Cutting edge and somewhere less
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Minister Chris Cardona confirmed that Malta Enterprise has approved three projects with an investment totaling €7.5 million creating 118 new jobs.
From the context of the minister’s words, these three applications regard the use and manufacturing of medicinal marijuana.
A further three projects, with a total investment of €57 million and the potential for 365 new jobs are at an advanced stage of evaluation.
These new projects show the benefit of timeliness in adjusting to new technological and scientific developments plus legislative adjustments following through.
With the updating of legislation and with the international business opportunities consequent on this, it’s the early bird that gets the worm. In fact, at least one of the companies is reported coming from a country where scientific developments are prized and promoted. In Malta’s case, the fact that legislative updating followed up may have made all the difference.
If all goes according to plan, thus, Malta stands to benefit for its timeliness.
Some people may have had misgivings on the free and easy use of the word marijuana in the debate in the country but it has been explained and overexplained that the medicinal use of marijuana has got nothing to do with marijuana as a drug of leisure. The bill, now passing through Parliament, makes this distinction quite clearly.
So all in all, the news given by Minister Cardona on Tuesday is very welcome.
The minister also explained that the take-up of agricultural land to create more factories is not an abuse of land or disrespect to the farmers who have worked the land for generations. Malta needs more space for factories and factories generate jobs.
The minister also explained if any alternative site can be found it will be preferable to taking up agricultural land. An in a recent interview, a representative for Malta Industrial Parks explained that only a small minority of factories are unused and empty and there are law suits in their regard too. So it is not that easy to take these unused factories from their tenants and give it to cutting edge enterprise being attracted to Malta.
At the same time, however, one would welcome greater attention being devoted to what may be lesser cutting edge but which can do better if more focus is brought to bear.
Malta has a trained workforce which can be trained better, and workers and managers alike can draw up a list of things that can improve and which may create more profitability – beginning with the state of the industrial areas, the state of the roads, and on to what help they can get, but many times do not, from government and banks bureaucracy.
It is good to move to cutting edge technology and to gradually hive off yesterday’s technology and processes but the country as a whole must learn to take better care of all that is in between.