Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1547205
IT is not a rare instance in our country that studies and reports are commissioned, and once fi- nalised, they are shelved to gath- er dust! However, in the case of Vision 2050, not only has the govern- ment set up the necessary or- ganisational infrastructure to start implementing this vision, but it has even gone as far as modelling the electoral mani- festo in line with it. Once the election was over, the prime minister hit the ground run- ning and called a meeting of the social partners within the Mal- ta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD). During this meeting, the prime minister promised the social partners an update on progress achieved every six months. It transpires that the imple- mentation of Vision 2050, the electoral manifesto and the budget measures all fall under the same organisational unit within the Office of the Prime Minister. This is very promis- ing indeed and ensures that all government departments, pub- lic entities and agencies will be prioritising and coordinating their actions in the same direc- tion. To implement Vision 2050 and the set of key performance indicators (KPIs) formulated for the next 10 years, it is im- perative that all departments, public entities and agencies compile the necessary busi- ness plans in support of their respective KPIs. These plans need to define in detail how the KPIs will be implemented. Once drafted, the plans need to be approved by the respective ministries, the unit within the OPM and the Finance Ministry so that the necessary financial resources are allocated in the budgets to come. Vision 2050 should not be a straitjacket for short-term solutions that require imme- diate attention. For example, if we take the traffic congestion problem, various short-term measures can be taken to lim- it the traffic flows during peak hours such as: • Rescheduling of waste col- lection before or after peak hours • Rescheduling of deliveries before or after peak hours • Encouraging more parents to increase the take-up of free school transport • Incentivising more workers, where possible, to work from home in both the public and private sectors. Incidentally, employee productivity should not be an issue if a performance management system is put into place in every entity, whether public or private. These are but a few examples of how the traffic congestion during peak hours can be alle- viated until the government's long-term National Transport Strategy 2050 – Malta in Mo- tion, is implemented. One of the main objectives of Vision 2050 is to fine-tune the economic model and focus on high value-added activities which are not labour intensive. If we take the tourism sector as an example, the focus now should be more on attracting quality tourists with a higher spending potential. Our country has a lot to offer besides the sun and the sea. To do this, it is imperative to start upgrading the tourism product and set higher standards across the board and ensure that these standards are enforced. Higher standards translate in- to better quality tourists with more spending potential. This must be done in a coordinated approach with other minis- tries and public entities, since the Tourism Ministry and the MTA cannot do it alone. One other benefit of focus- ing more on quality tourists is that there will be less strain on resources, such as infrastruc- ture in general, and at the same time there will be less depend- ency on the labour resources required. This is also the way forward to start managing the dependency on foreign labour without affecting the economy negatively. As for foreign workers, it is imperative that they are treat- ed as human beings. Foreign workers who entered our coun- try legally and have a pending job appeal should be allowed to work until their appeal is heard. This is being fair and just to them and, at the same time, benefiting our country in many more ways than one. One such benefit is reducing the de- mand for new foreign workers while the appeal is pending! Unfortunately, some market sectors of our economy have reached a saturation point; here the risk is that if we al- low more operators to enter the market, standards will fall. What sense does it make, for example, to have more super- markets, in some cases side by side? People won't be spending more on food simply because there are more supermarkets. Here we need a clear policy that limits the opening of new supermarkets in certain locali- ties, like what we have for the opening of new pharmacies. Such a policy should also help the local groceries that are found in many localities to re- main competitive. There are other sectors of the economy that have also reached a saturation point and are see- ing their competitiveness being eroded. This is attributed to several reasons, such as overca- pacity, which comes about due to a lack of regulation and low standards to enter the market. Raising standards is one way of improving the quality of a product or service, making it more competitive and able to charge a premium. This strat- egy can be adopted for various sectors of the economy and is also in line with the main ob- jectives of Vision 2050, which is the fine-tuning of our eco- nomic model, where needed, to high-value economic activities. While some may consider rais- ing standards a barrier to en- try in the market, others may argue that letting the market control itself, without regula- tion or standards, is prone to the law of the jungle. And this is why raising standards, reg- ulation and enforcement are crucial, especially for a small market like ours. 10 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 OCTOBER 2026 OPINION Vision 2050: Not another shelved document! Victor Carachi Management consultant This strateg y can be adopted for various sectors of the economy and is also in line with the main objectives of Vision 2050, which is the fine-tuning of our economic model, where needed, to high-value economic activities