Joseph Muscat likes using catchwords to drive points home but he may come to rue the one he used with great relish after credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s raised Malta’s long-term credit rating. Knowing full well that, besides the family and politics, many Maltese also care a lot about football, he quipped that the upgrade meant that Malta has been promoted to Serie A.
Of course, the Prime Minister, his government and the country have much to be happy about in so far as the performance of the economy is concerned, though his constant excessive resort to self-congratulation can easily lead to complacency. However, while the progress being made on various fronts is most welcome, and while the efforts made by the administration in helping fuel further economic growth has to be fully acknowledged, there is also need to look at the broader picture.
The Budget for next year obviously presents a wider picture than thatprovided by the credit rating agency in its comments when announcing the upgrade. Even if it does not meet the expectations of most people, which no Budget under any administration ever does, by its nature the Budget for 2017 encompasses interests affecting, positively or negatively, practically everyone.
It is aimed at helping those most in need but there is another part of the picture that has to be taken into account: the quality of life and that of the administration. This affects all strata of society, even those who work in highly profitable sectors of the economy and who are, therefore, earning good salaries.
Skyscrapers do not necessarily bring about a better quality of life. On the contrary, in many cases they suffocate residential areas, robbing people of a healthier environment. This is just one example of how the quality of life can be nibbled at. Malta can hardly be classified in Serie A in environmental standards as the widespread degradation of the urban and rural environment glaringly shows. The government even chooses to destroy part of a coastline for the sake of a project.
Pandering to the developers, as the present government is doing so enthusiastically, will only add to the problems the country has today. To make matters worse, it would seem from the Budget that eyes are now turning to Gozo too. When and where will a line be drawn?
But it is not just the environment that has taken a serious knock. The traffic situation has long been relegated to the lowest league division, with gridlock in key routes now playing on the nerves of motorists every day as they lose precious time stuck in traffic morning and evening. This has directly affected the quality of life of thousands of people.
Professional traffic management is non-existent and the warden system is a mockery of what it should be. The government was supposed to have had a road map to solve the problem but the only thing we get is talk and more talk about it.
Ethical values and discipline have also been badly affected, with many breaking rules and regulations deliberately. The government is not giving a good example in this regard either. On the contrary, several of its actions have shown complete disregard to good governance and propriety.
Working towards a higher economic growth rate, reducing the deficit in the government’s finances and improving further other key economic indicators is all well and good. However, it is also important to work towards improvements in other areas of life too.