Structuring our future

In the course of its history, a country is time and again faced with decisions which would set the shape of its future. Political decisions, economic decisions, strategic decisions are not always the easiest tasks, and not many of us will volunteer to step into our political leaders' shoes when decision-time is nearing. We can only hope that, following good advice from the people around them, the wise men and women around the table are in tune with what is best for their country.

Democracy allows that every now and then it is our turn to take the driving seat and to choose who will be responsible for decision-making in the future. Fair enough I would say.

Less than three years from today, our country was facing one of its most important decisions in its modern history. To be or not to be European - that was the question. We have come a long way since then and, looking back, one asks whether all that bickering and all that stress was required at all. Thankfully, we can look back and smile; yes we did the right thing and we don't regret it.

So now, as Europeans, as part of this powerful and growing economic bloc, we are being asked again: If you are given €805 million to spend in seven years, how would you do that?

It's decision time again. The Prime Minister, through his consultation meetings with the public, is making it very clear that this is perhaps one of the country's best opportunities to stimulate economic activity and to engage in projects that would have never materialised before, because of lack of funds. I can easily believe the Prime Minister when he says that, given all the proposals and suggestions he is receiving, he could well spend three times the allocated sum... and more. Ideas are free, and we are not exactly lacking them here.

I am also convinced that around the Cabinet table, our ministers will be delivering their best arguments in favour of the needs of their portfolios. We need to invest in our environment, in our roads, in our new hospital, in tourism, in agriculture, in fisheries etc. This is the time when we don't envy our Prime Minister's position. It is not an easy role to balance the act and to allocate the funds to where the country needs most. This, as we all understand, could be the last time that such a substantial amount of funds will be made available to Malta.

It is therefore our political leaders' responsibility to ensure that the funds are spent wisely and on projects that will have a long-term potential. This is our opportunity to invest in those areas where we are lagging behind when benchmarked against other EU countries - human resources, research and development, innovation. These are the areas which will ensure long-term growth and employment. Our positioning in the Lisbon Strategy indicators and other benchmarking exercises - the Innovation Scoreboard, the Competitiveness Index - are spelling it out to us.

In its recommendations to the government on the use of structural funds, the Malta Federation of Industry is insisting on investments in our science and technology knowledge base, on research and development infrastructures and on human resources development. These, we believe, will provide our country with long-lasting results and will help us to become and remain competitive.

Looking at recent European history we find clear examples of countries that took different approaches when faced with the same situation. Ireland, with its massive investment in high value-added industrial development, sustained a strong growth rate and created a record number of new employments. Portugal, on the other hand, focused more on the "immediate" needs and, while receiving much more funds in the 2000-2006 period than Ireland, its rate of growth and its capability to create more jobs is much lower than Ireland's.

Which way are we going?

Mr Bajada is president the Malta Federation of Industry.