The concerns and needs of businesses
A recent barometer published by the Chamber of SMEs has put a number of issues in the spotlight. The two biggest issues that the country is facing, which the survey respondents would like the government to do something about, are the increase in inflation and the lack of good governance. On the first issue, there are only limited things that the government can do, given that inflation is not just a localised issue. The lack of good governance however shows that this is still a problem in the country. Perhaps it’s about time that the government starts listening and doing something about it.
During the press conference launching the barometer, SME Chamber CEO Abigail Agius Mamo explained that, with regards to the good governance issue, businesses have said that they wish to move towards a level of fairness ‘across the board’. “We need to focus on quality rather than quantity, we need to be more transparent when it comes to public procurement, we need to address unfair competition and tax evasion, and we need to look at Malta’s international reputation as this heavily affects businesses.” The government needs to listen to businesses, as well as, since they feel that there isn’t enough transparency in public procurement and that there is unfair competition, act to ensure that things are done openly and fairly. Concerns about Malta’s international reputation is still seemingly present, and this is something that can only be fixed as time passes, by ensuring that we uphold laws, work fairly and don’t end up on lists such as the grey list again.
Another issue brought up during the SME survey was that the employee shortage is the biggest issue that 19% of businesses currently face. “We don’t have enough employees”, said Mamo, “and while this problem has been eased by third country nationals, we’re still facing a shortage. Businesses are giving much more importance to the quality of the employees that they seek, and they find a skills mismatch.”
In order to attract workers with higher skills, Malta needs to ensure that it is an attractive destination for such workers to live in.
However, there is something else that must be said. Malta’s population continues to grow because of the need for more workers, yet that in itself is causing issues such as continued rampant hotchpotch construction and more traffic. We need a nationwide plan that takes all of these things in consideration, while also identifying what economic niches which do not require a lot of manpower we can expand into, which will bring income into the country. Such a plan also needs to take into consideration the wellbeing of all those living in the country, the importance of green spaces, much better planning and the architectural style of buildings.