but then, the prosecution insists that the crime you committed did NOT actually fit the definition of 'murder', in any legal context: on what grounds could you pos- sibly be convicted? And if – to extend that same reasoning – the police have on- ly just charged Abner Aquilina with 'rape': a crime that is partly defined, in Maltese law, as "[…] non-consensual vaginal, anal or oral penetration OF A SEXUAL NATURE [my emphasis]…" … only to then around, and suddenly tell us that the same crime they just charged Aquilina with, was not actually 'of a sexual nature' at all… … I'm sorry, but that only rais- es a whole bunch of other ques- tions: such as… why did the po- lice even bother charging Abner Aquilina with 'rape' in the first place? Or even 'murder', if it comes to it: because - let's face it - if a rape of this magnitude is no longer even considered a 'gender-based crime', in the eyes of the police… then who knows? Maybe 'murder' doesn't need to involve actually 'killing people', either… But like I said, we shall have to simply wait and see. Meanwhile, there is another small problem that this press conference may also have inadvertently raised. Indeed, I've mentioned it al- ready… it concerns how 'other members of the same gender' are likely to interpret those words (coming, as they do, from the police). Bearing in mind that around 90% of Maltese women have already reported experiencing 'sexual harassment', of some kind or another, in this country; and that Malta practically tops the European charts for both domestic violence, and femi- cide (oh look: yet another wom- an's been stabbed, just this very morning…. I mean, honestly now: who would have ever seen that one coming?) In any case: put it all togeth- er, and I think you'll find that it more or less neatly explains why so many Maltese women have so very clearly lost faith: not just in the ability of the local author- ities, to protect them from vio- lence against women… but even - I'm sorry to have to add - in their willingness to do precisely that. But to try and end on a positive note, in spite of everything… at least, the sales of 'pepper spray' are up; and things have never looked better, for private gym instructors giving self-defence classes. So there is, I suppose, a silver lining to absolutely everything in life… SIX million jobs. Six million Europeans have lost their jobs and income due to the pandemic. Prolonged lockdowns and eco- nomic uncertainty drove unemployment rates across the continent to levels last seen in the global financial crises of 2008. Our government's policy of protecting lives whilst safeguarding livelihoods delivered dia- metrically opposite results. Today more than 14,000 individuals are employed in new jobs created here in Mal- ta since 2019. At 77% our employment par- ticipation rate is the highest ever registered. Compared to the months right before the pandemic hit our shores 450 fewer individ- uals are looking for a job, the lowest level of unemployment in our history. Within the entire Eurozone, Malta has established it- self as the only country which registered an increase in employment activity during the worst months of the pandemic. Pivotal in all this is the wage support scheme that has shielded our businesses from the spectre of losing on their most valu- able asset: their human capital and the talent of their workforce. We managed to protect more than 105,000 jobs making up almost two-thirds of the workforce in our entire pri- vate sector. As our economy navigated into uncharted territories, our business community found in the Labour government and our policies an unparalleled partner, ready to step in and infuse stability in times of uncertainty which translated into confidence about a better fu- ture despite the challenges all around us. This is why, we have extended the wage sup- plement for February for all companies across different sectors that still need this support. This is being done because we are aware of the complex ramifications that this last Omi- cron wave had on different sectors which still need to adapt to the new circumstances. The financial commitment out of the government coffers is indeed significant but the economic cost of stopping this assistance abruptly would be much higher in the future. There is no doubt that this government has proved itself as an indispensable partner in times of unprecedented uncertainty. My appeal to our business community is con- sistently clear: we are treating this support as an investment in the future of our economy. Businesses need to capitalise on this by adapt- ing to the post-pandemic realities and a return to self-sustainability in the near future. I strongly believe that the successful way by which we are navigating through the pan- demic will serve us an invaluable experience and a winning formula that we can bank up- on to tackle what is going to be an even more imperative evolution in the years to come: climate change and the transformation of our economy towards a sustainable model aiming at a better quality of life for our peo- ple. The task ahead of us is huge but the risk of taking our chances and staying idle is expo- nentially larger. Just like we tackled the pandemic, we need to have everyone on board, we need to work together to ensure that we move in the same direction, towards the same common ob- jective: A better economic model aiming at a wider prosperity rather than stand-alone economic growth. We want to ensure that all the interests of different segments of our society are safe- guarded and aligned towards this ambition. We truly need to ensure that the green tran- sition leaves no one behind. But we are also responsible for leading the way, for being bold and decisive. Just like we did during these last two chal- lenging years, we need to keep on taking the right and often the most courageous deci- sions to steer our economic operators in a direction that will bring positive long-term change. We can, and we will improve the lives of our people by embracing an economic mod- el which prioritises the environment whilst investing, literally, in the social fabric of our community. Our political commitment and stewardship will need to be aimed at simul- taneously convincing whilst supporting our business leaders in embracing this transition. Our enterprises should not be punished with forceful overnight shocks which would only be counterproductive. I am convinced that the best way to enable this transition is by promoting a sustainable industrial evolu- tion which rewards – even in monetary terms – the commitment to a sustainable economic transition by our businesses. Indeed, I am encouraged to see that a grow- ing cohort of Maltese enterprises is already reaping the benefits of being early movers in this space. In this context, we have recently noticed that those Maltese companies which have returned the highest returns to their shareholders in recent years have a substan- tially lower carbon footprint compared to their peers. We need to encourage this evolution in all other key sectors of our economy. Just like we have been doing in recent months, we will need to work hard, support all the different segments of our society but above everything else lead the way in changing mindsets. Yes, we will build a modern, greener and more sustainable Maltese economic model aimed at improving people's lives. It's the smartest thing to do. Miriam Dalli is minister for energy, enterprise and sustainable development Miriam Dalli