Design the next investment programme now

In the run-up to the general election, Joseph Muscat launched the second wave of his IIP, the Individual Investment Programme, or as we all know it to be: the sale of Maltese citizenship with an easy entry into the European Union.

The Nationalist Party, which attacked the programme throughout the legislature, felt it should put a stop to its criticism and retorted during the campaign that, should it be in power, it will retain a similar programme.

This is too little too late, one might say, considering that the PN was utterly uncomfortable criticising the IIP in Parliament while at the same time some of its top brass were enticing rich foreign clients into buying a Maltese passport and cashing in on the lucrative commission. Now that Joseph Muscat has won by a landslide and defied his own promises on things such as the appointment of his Chief of Staff, whom according to Muscat was retained till the election only due to pending projects, the government is preparing to launch IIP2. Whether the new programme is intended to

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narrow the possibility of buying Maltese citizenship is still unknown. We have no indication that the ‘lame’ European Commission will be asking Malta to be stricter with the rules it agreed to with the Commission upon launching IIP1.

We certainly know that Henley and Partners want to make a bigger success out of IIP2 and pocket millions, but we cannot as yet tell if the second programme is intended to attract proper investment into the country other than the fee required to become Maltese. One needs to wait and see how the Opposition will react once it settles its differences and eventually elects a new leader, who will hopefully unify the party into an effective Opposition.

Whether it will be more successful than the first round of the scheme, IIP2’s term will eventually expire.

It will attract a handsome amount of cash, probably sustaining a surplus in our coffers, but it will be short-term.

The real effects of an investment programme have not been felt and will not be felt because Muscat-economics is not about future investment or the creation of industries such as the aviation sector, the financial services or iGaming.

A time, not too far off, will come when our nation will wonder where another stack of IIP cash can be found.

By then we would have realised that we cannot sell more passports because other courtiers would have caught up with us, and the number of millionaires ready to buy one will run out.

By that time we will look back and ask; where did the money go?

To avoid such disillusion and disappointment, the government and Opposition need to start planning ahead to come up with a common position on a new investment programme, which will offer residence and possibly citizenship if real investment that creates jobs and brings innovation is employed.

This is the right time to start planning for the future to be able to hit the ground running when IIP2 is obsolete.