It is refreshing to come across someone who is as forthright in his assessment of a given situation as the Federation of Industry's president Anthony Bajada. He was undoubtedly reflecting the frustration of industrialists and, also, of importers when he blew his top, as it were, over the delay by the parties involved in concluding the much-promised port reform. In this country, he said, everything takes so long to be done. How very true.
Port reform, talked about for years on end, has stalled so much along the way that it is no wonder that it has caused so much frustration to industry. The reform had to bring about a reduction in costs of about 25 per cent but the way to actually bring about the reduction in charges remains unresolved, to the dissatisfaction of all.
Mr Bajada speaks of utter exasperation and of voices in the wilderness. "Honestly, when you look at some of the charges you do not know whether to laugh or cry." The government will no doubt bring up developments outside its jurisdiction, such as the fact that port workers had left the General Workers' Union to form their own union, as reasons for the delay in concluding the reform, but operators in industry, including the federation, are not impressed. They feel that enough time had now passed for the matter to be settled once and for all. And they are right on this point.
When the FOI felt that enough time had passed for the new port workers' union to establish itself, it had again pressed for progress and was promised that the reform would be concluded by the end of the year. According to the federation, the port charges had only gone down insignificantly since a new company took over cargo handling at the port. Indeed, some federation members said they were unchanged, if not actually higher. The situation is unacceptable, more so when the government is projecting itself as one that does not procrastinate.
The government has indeed made great strides forward in a number of lines, but insofar as port reform is concerned, the situation has not improved, or if it has, it is certainly far below the exporters' and importers' expectations. What this means in practice is that industry is still burdened with excessive charges that have been making their product less competitive in price abroad. In the case of imports, the excessive charge is passed on to the consumer.
The federation president is now calling on the government to pull its socks up over the matter. With good reason, industry is awaiting developments with growing impatience, particularly following the latest meeting between the dockers and the Prime Minister.
Talk about port reform invariably raises the island's potential in expanding sea trade. In truth, much has been done in this direction over the years. The Freeport and the development of the Grand Harbour waterfront and passenger terminal stand as prime examples of the progress made. The Freeport is an attempt to capture at least part of the role Malta had in the past in the transshipment of cargo, and the Valletta Waterfront has become a jewel in the crown of the drive to regenerate activity in Grand Harbour.
Malta had lost its key role in the transshipment and warehousing of cargo in the Mediterranean when port charges became uncompetitive as compared to those levied in other ports. A breakthrough in what counts most - efficiency and cost, through a thorough port reform - will greatly help to regenerate sea trade generally.