Monday, 8th September 2008 - 14:14CET

Dockyard foreign ownership would take Malta to pre-1979 days - CNI

Having Malta Shipyards run by foreigners would mean a return to foreigners having a maritime base in Malta, the Campaign for National Independence (CNI) said in a statement.

It said that rather than being transferred to foreign ownership, the dockyard should be transferred to a workers' cooperative which could then join a foreign strategic partner which could provide professional management and marketing.

The CNI, which is fronted by former Labour Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, said a foreign-owned shipyard would mean a return to the days before the British base closed down in 1979. It would mean breaking the country's vow never again to accept a foreign base in Malta.

The CNI said privatisation could take place by having the shipyard transferred to a workers' cooperative, with the government thus no longer responsible for subsidies.

The Campaign said the workers knew the shortcomings they suffered when they were responsible for the running of the shipyard and would not repeat the same mistakes.

The CNI said that through its proposal the dockyard would remain in Maltese hands, it would contribute to the Maltese economy, the government would not need to shoulder subsidies, and productivity would increase since the workers would be ultimately responsible for the operation.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Sunday, November 22, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

Joseph Ellul (on 10/9/08)

As an ex employee of the once greater Malta Drydocks Corporation, I would suggest that the whole place be shut down and cleaned up from all the rubbish and filth. The dry docks should be converted and refitted to boat marinas and the underground tunnels into living quarters rented out to the boat owners. The maintenance of these boats and premises can be given out to tradesmen on a tender bases and the most menial jobs can be handed down to those people who can ill afford not to have some kind of income, namely the boat people. All you need is somebody with the imagination of Mr Richard England and the guts of Mr Mintoff. Innovate and remodel. Let your immagination go wild and reuse the old to build new things. Malta will always be in the middle ot the Mediterranean, if you do not move on you will be stepped on.

Ray Gatt (on 9/9/08)

A laugh a day keeps...................................................................

Nigel Lawrence (on 9/9/08)

CNI? = still around? Who says the Maltese don't have a sense of humour?

Robert Cassar (on 9/9/08)

KMB get real!

Charles P Cilia (on 9/9/08)

Mr. Cassar. Nobody cares what KMB is thinking. It is when his thoughts are put to print is worrying and beg commenting about.

Charles P Cilia (on 9/9/08)

Dear Dr. KMB, keep them coming………..

I have a copy of a 1991 publication entitled 'AHJAR INQIS DISKORSI SEWWA' a comical animation of your most positive thoughts. Maybe a sequel is overdue, I would love to have a copy.

Stephen Borg Cardona (on 9/9/08)

Good, so the dockyard is going back to the days before our politicians made the usual mess of things ! Politicians are hopeless at running buisnesses and the Malta Dockyard is a prime example of their inability to do so.

A Camilleri (on 8/9/08)

@ Charles Cassar. There are many issues on which one can critisise the dockyards and its workers, not least allowing themselves to be used for political issues. But to think that the subsidies were simply paying the employees for doing nothing is simplification of a complex issue. In your mind and others' a failed enterprise is simply employees having been paid for nothing. Would you apply this reasoning to other enterprises which closed down, like VF, Denim and others. There are many market forces in play. Would you consider depressed market conditions where contracts were won at prices which do not recover costs as a possibility? Who was really being subsidised, the workers or the shipping industry? You seem to have no idea what working in such an environment is like. You superflously discredit people who are skilled, work hard, and died at at the dockyards. A modern Marie Antoinette saying let the people eat cake if they don't have bread.

kevin borg (on 8/9/08)

I think that timesofmalta.com should report such statements. They convince you what type of closed mindednes led the country in those dark years of the 1980's. No wonder the whole of Europe used to stare in disbelief at our foreign policy when KMB headed the nation. I hope that this is not the inheritance Dr. Joseph Muscat refers to in his speeches about the MLP's glorious history.

The part I found most amusing is that what CNI fears most is "that a foreign country will have a base in Malta". It is remarkable that these people are still living in this super powers world of post world war two. They haven't even realised that not a foreign country will be taking over the dockyard, but a foreign company. Its like saying the investment in smart city will be a base for the country of Dubai from were to operate against the nation if needs be.

Well done and keep it up timesofmalta.com editor. We need to laugh a little. Politics locally seem to be to boring during summer and groups like CNI amuse the newspaper's readers.

guze xerri (on 8/9/08)

Russia would love to buy the Dockyards.

J Chircop (on 8/9/08)

Why does the Times of Malta actually publish what CNI has to say? Who cares what KMB thinks! I would have taken the comment seriously and worried if it was from current MLP leadership but not from KMB. This looks like filler space because you have nothing to write about.

Gerard Cassar (on 8/9/08)

Is there anyone(sic) on the island who even cares what KMB is thinking?
Ramon Casha.
The reply: go trough the blog comments and deduce your answer.

p. Gauci (on 8/9/08)

'It would mean breaking the country's vow never again to accept a foreign base in Malta.'

I guess that KMB 'inadvertedly' omitted the word MILITARY before the word base.

With his reasoning we should not accept smart city, ST Microelectronics, BANIF and all the other foreign factories and companies based in Malta. I was born in 1985 and come from Labourite family. However I could never end up voting for someone who still follow this obsolete line of thought.

George Caruana (on 8/9/08)

I am sure nobody does Mr. Ramon Casha. The fact that KMB still thinks otherwise is however astonishing.

Charles Camilleri (on 8/9/08)

Dear KMB your record as Prime Minister just does not make eligible to order the Govt. what to do with the dockyard or anything else for that matter. You had your chance to change the course of the dockyard but instead you encourage the aristocracy of the workers to further dig their own political graves. You made a mess of everything you touched. Please stop interfering and enjoy your retirement.

Ramon Casha (on 8/9/08)

Is there anyone on the island who even cares what KMB is thinking?

Charles Micallef (on 8/9/08)

Wake up CNI, we are living in 2008 and you are certainly not doing yourselves any favours by dwelling in the past.

We all know what brought the dockyards to its knees and why the taxpayers had to fork out some 400million in old currency of their hard earned money to support a workforce of some 2000 people, the majority of which did not want to work for a living!

CNI stop making people laugh with such rediculous statements and look around you and see what privatisation has done to some of the milking machines that Malta use to have!

Joseph Agius (on 8/9/08)

waiting for Joseph Muscat's comments!!!

Vincent Ellul (on 8/9/08)

Can I suggest that the G.W.U. place a bid ( a serious one) and the union buys out the shipyard ? After all as far as I have read, the shipyard is doing a profit and not a loss. All they need , the GWU says, is a good management team, of which I am sure the Gwu has plenty of members to choose from. So come on Tony, take the plunge. You can always count on your legal advisor (KMB) to draft your take over contract. Maybe KMB will propose to you Alex Sciberras Trigona (dak tal Brazen) as a Commercial director. Or as a second idea. Why don't you merge with the MLP. I am sure that Joseph Muscat will be glad to remarry your cause in favour of the worker.

J Oatmon (on 8/9/08)

The quote below is incredible, the dockyard workers screwed up the viability of shipyards by their lack of willingness to work hard and by their obstruction to change. They were the 'aristocrat workers' no one could tell them what to do - and now they want another chance to do the same again.

Only a fool would put a drunkard back in charge of the bar!

"The CNI said privatisation could take place by having the shipyard transferred to a workers' cooperative, with the government thus no longer responsible for subsidies.

The Campaign said the workers knew the shortcomings they suffered when they were responsible for the running of the shipyard and would not repeat the same mistakes".

victor vella (on 8/9/08)

Dear KMB, we all remember the mess you made of our beautiful island back in the 80's and it took a stalwart of a man in the form of EFA to bring us back to being a dignified country. Communism is dead, non Alignment is a non issue so enjoy your retirement in peace.

Dockyard foreign ownership would take Malta to pre-1979 days - CNI

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