Tancred Tabone, president of The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, has urged the government to deal with a number of competitiveness issues and pending reforms which are hindering business and the economy.

Mr Tabone, who was speaking during the Chamber’s annual general meeting, said: “There are a number of structural issues to our competitiveness that remain unresolved. In our opinion, one of the principal issues among these is the issue of COLA. The MCESD working group in which we actively participated agreed to the inclusion of productivity as a new element in the COLA formula under review. However, we are still waiting for its implementation and we shall keep pressing for urgent closure.”

Mr Tabone also referred to the discussions on the pending Rent and Service Charges, which remains unresolved, to the detriment of the manufacturing sector.

“We also need closure, once and for all, on the eco-contribution refunds. This time last year, a legal notice was finally published to regulate the payment of such refunds. But a year down the line from the legal notice and seven years after the first refunds became due, we are nowhere near receiving them. We appeal to the government for urgent closure of this saga,” he said.

The Chamber president said that over the past 12 months, the Chamber proved its relevance to the country and more specifically to the business community.

“I look forward to another year of hard endeavour, leading the Malta Chamber to further success for the benefit of members,” he said, adding that the Chamber will continue to urge political leaders to focus on the real issues at stake.

“The Malta Chamber also appeals to the business community to remain focused. As entrepreneurs, we need to concentrate on growth and we know that success depends on how competitive our businesses are,” he said.