A report produced under the chairmanship of Prof. Edward Zammit on the strengthening of co-operatives has been issued by the government for discussion. What do you think of the proposals?
One of the happiest changes the Prime Minister made when he had to carry out his extra-mini Cabinet reshuffle due to the departure of John Dalli was to place co-operatives under the aegis of Jason Azzopardi, within the Ministry of Finance.
More generally, I have been pleasantly surprised by the finance ministry showing that its profession of faith in the creative industries was genuine, by turning somewhat creative itself. Incidentally, in the course of launching the plans made to stimulate the creative industries it was reported that the estimate that only something like 0.5 per cent was contributed to GNP by what is popularly thought of as the cultural sector should be revised to a figure rather more like four to five per cent.
Most of us have tended to picture the finance ministry as by nature a spoil-sport, ever ready to cut down expenditure, as a rule, beginning with anything to do with culture, considered by these penny-pinchers to be a luxury. Of course, most of us are also prepared for some belt-tightening because of the recession.
However, our finance ministry has so far shown itself wiser than most in realising that sacrificing investment and employment would be poison rather than medicine. The plans for the creative industries are a good illustration. They also invite to joint consideration with the plans to promote co-operatives.
It was Dalli who had commissioned the Zammit Report. When Minister of Social Policy, he had shown his acknowledgement of the importance of co-operatives, among other things by appointing John Camilleri as chairman of the board, and more especially by the action he had taken towards the formation of co-operatives by Shipyard workers.
However, there is every reason to expect that Azzopardi will be able to give them closer attention, as he is already clearly doing. The proposals in the report provide a working plan that is certainly excellent as a basis for his consideration.
Aren't co-operatives somewhat antiquated today?
Many do not seem to realise the big change that has occurred. Today there are more co-operatives, 23 to be precise, in the so-called 'secondary' services sector, while those in the primary services (Agriculture and Fisheries) number 20. Admittedly, the more traditional co-operatives still have a larger number of members.
Perhaps the most curious thing that has happened in 2008 is that the new style of co-operatives has succeeded in practically completely taking over the two most important institutions.
The first is the body that used to be called APEX and is now called 'Co-operatives Malta'. Set up in 1997, it is meant to provide educational, consultancy, representational and other services.
The second is the Co-operatives Central Fund. Co-operatives are bound by law to pay five per cent of undistributed profits to the Central Fund, which are to be devoted to the education of members and the development of co-operatives in every sector of the economy and of society. It should be remembered that co-operatives are exempt from the 35 per cent income tax paid by commercial companies.
While when both committees were dominated by the farmer-fisherman co-ops, little was spent out of the fund. When they were succeeded by the secondary services co-ops, the money came increasingly to be spent for premises and other support for 'Co-operatives Malta'. In the circumstances, there are two basic options. Either the two entities are in one way or another to be fused, or the fund is to be governed by trustees, the majority of whom are not co-operative representatives.
Whatever the choice, it is now abundantly clear that the co-operative system is not appropriate only in the farming-fishing context. Even more striking is the fact that in the new economic order that is arising in the wake of the electronic revolution, because the most important factor of production is no longer land or energy but has become knowledge, the challenge of the co-operative mode of organisation to that of the capitalist system has become much more realistic.
Whatever solutions are adopted to deal with the intricate intellectual property questions, there is no doubt that ultimately knowledge is common heritage of humankind. Linux, Wikipedia and the rest of the open access systems are clearly showing the same sort of superiority over the capitalist style giants (Microsoft, Google, Amazon and the rest), in terms of the efficiency/equity balance, that co-operatives show over hierarchical enterprises. Perhaps the most valuable recommendation of the 15 in the conclusion of the report is the 10th: "Students in the ITC courses at the University should be encouraged to form co-operatives mostly in the field of software with the purpose of providing services for Maltese and foreign companies."
I have been strongly arguing for some time that it should perhaps be Malta's choice to become a centre of excellence not in ICT in general but rather in promoting any of the co-operative style approaches not only in software production but in all fields.
Do you consider the other 14 recommendations negligible?
By no means. For instance, the first recommendation which is that of setting up a support agency that would help in training, management and financing advice (Credit Unions are proposed in Recommendation 4) is fundamental. The fifth recommendation is to encourage more co-operatives to be set up in the public sector, in addition to the two that are functioning in exemplary fashion at present.
Fr Peter Serracino Inglott was talking to Miriam Vincenti.