Creativity could yet save us

It’s still a quarter to six and it’s still dark. But at the airport four planes are getting ready to take off to various destinations. And all these planes are Ryanair.

That’s yet another case where nonMaltese are proving to do a better job than the Maltese at whose service they are supposed to be.”

This is a scene that takes place practically every day. The Air Malta planes bestir themselves later according to their own schedule. There are some things that are changing in the Maltese landscape and this predominance of Ryanair over Air Malta is one of them. Connections to Malta are no longer the right of the Maltese carrier but operate according to the rules of the game and of the market. And that is as it should be.

It does not seem that the loss of the Air Malta monopoly is negatively affecting the inflow of people into the island. On the contrary, we have just had a full Christmas season, made more enjoyable by unseasonal weather that had many flock to the beaches and even dip a toe or two in the sea.

We had long been hearing about Air Malta’s problems and those of its remaining subsidiaries, the latest being the closure of the air services subsidiary which at the end was left servicing Air Malta planes only. The remaining employees were bought off to the tune of millions but according to the new company that came in as a substitute its new employees found a lot of damages to equipment when they came in. There were also reports the new employees, mainly Italian, could not even do their job properly but the complaints about the misdirection of luggage etc seem to have decreased now.

That’s yet another case where non-Maltese are proving to do a better job than the Maltese at whose service they are supposed to be.

Want another? Every day at practically all hours but especially in the afternoon and the evening an army of runners on motorcycles descends upon the roads many times bringing pre-ordered food to people. It would seem that the Maltese have forgotten how to cook or can’t be fagged to cook, especially in families where both parents work.

Today, this habit has become mainstream, now spilling over to people one would have never imagined buying pre-cooked meals.

There is more to this as the system of runners is now offering a range of services such as bringing your purchases from shops. Some do not even charge extra for the delivery.

Again, here we have once again adapted to a foreign custom and this seems to be to the liking of many people. It is true this this has increased the traffic on our roads, though it may have decreased the number of cars, and that unfortunately many of the runners do not feel bound by traffic laws and many times pose a risk to themselves and to others.

Many retail outlets now offer home delivery and those that do not stand to lose custom. The latest I have heard is that this new custom is no longer restricted to big supermarket chains but even some village corner shops are trying it, even though it requires quite some changes to their traditional operations.

And so the economy moves on, through changes in the modes of operation, through finding new niches and thus finding new strengths.

I usually mention at this point the resilience of the construction sector but a report this morning hinted that fewer sales have been registered in December. Considering the vastness of the sector and the importance of the subsidiary ventures this is a very surprising and worrying development. One must study more carefully this information before arriving at hasty conclusions.

I have left the government out of my consideration not because it is not important but actually because focusing on the government and its polices (or lack of) could distort my analysis.

My point remains this is still a very dynamic economy, made stronger by tourism and the influx of so many people who are creative enough to find new solutions to the problems of every day.

With care and following the rule of law rather than every man for himself, this creativity can take us far.