2006 will be a year of intense activity. After managing to bring the Budget deficit down to 4 per cent, the target next year is go beyond the 'magic barrier' - bringing the deficit to below 3 per cent, thus meeting our own national needs and EU convergence criteria.
The year kicks off with the European Union Council's agreement on financial perspectives for 2007-13. Ministries have already spent the past year doing the necessary homework and projects have been planned out, their costs worked out, and evaluated. In 2006 we will need to have a closer and collective look at the various projects being suggested to look into the importance of each proposal, timeframes, and ultimately establish priorities together.
The first draft of the programming documents for Malt's Cohesion Policy should be in place by the end of this month. With €803 million making their way to Malta, all work carried out in this direction is well worth our while.
Various developments take off or gain momentum. That includes work on the new hospital project which at the end of the year will only be six months away from its opening. Air Malta properties such as the Crowne Plaza site, Hal Ferh and Selmun Palace, which do not form part of the airline's core business, will be offered to prospective bidders.
On the privatisation front, Bank of Valletta and Maltacom choose the right strategic partners who can guarantee quality growth, consolidating further Malta's image in the banking and the communications worlds. Both sectors are ripe for further development with new financial and investment packages as well as innovative communications systems reaching the market. Malta stands to become a hub in both sectors and our reputation of making giant leaps forward over the past years stands to our credit.
In the communications sector, this year could see the introduction of third generation technology in mobile telephony. In the banking sector, our stock exchange has already witnessed an impressive growth in the value of banking shares. The announcement by Bank of Valletta that it will offer all shareholders a 'one for one' bonus share later this month has been one of the causes of the upward spiral. Meanwhile, the price of HSBC shares has also rocketed over the past weeks and Lombard's share price has experienced a phenomenal growth, especially after its own announcement that it plans to split its shares. Further privatisation by one of the major players adds to the general momentum in the banking and financial sector.
Government means business and will not dilly-dally over decisions to place the country on a secure footing. The recent Sea Malta episode that was totally mishandled by the General Workers Union should serve as an eye-opener. In the coming year the new company, Malta Waterways, set up by Grimaldi, will assume a higher profile and the country will begin to experience the benefits of the investment it will be making in Malta. This is another sector where Malta has a natural role to establish itself as a shipping hub.
Public-private partnerships assume further importance through such new ventures as the Delimara Fort project that will be carried out through this innovative approach in the field of our cultural heritage.
2006 will be a crucial year for tourism. Malta has managed to pull out of the difficult phase it experienced between 2001 and 2003 in the wake of 9/11. 2005 was the second year of growth - an achievement in its own right considering that the market is becoming more and more competitive as the entire world opens up to tourism.
We know that more growth is still necessary, not only in the number of visitors, which is an important factor, but also expenditure as well as nights spent in Malta and how that relates to occupancy in hotels and the revenue generated.
With restructuring out of the way, 2006 will see the Malta Tourism Authority spend an additional Lm600,000 on marketing - using money saved as a result of lower administrative costs and a more costeffective approach.
Over and above, we will see the branding exercise put into place. In the coming weeks MTA will be making an international call to choose a company that has the requisite resources and proven track record to do the job and do it well. This process is expected to take around eight months before the right company will be chosen.
Advertising by the MTA will be more streamlined. The same image and core values will be communicated irrespective of the country where the campaign is carried out. That tunes in with taking up new marketing initiatives such as advertising on international networks including CNN.
Ultimately all marketing depends on the quality of our product. In 2006 the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the MTA will ensure that by summer the Bugibba perched beach project is completed.
Tourism segments, such as the conference and incentive market or Gozo as a specific destination, will gain strongly in importance. Segment advisory groups will be set up. Cruise liner activity will grow further and as from June 6, Star Cruises (based in Malaysia) will deploy their vessel Super Libra here, using our country as a home port, making 17 turnarounds from and to Malta.
Malta will become more events-oriented. Events include our annual Mediterranean Food Festival (March 9-12), Carnival (February 24-28), the fourth Fireworks Festival, on April 29 and 30, an enhanced Jazz Festival, part of a Summer Festival that will keep growing in size and stature, the Historic Cities Festival culminating in the spectacular Military Tattoo (October 5-15), as well as new treats, such as a taste of the Beijing Opera initially through an exhibition and then through a performance, and a grand opera concert with our own formidable Joseph Calleja as well as Tatiana Lisnic, Elkena Zaremba, Vittorio Vitelli and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at Manoel Island on July 8.
The Manoel Theatre's own Opera Festival (March 15-22) offers a triple treat - Verdi's Rigoletto, a concert version of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, and Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
The National Orchestra's programmes include a grand concert under the baton of Brian Schembri on April 1 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, and a concert with the famous Italian pianist Roberto Cominati on April 25, with the collaboration and support of the Italian Cultural Institute.
St James Cavalier completes our visual and performing arts menu through a creative and multicultural approach. Its own treats range from Something Dark, written and performed by Lemin Sissay about the joys of living beyond surviving, to an exhibition of photographs entitled Kickin' Up Dust, celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait island cultures in Australia.
We can also expect various top range personalities in the contemporary music world, including the already announced Marco Masini concert at the Aurora in Gozo on March 31. More fantastic concerts are in the pipeline.
On a different level, in 2006 we can expect a stronger focus on various environmental issues. Green wardens move into action and there will be heavy fines for littering. In the meantime bring-in sites will proliferate and the Sant'Antnin waste recycling plant begins to be upgraded, modernised and rendered more environment-friendly. With regard to energy, people will understand that fuel prices do make the difference when it comes not only to how much one pays for fuel and kerosene but also for use of electricity. Use of more energy-saving devices needs to be understood and appreciated further.
The tone of local politics will move to a higher pitch and the local council elections scheduled for the second Saturday of March will generate particular interest.
The Church undergoes a change when the new Bishop of Gozo is consecrated on January 22 at the Cathedral in Victoria.
We may take brief breaks such as on February 4 to follow Malta's Song for Europe, organised by a board that has a new chairman, or in June and July to follow the World Cup in Germany. A good number of Maltese will travel to Germany to be part of the 75,000 crowd that will pack Berlin's Olympiastadion on July 9 for the final.
Whatever breaks one may take for one reason or another, there is no doubt that 2006 will be a highly intense and active year throughout.
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