Money, like energy or matter, cannot be created nor destroyed. Money can change its form, can be relocated from one place to another but it cannot be created out of nothingness.
Malta's success lies in attracting as much money as possible and promoting the best climate possible in order to increase its wealth as a nation. The good news for tiny Malta is that globalisation of world markets has led to the realisation, famously expounded by media guru Rupert Murdoch, that today's world "is not anymore a game of big beating small, but fast beating slow".
I am a firm believer that the key to Malta's success lies in putting research and development, creativity and innovation, science and the arts at the heart of our economy. I am convinced that, in order for Malta to prosper and be a leader in our region, we must, at all costs, almost by necessity, invest in what is really and truly the mother of invention: the creative genius.
Following the last election I have been given the task by the Opposition Leader to shadow culture and the arts (apart from the youth sector) and in this time I have been constantly stressing the need of giving birth to a proper creative industry or niche on the same lines as the UK has managed to do on the New Talents For New Britain initiative.
On May 13, 2009 (session number 112) I had explained in Parliament the opposition's vision in this field as I had done six months later on November 21, 2009 (session number 166). In between the two dates, in September, I had the privilege of meeting in London UK government officials responsible for the implementation of the creative industry projects.
Malta has a strong potential in this field. According to the recently-published National Cultural Policy, however, the creative sector's contribution to the national economy is the lowest in Europe with 0.2 per cent value added to national GDP as compared to the EU average of 2.6 per cent. Yet, the creative genius is there, beating hard in the hearts of the Maltese and Gozitans!
In Parliament I had invited the government to set up an inter-party Parliamentary Committee to devise a roadmap that would lead to the drawing up of a piece of legislation setting up the structures leading, hopefully, to the birth of this niche. We politicians had managed to rise above partisan politics in the past and create a financial services industry or the Law of the Sea initiative, so why not this time?
Unfortunately, Labour's goodwill has not been reciprocated and, to date, the government has discarded this proactive step completely.
To add insult to injury, a couple of weeks ago, the Prime Minister declared that the American consultancy firm entrusted with beefing up the Vision 2015 project, Angelou Economics, pointed at the promotion of the creative industries as the best way forward for Malta. The opposition had been stressing this months before the American experts' advice was published!
And, in the meantime, we lost precious time when other countries have been fast implementing a creative industry policy. If the fast beating the slow rule is anything to go by (of course, it is), then we might have already lost the golden chance to be one of the European leaders in this field.
Malta can be a centre of excellence for the creative industries and innovation. It is high time for the government to give up on its arrogance and come together to give our children and children's children an exciting new reality and opportunity.
A transcribed copy of the above-mentioned parliamentary interventions may be found at https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AUaoJWxKC2JiZGczZmRiZHRfOTJjeDhnajZkaw&hl=en and at https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AUaoJWxKC2JiZGczZmRiZHRfOTNmOGR2Nm5oaA&hl=en.
The author is the opposition spokesman for youth and culture.
owenbonnici@onvol.net