The island should not be in a “race to the bottom” when it comes to good governance, according to the president of the Chamber of Commerce.

In a statement yesterday, Anton Borg said rule of law and transparency should never be jeopardised.

“We are worried to read in the press of new stories about poor management, poor use of public funds, poor decisions, conflicts of interest and other issues,” he said .

Mr Borg was speaking during a meeting with Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, who said he shared the chamber’s concerns about the government’s transparency.

“When I hear this I think ‘how right you are’, politicians need to set a higher standard,” Dr Busuttil said. The chamber met with the Opposition to discuss the PN’s new economic policy document, An Economy for the People, which was published last month.

We are worried to read stories of poor use of public funds, conflicts of interest and other issues

Mr Borg welcomed what he felt were similarities between the PN’s consultation document and the chamber’s own economic vision published last year.

He said that the PN’s document looked not to the present but allowed businesses to prepare for the future. However, he also raised concerns of a lack of proposals on Malta’s regional disadvantage. The island, he said, was losing out to neighbouring countries which were more competitive.

Mr Borg said that the Chamber had been single-handedly tackling the issue – which particularly affected the manufacturing industry – for a number of years, receiving little support from successive governments.

“Erosion of competitiveness will only lead to the deterioration of future investment,” he warned.

The problem, Mr Borg added, was already manifesting itself in the form of certain companies operating from Malta moving production elsewhere.

Dr Busuttil said it was about time the country started planning for when EU funds, currently aiding the country, dried up in 2020.