Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/252940
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2014 Opinion 23 T he saga of the sale of citizenship programme seems to be coming to an end. Pending any last minute surprises – and by surprise I mean government deviating from the agreement reached with the Commission – the third version of the controversial citizenship will get the green light. Talk of winners and losers dominated the media as soon as the news of the agreement between government and the Commission became public. To my mind, there is only one clear winner. That particular Oscar has to go to Henley and Partners who are going to make more than their fair share of money out of this scheme. Not content with raking in tens of millions from the commissions on applications, they have also set up a real estate arm and as well as an insurance agency. As gatekeepers to the scheme, they have an unparalleled access to the applicants and will benefit from first contact. I think that government should reflect on this point and take remedial action. I know for a fact that local operators are very unhappy about this latest development. This story has delivered lessons to both political parties. Its mishandling of this scheme resulted in Labour losing its slick and untouchable appeal. Labour lost its 'Movement' appeal and had to deal with its first instance of public dissent from its backbench. A project which they estimated would take a week to launch ended up occupying the national agenda for over three painful months. With this out of the way, government can hopefully start concentrating on more pressing issues such as tackling rising unemployment. I still cannot understand why Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has not made job creation his number one priority. The creation of jobs is fundamental to any economy. If we are not able to 'deploy' our human resources in an efficient manner then our capacity to create wealth and hence achieve a better standard of living will disappear. But Muscat seems strangely oblivious to all this. We have moved from a situation where one prime minister, Lawrence Gonzi, would talk about and focus on jobs every single day to a situation where the current prime minister seems incapable of focusing on job creation at all. The Nationalist Party can consider this saga as their baptism of fire in the Opposition arena. It was a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario. They could not sit pretty and allow government proceed with a scheme that went against the basic principle of nationhood and citizenship. On the other hand by showing dissent they were opening themselves up to criticism of wanting to stop money flowing into the economy. The Opposition had to play its moves carefully so as not to be perceived as objecting for objection's sake. Few however expected the international media to lambast the scheme so heavily. This was a clear indication that government had gone a step too far. Further evidence came from unexpected quarters as the European Socialists partnered with the other major political groups in the European Parliament and also condemned the scheme. With the European Commission also wading in, the Prime Minister had no option but to agree to a further all-important change which sees an element of residency included in the requirements for the granting of citizenship. Ironically, by escalating things to the European Union level, the Opposition was placing its faith into the hands of an independent arbitrator. While the details of this now notorious scheme will be discussed in parliament, the country has to now move forward. This scheme cannot replace the obligation on the part of government to deliver real economic growth. By real economic growth, I mean income that is derived from long-term projects that create and sustain high value- added jobs. Past administrations managed to do this by increasing tourism, establishing Malta as a reputable financial services centre, attracting the gaming industry to Malta, creating an aviation industry and supporting the pharmaceutical industry. What are this government's plans? Is it going to rely on one-off large scale projects? Is it going to rely on the construction industry, which it seems to favour over all others? These sectors have inherent risks and could potentially lead to unsustainable development. Over the coming weeks government will probably spend some of its resources on a re-launching exercise. The appointment of a new President will give it a platform for a re- shuffle. Muscat will probably keep the large and unwieldy Cabinet, though some might lose their jobs. He will try to force people to forget the mishaps of the first year. But the electorate now are less likely to be impressed by slick moves and blinding campaigns. The electorate expects the government to start delivering on its promises. Some of these promises – most notably that of meritocracy – died during the first days of this government. The question on everyone's mind now is how many more of these promises will also fade away? If government cannot see this then it has not learned the most important lesson from the citizenship fiasco – that the only absolute power rests with the people, and not with government. Stefano Mallia is a Nationalist candidate in the forthcoming European Parliamentary elections Stefano Mallia What are this government's plans? Is it going to rely on one-off large scale projects? Is it going to rely on the construction industry, which it seems to favour over all others? TENDER FOR THE EXPORT OF TUNA FOR THE YEAR 2014 Exporters interested for the export of Tuna for the season 2014 may collect tender forms from the offices mentioned below. The closing date for these offers is the 14th February 2014 at 11am Koperattiva Nazzjonali tas- Sajd Ltd "Dar is- Sajjieda' Xatt is- Sajjieda M'Xlokk Tel 21659391 Ghaqda Kooperattiva tas- Sajd Ltd "Id- Dwana" Xatt is- Sajjieda M'Xlokk Tel 21653826 Of saints and sinners, winners and losers PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD 'Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will try to force people to forget the mishaps of the first year. But the electorate now are less likely to be impressed by slick moves and blinding campaigns'