The takeover of Maltese public assets by foreign private companies has never been so fast and furious as in the past 10 years. Million-euro contracts have been negotiated behind closed doors and then cursorily passed through Parliament. Three outstanding deals for prime shorefront sites in the south exemplify an alarming trend.
Any intelligent citizen would at the very least expect there to be progress in safeguarding Maltese interests.
On the contrary, if one takes a basic measure – the length of the contract – we see that the CMA-CGM deal for the Kalaxlokk Freeport was signed for 30 years in 2004, and in 2008 it was extended for 35 years; the Palumbo deal for the prime shipyard site was signed for 30 years in 2011; and then the ‘American University’ deal was signed for 99 years in 2015.
Who can honestly say they know how to safeguard or advance people’s interests over 99 years up to the year 2114?
You might argue that it is worth ceding our prime land in perpetuity if the lease payments are commensurate.
In 2016, CMA-CGM will pay €9 million annual lease, Palumbo will pay €575,000, and the Sadeen Group for the ‘American University’ €40,000 annual lease for both prime sites Dock 1 and Żonqor Point.
Again we see an alarming trend toward greater government concession to foreign businesses. What has happened to our renowned Maltese bargaining skills? What has happened to our sense of honour?
You might say this ‘roll over and let them rob the majority and bribe the minority’ attitude is all worth it if these companies are providing stable and satisfactory employment opportunities for local workers.
The CMA-CGM contract does stipulate an increase in the number of employees over a number of specified years. The Palumbo shipyard contract neglects this crucial issue entirely. The Sadeen contract (clause 13.1) refers to an initial 300 new jobs, giving an advantage to applicants who have eight years’ education in Malta. Although lip service is made in a one-liner regarding adherence to all the laws and regulations of Malta, no mention is made of the fundamental right to just and favourable conditions of work (Article 23 Universal Declaration).
We see an alarming trend toward greater government concession to foreign businesses
In fact, the central issue of increasing precarious employment is not covered in these contracts despite the fact that today thousands of workers in Malta are suffering unjust and unfavourable work conditions. At least at CMA-CGM the unions are recognised and they have been actively representing the interests of Maltese workers.
However, at the Palumbo shipyards, once the heart of the Maltese workers rights movement, we find interest in the employment conditions and the health and safety of shipyard workers is given the same seriousness as the quality of life of nearby residents: two onsite deaths in the past year and untold injuries, oil spills and polluting disasters.
This situation reflects the height of neo-liberal abuse of workers’ and citizens’ rights and a great disappointment to the many voters who expected much more from the new Malta Labour government.
The goals for development cooperation need to be clarified. We would do well to take a leaf out of Sweden’s book where it has long been recognised that sustainable development cannot be achieved though increased inequality and poverty but only through improving opportunities for earning a decent living, for better housing and access to quality healthcare and education, for respect for rights and democracy, and for having a voice and the right to participate.
Urban development must contribute to an environment supportive of poor people’s own efforts to improve their quality of life: through strengthened democratic urban governance; through reduction of the environmental burden caused by urban activities; and through promotion of culture, including cultural heritage management.
In other words, residents and workers should not be victims of arbitrary and ill-informed actions. The interests of the local people are paramount in the investment and development of their neighbourhood. In the context of urban development and mega private investment contracts, the rights perspective is crucial. The rights of everyone to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and the necessary social services, are enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (Article 35), of which Malta is a longtime signatory.
Our 1964 Constitution heralded a responsible parliamentary government... that safeguards the interests of the nation and the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individuals composing the nation.
The Malta Strategy for the Reduction of Poverty and Social Exclusion, 2014, built on this rights’ perspective, especially the rights of the most vulnerable and impoverished, but its implementation has largely become a tokenistic exercise.
A society cannot advance if its elderly, its young and its working poor people are increasingly marginalised. It is time for a radical change in direction of our political and economic trajectory before we cede more land, seashore, development, governance and human rights.