Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1478015
THE government's decision to absorb all the energy increases and retain price stability on fu- els by reducing government ex- penditure elsewhere, is perhaps best described as living in denial. It is simply a mistake. There is nothing wrong about being sensible on spending money. But reducing budgets is another matter altogether, more so when everyone knows that a small price hike is more than justifiable in the face of what is happening in the world – the war in Ukraine is no forgotten episode. And everyone knows that Eu- rope is bracing itself for a hard winter with spiralling electricity and gas prices. This will have an effect on lifestyle and spending power. Travelling to the Med- iterranean for example, will be more expensive or less attaina- ble for starters. The price of fuel for cars in some cases is double that of Malta in Europe. Which is why it makes no sense to continue subsidising the price of energy – surely passing on 15% of the price increase to the consumer will not lead to a breakdown in the social fabric of our commu- nities, and one can always ex- clude the vulnerable from these price changes through some form of voucher system. These decisions must be tack- led by Robert Abela and his fi- nance minister Clyde Caruana. They need to think strategically, and not electorally. Things are not going to get bet- ter, and when recession will hit, it will strike at the lower income earners and work its way up. The failure of Abela and Caru- ana to transfer some of the pain of energy prices to the consumer will only put more pressure on the government's coffers and budgets. Government's economic activ- ity and willingness to sponsor initiatives is a key component to driving the economy. A dimin- ished presence of government in the economy will lead to a de- pressed feeling, something that all business people know very well is key to their success or failure. * * * Every family gathering or din- ner party or get-together turns to two subjects. No one talks of the Nationalist Party to start with; most would robotically lift their shoulders up and down and roll their eyes and say – 'What Nationalist Party?" That would come as no shock to Bernard Grech, who is still in his caravan somewhere in Eu- rope. But that does not mean that they are happy with this government. There is a general consensus that Malta has lost the plot on construction, its cars and roads frenzy, and its treatment of for- eign workers as either simple tenants or delivery-men. The absence of decent wages for Maltese workers, means we have created an economy to suit a uniquely greedy mindset: keep reaping in the profits, as long as wage costs are driven down. En- ter the 'third country national'. I don't mean this as a xenophobic rant. I don't believe that foreign- ers "take jobs" away from Mal- tese – they don't. But we placed an economy on steroids that needs a constant supply of cheap labour. And that can come at a cost too – on the housing market, the infrastruc- tural services, and of course, some cultural hiccups, like... untrained servers inside restau- rants, and other workers who struggle to speak English (let alone Maltese...). So we are operating on full throttle and in the meantime we have created a scenario where all unskilled or partly-skilled jobs are being taken up foreigners – construction, waiters, health workers, cleaners, bus driv- ers, fishermen, and agricultural workers; while the other itin- erant multinationals that bring over their finance and gaming companies, employ their own crop of foreign, highly-skilled workers. It is a vicious circle. Where do we fit in? Are we just respond- ing to this influx by keeping our pedal on the metal and feeding the construction business, or just raising rents to heat up the market even more? Not to men- tion the environmental degrada- tion we are precipitating. This economic vision was created by Joseph Muscat, wel- comed by many, myself includ- ed, because it seemed to invite success and wealth to society. It has turned out to be quite short-sighted. There was much to be fixed in 2012, especially for business. But now there is a lot of frustration, and desperation to get out of this country land- locked by its own ugliness. It is a virus that is threatening Gozo too. And with unattainable proper- ty prices, low-income workers face a steep ladder to obtain this kind of peace of mind. Some eco- nomic thinking, which I feel is severely lacking, is needed now, by the best minds, not some in- terested party, to map out a new future, fast. * * * The Steward hospitals deal has gone on for too long. There is hardly any justification in keep- ing them on board anymore. Their contribution has been un- derscored by the mammoth con- tribution of taxpayers' money to operate something we could do better and far cheaper. Apart from the fact that the company before them, Vitals, swindled the Maltese taxpayer of millions thanks to the one-sid- ed deal conjured by the Muscat administration; a pure con act in which a group of nobodies presented themselves as health gurus. Today everyone in government conveniently blames Konrad Mizzi... collective Cabinet re- sponsibility seems to have flown out of the window. Especially now. But if there is a fuck-up with the Steward deal, which includes some of the old Vitals management, it is this govern- ment's fault that we are where we are. They have to fix it. Abela and Chris Fearne must take the difficult decision to ter- minate the Steward deal now, and fight a battle in the courts. Steward has not respected its side of the bargain; nor was the deal with them made in good faith. The Vitals swindle is perhaps far bigger than any scam to have hit this country. And yet the people who masterminded the finer details of this embezzle- ment get greeted like kings and keep raking in thousands by of- fering exclusive financial advice. They need to come clean on this once and forever. The Stew- ard deal gives this country noth- ing. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 SEPTEMBER 2022 OPINION 5 Saviour Balzan Abela and Chris Fearne must take the difficult decision to terminate the Steward deal now, and fight a battle in the courts. Steward has not respected its side of the bargain; nor was the deal with them made in good faith Facing the stark truth