Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/958047
11 maltatoday SUNDAY 25 MARCH 2018 Analysis surveys show that before 2014 concern on migration fluctuated according to the number of boat arrivals, reaching a 27% peak in 2009 and rising again to 17% in 2014. But the latest MaltaToday survey shows 10% concerned with the number of foreigners living in Malta and 6% concerned about il- legal immigration. This probably reflects the sharp increase in the number of foreigners from 15,000 in 2012 to nearly 38,000 in 2016. Even when it comes to environ- mental concerns, respondents are now more likely to mention problems related to construction than the generic concern with the "environment" mentioned in pre- 2013 surveys. But at 16% concern on the environment and construc- tion has now emerged as one of the top three concerns along with traf- fic and immigration. Reverse irredentism: Why not buy Pantelleria? Malta is only three times bigger than Pantelleria but has fifty times its population. But unlike Pantel- leria, which remained a pristine Mediterranean island, the arrival of the Knights of St John in 1530 put Malta on the trajectory of be- coming a distinct nation, with its population rising to 100,000 by 1800, partly thanks to the influx of "foreigners." "It's not the first time that Malta has experienced an influx of for- eigners. For instance one could argue that during the rule of the knights, the island's economy, such as it was based on a similar model," notes Alfred Sant. In many ways Malta has com- pensated for its small size by in- creasing its population. "When our population grows, we get bigger – despite the limits of our physical territory. I also con- sider the influx of foreign people to be very refreshing socio-culturally, for our diversity, possibly relieving some of our political bi-polarity, our homogeneity," says economist Marie Briguglio, who lectures in environmental economics at the University of Malta. Sociologist Godfrey Baldacchino comes up with a thought-provok- ing solution to Malta's current impasse. "Is it time to start think- ing seriously about offering to buy Pantelleria from the Republic of Italy?" This out of the box solution would see the sister Mediterra- nean island absorbing the spillover of our economy. It would also pro- vide work to the 7,000 or so resi- dents of Pantelleria, while serving "as a home to the burgeoning local population in Malta". "It would also resurrect an old re- lationship between the two islands, and avoid all talk about major land reclamation efforts here which are bound to have grave environmen- tal consequences." Baldacchino disagrees with the whole idea that Malta has a carry- ing capacity or a natural limit over and above which it would suffer from over-population. "The concept of 'carrying capac- ity' is an alluring but bankrupt one. Prime Minister Alfred Sant had once suggested that Malta's car- rying capacity for tourism was 1.2 million visitors annually. We are now at two million tourists per year and nobody's blinking." According to Baldacchino small islands invariably reach out and attract resources from elsewhere – foreign investment, tourists, merchandise, know-how – that support the islanders' standard of living. "Immigrants can also con- tribute to this. If these are eco- nomic migrants, then they will stay short-term or as long as the econ- omy is chugging happily along; if so, they may have little interest in 'integrating' with the local com- munity". But there are also others, who have come and plan to stay. "The responsibility for their integration needs to extend to NGOs, faith- based groups and local communi- ties," Baldacchino says, warning that a sudden increase in popula- tion needs to be complemented with infrastructural planning. "We do not need to remind our- selves that growth of any kind needs to have the proper infra- structure: water, energy, sewage, housing, transportation networks, education and health provision. Huge investments need to be planned and budgeted for, well in advance of any immigrant influx. Traffic gridlock and full-up buses suggest we can and should do much better." More foreigners, more permits One consequence of the influx of foreigners has been a consider- able increase in rents. Yet fear of a slowdown in the property market may well make us even more de- pendent on the daily fix offered by the construction industry. In a recent interview Planning Authority executive chairman Jo- hann Buttigieg warned that the moment we start issuing less per- mits "we would see rental rates and prices go higher due to foreigners competing with the locals." Buttigieg also suggested that it is thanks to the large influx of people coming to live and work in Malta that we can achieve the critical mass to solve the traffic problem. "If we don't have a critical mass of people, then traffic solutions – such as a metro or others – would not be economically viable." Malta may be fast becoming a junky-nation dependent on the daily dose of construction, which is also dependent on the influx of foreign property buyers. Moreo- ver, even Malta's architecture has to reflect the needs of those sectors fuelling its growth. This is confirmed by an Environ- mental Impact Statement assess- ing the impact of a 40-storey hotel in Sliema which is describing the change to the Maltese landscape as "an inevitable consequence of the economic model" based on finan- cial services adopted by Malta. "Once it was decided that Malta's economic future was to be based to a substantial degree on financial services and high-tech operations, it was inevitable for such a trans- formation to be reflected on urban skylines." Malta is a small sink The problem according to Marie Briguglio is that the Maltese may simply not be prepared to cater for the needs of a greater population. "We were not prepared for a smaller population, let alone a larger population," she says, noting that the footprint of citizens and businesses on land, on air quality, on water quality, has not – to date – been sufficiently well governed, and it is getting worse. "Sure, huge infrastructural ex- penses (often with EU money) have been incurred, educational campaigns have been run and hand-outs in the shape of all man- ner of grants are designed. But that is not enough". In reality successive Maltese gov- ernments have been afraid to bite the bullet, to enforce with laws, with real penalties, to tax and to actively discourage negative im- pacts of traffic, of waste (including by business), of construction, of destruction of the countryside. For Briguglio, the problem is not the increase in the number of peo- ple but the lack of management of our capacity. "A small sink can receive hun- dreds of liters of water if the drains function well. But if the drain is blocked, even drops totalling a few litres will be a problem. Right now, we are like a small sink with a blocked drain. We are not man- aging flows well. If we get our act together, manage stuff well, then we can receive many more peo- ple. The question is, will govern- ment do the dirty work like a good plumber to fix the pipes, or will it wear kid gloves when handling polluting activities?" Alfred Sant's main concern on the influx of foreign workers re- volves around the uncertainty it brings. He refers to possible impacts on prices, housing, health care, edu- cation and national security apart from higher instability and volatil- ity in the labour market. "It seems to me, but I may be wrong that we do not have a model as to where all this may go or even where we would like to take it." jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt paid… and left "Malta's major shortcoming remains its relative insuccess in improving educational and technical achivement across the board. This problem was been masked by the very high levels attained by a significant minority" For economist Gordon Cordina the priority should be investing the dividends from the current economic boom in the sustainability of our pension system. When asked whether we can do away with the need of a second pillar pension fund thanks to the current bonanza, Cordina was skeptical. "I do not perceive mandatory second pillar pensions as a measure to avoid." Marie Briguglio says the Maltese may simply not be prepared to cater for the needs of a greater population, and that the footprint of citizens and businesses on land, on air quality, on water quality, has not – to date – been sufficiently well governed, and it is getting worse.