When government politicians have so often insisted that Malta has continued to attract a good volume of foreign direct investment, and when so much has been said, quite justifiably, about the SmartCity project, it is somewhat surprising to learn from a survey just published that Malta is off the foreign investors' radar screen. The people who expressed this opinion are well in the know and their assessment of the situation, encompassing also an extensive range of other issues, ought to be taken well into consideration not just by the government as the overall responsible authority but also, and particularly so, by agencies whose duties include promoting the island as an investment location.

In a way, the revelation is painful, too, for, if the survey results are correct, and there are no reasons to doubt them, it shows that the government agencies responsible for this work, as well as Malta's embassies abroad, have not been doing enough to make the country known as a worthwhile investment location. True, Malta already has a string of well-known subsidiaries of foreign firms but, judging by the latest survey, it looks as if the country can do a lot more to compete for foreign investment. With the economic climate abroad being what it is at present, this is easier said than done but in the view of respondents to the survey a great deal can be done to attract more investment to the island.

Up to 42 per cent of respondents believe that the investors' perception of Malta as an investment destination has improved. This is good, particularly at times likes the present, but there are quite a number of points raised in the survey that deserve close attention. Malta's adoption of the euro is seen as an advantage, a matter that is not difficult to understand, though there have been people in Malta who thought that the island was a bit quick in replacing its currency. They are being proved wrong.

Another advantage being put at the same par is the fact that the island has an English-speaking workforce. Quite a high number of respondents, up to 86 per cent, consider this as a very important attraction to foreign investment.

The problem is that the standard of English in the country is now deteriorating sharply and, unless the trend is reversed, it may not be long when the country loses this asset. Just a glance at comments filed by people to newspaper websites shows the abysmal level to which the standard has dropped.

This is a very serious matter that ought to worry the island's education authorities no end. Yet, the problem, for a problem it surely is, rarely figures in the national discussion of matters that ought to be seen to.

Standard complaints about excessive bureaucracy and lack of coordination figure prominently, as they always do, in such surveys, but respondents have also called for government employees to work normal hours in summer and for a reduction in the number of holidays.

Since it is most unlikely that they will ever be listened to over these scores, it would be better for respondents to continue raising matters that can very well be taken up. With the budgetary constraints the government is facing today, it is hard seeing it take any measures that will reduce revenue but it could at least launch an aggressive attempt aimed at cutting further red tape to industry and, also, to other economic sectors.