Keeping Malta safe and attractive

In a bleak landscape a glimmer of light is always welcome. Such was the report in a foreign medium that Malta ranked third as an attractive place for expatriates to work or retire in. The report, it was suggested, could influence a fresh wave of retirees to Malta. That is by no means certain. The conditions described in the survey have been in existence for a long time. Our climate, for instance, did not come into being overnight. Nor did the cultural heritage develop the day before yesterday.

On the negative side, over-urbanisation has turned the island into a permanent building site over the past 50 years or so. Nevertheless, a fresh reminder of our islands’ net attractions in reputable international media can do nothing but good. Reactions from expatriates gathered by this newspaper suggested that, nowadays, it is more a question of expatriate workers being in considerable evidence, rather than expatriate retirees.

The wave of such folk which swept over the island in the Sixties has ebbed considerably. Early retirees who die and others who preferred to relocate back home for their last days have left a smaller population of retired expatriates. They still include among them fine human resources, some of which offer to help the island without fanfare.

Even before the boost the report referred to, Malta had other attractions that, perhaps, were not being adequately marketed. Among them is the income tax regime. It is not the case of a return to the days of the so-called six-penny settlers.

Nevertheless the prevailing tax regime is such that it makes it very attractive for reasonably well-to-do foreigners to relocate to Malta for tax purposes. In the United Kingdom, for instance, they pay a swingeing 50 per cent rate of income tax on their marginal income.

The living standards report could serve as a fresh reminder of the attractions of Malta, helped along by reports sent home by expatriates working here. This latter category is growing, particularly in the financial services and gaming sectors, with their personnel providing a healthy contribution to the letting market.

Moving forward, what Malta needs to watch out for most are two factors that are of paramount interest to our own people. The first factor is the environment. Within that, the observation that too much construction continues to take place points to the paradox of many additional residential units being built, although there are thousands of unoccupied houses and apartments. Were all these units to be in clusters we would have the equivalent of four Irish-type ghost towns each equivalent to an average Maltese town like, say, Attard.

Another observation covers the state of our roads. Considerable work has been done. Yet our road network had descended to such a parlous state that the good work is overwhelmed by the remaining bad roads. To drive from Sliema to Valletta along the harbour route, for instance, is murder, and that is one of the most used routes on the island.

Within the environment factor there is also the remarkable lack of cleanliness that is to be found all over the island. The blame for that cannot really be placed in the government’s lap. Household garbage is collected six days a week.

There are sites which take large disposals. If you cannot make the trip yourself your local council will do it for you – for free. And there are regulations regarding trucks and other vehicles carrying cut stone, concrete, and other building material.

Yet, litter of all sorts is to be found over the whole of Malta (less so in Gozo), even in the countryside. If the government is to be addressed in this regard, it is to enforce regulations more vigorously. Traffic wardens could be better mobilised for that purpose.

The other factor which bears close critical scrutiny is the level of safety and security in Malta and Gozo. That is one of the features on which Malta scores highly in making comparisons of living conditions. It would be foolish to rest on that laurel, even in the best of circumstances. Sadly, we are not living in them.

In recent months the perception of an increase in crime has been fed with an alarming number of burglaries, muggings and attempted hold-ups. Statistically, we probably still compare with other countries. Yet the wave of small, as well as big criminality is making people, especially the elderly, feel unsafe in their own homes.

The police have their work cut out to maintain law and order. Even so, more foot patrolling is required, as well as more use of the mobile squad, in order to increase visibility as a deterrent to crime.

Without in any way suggesting that we start having too many police around, the force may require additional resources, something which the Minister of Finance should look into, in conjunction with the Minister responsible for the Interior.

We used to boast that Malta is the flower of the world. That may be an exaggeration. But living conditions are not bad. We should try to keep it that way. For ourselves, certainly. But also for those who visit to holiday, work or live here, generating a useful source of invisible earnings.