Fairness in commercial sector

Democracy, which guaranteed the free market, had to be accompanied by a sense of fairness and justice in the commercial sector, Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici told Parliament yesterday. Introducing a Bill to amend the Malta Standards Authority Act, the minister said mechanisms had to be created to solve issues emanating from the sector as quickly as possible.

He said the amendments became necessary following the amalgamation between the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Industry into the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry. It also follows amendments to the Commercial Code, approved last month.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that through the merger, the two entities had made a strategic step forward. Referring to the authority, the minister pointed out this was governed by a Council, two members of which represented the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Industry. Following the amalgamation of the two organisations involved in the commercial and industrial sector, the composition of the Council had to change so that now two members appointed by the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry would now sit on the council.

Among its many functions, the authority was responsible of raising standards and a means of guaranteeing the standard of living. It also contributed to Malta's membership in the EU.

It raised and maintained standards that one expected from certain products. It was up to the Council to see that there were enough checks and balances to retain standards.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said it was important to protect the sector through the strengthening of the legal framework. Democracy, which guaranteed the free market, had to be accompanied by a sense of fairness and justice in the commercial sector. Mechanisms had to be created in order to solve issues emanating from the sector as quickly as possible.

Opposition spokesman on competitiveness Chris Cardona said the merger of the two organisations had been expected because it had taken place in economies typical to Malta's.

He pointed out that it would have been more effective for the Malta Standards Authority to fall under the aegis of the minister responsible for competition rather than that of the minister responsible for home affairs.

The sector had been progressing since the year 2000, not least due to all those who worked in the authority, which was functioning very well even considering its huge limitations.

Compared to similar foreign authorities, the MSA was heavily understaffed.

However, the country still made great strides forward in the sector and the authority was also used by foreign companies requesting its certification.

Dr Cardona noted that important changes were carried out at the authority in the past months, including to some of its functions, especially those related to surveillance.

The market surveillance unit had led to a friction between the representatives of the Consumer Protection Division and the MSA. The parameters dividing the two organisations were not clear. A clear demarcation, therefore, should have been made through the bill.

Dr Cardona asked if it was still the intention for the Medicines Authority to join the MSA pointing out that stakeholders had not yet been consulted about this.

He referred to next year's budget and noted that the MSA was getting an increase of more than €900,000. This was justified especially because of the lack of specialised human resources.

Economic operators should not be hindered in their imports. While EU countries had a separate standards' authority for every sector, Malta had only one authority which had to do everything.

He said that some of the funds should be used to test those products, the safety of which was questionable, in foreign laboratories.

Nationalist MP Ċensu Galea said the authority had an important role in the economy and had convinced a number of people in the production sector to certify their products for the standards achieved.

Turning to the functions of the authority, Mr Galea said these included the certification of agricultural produce free of pesticides and fertilisers, inspections in petrol stations and guaranteed the quality of pyrotechnic material.

The law also stipulated the possibility of amalgamation between the MSA and the Malta Resources Authority (MRA).

Mr Galea said that enterprises whose quality work was certified as being of a high standard included a Maltese company that builds powerboats. Libyan authorities also called on the MSA to train Libyans.

He agreed that more investment was needed in the MSA calling also for more collaboration with the National Laboratory. One also had to look into the possibility of greater collaboration among the Water Services Corporation (WSC), the Health Division and the MSA as regards the quality of water.

He asked whether it was time that the MSA took over the functions of, or collaborated with, the Transport Authority to ensure high standards in road construction.

Referred to friction between the MSA and the Consumer Protection Division mentioned by Mr Cardona, Mr Galea declared that there was no time to lose on the definition of functions of the two entities, adding that one should concentrate on the needs of the country and strive to arrive at the best possible solutions.

It was important for the MSA and the commercial sector to ensure the quality of consumer products. Fortunately for Malta, he said, the number of imported products which were withdrawn from the market was very low.

Nationalist MP Joe Falzon said that he agreed with the need of improving the country's standards since good standards led to a better standard of living.

The EU had led to the establishment of better standards among its member states and one should always ask how he could further improve what he already had.

Mr Falzon said that major improvements were needed in certain areas, such as in construction. Many methods used to date where the old traditional ones and in spite of improved machinery and health and safety standards, a lot of regulations in the industry were not addressing the quality of life of the neighbours of construction projects.

One should incentivise green technology, such as that of pre-casting, an innovation which was greatly reducing the negative impact of construction sites.

Mr Falzon said that it was unfortunate that one could become a contractor without having a building licence. Although one should not place everyone in the same basket because there were some people who had great skill even though they did not have a licence, there were many sites which were full of people who did not have any idea how to carry out certain work.

A Mepa contract, he said, should not be enough for a contractor to do what he wanted to the detriment of neighbours and the surrounding environment.Thinking quality, he said, had to be improved. He hoped that such matters would be addressed in the Mepa reform.

Winding up, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said the Maltese people have quality and standards at heart whether they are businessmen or consumers. This amendment was a step forward as was the amalgamation between the two organisations.