This summer the government has been quite active in launching its proposals on a number of issues. The three main ones have been, in my opinion, the national strategy on information and communications technology, a consultation document on new communication technologies and a White Paper on employment.

One must say that this is definitely not a symptom of a tired government. However, this is another issue. Of these three documents probably the one that catches most attention is the White Paper on employment; and rightly so, given its importance from both an economic perspective and a social perspective.

On the other hand, one of the worst things that one can do is minimise the document that outlines the national strategy on information and communications technology. There are a number of reasons why I make this statement. There is no doubt in the minds of most business analysts worldwide that one of the main reasons why the United States manages to achieve higher economic growth rates and higher productivity rates, when compared to, say, the European Union, is the increased investment that it makes in what is referred to in today's jargon as ICT.

It is generally recognised that there is a strong correlation between competitiveness of firms and their own investment in ICT. There is also a strong correlation between the economic competitiveness of firms and government investment in ICT. This is because what is referred to as e-government enables businesses to cut down on the processes they have to go through to obtain licences, permits, etc.

The implication of this is that the national strategy on information and communications technology has a strong impact (even if not necessarily in the short term) on the competitiveness of firms operating in Malta.

A cursory look at some of the data that is being published on this area provides for a great deal of optimism. One can mention the number of students that are choosing computer studies as one of their main subjects at secondary school or in their post secondary schooling; or the number of persons that are sitting for the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) examinations; or the increasing range of services that are offered through the public service website; or the number of visitors that various local websites have; or the amount of business that is done electronically (probably the banks in this regard have been the most active).

Data published by the National Statistics Office at the beginning of August shows that the level of internet subscriptions in June of this year stood at 80,629 while the level of mobile telephone subscriptions stood at 296,372. These represent an increase of 12.7 per cent and 7.7 per cent respectively over the same months of 2003 and of 92.1 per cent and 85.1 per cent respectively over June 2001. There is a host of other data that indicates an increased use of information and communications technologies. However, such increased use on its own does not necessarily mean that the economy is reaping all the benefits from investment in ICT. The national strategy published by the government makes a crucial statement in its first page. It claims that "we have an appointment with the future and we do not want to be late".

This document lists 13 strategic objectives, some of which have social implications (like reducing the gap between the haves and the have nots in terms of IT literacy), others have political implications (like exploiting the benefits of membership of the European Union through a first-class information society) and others have economic implications.

There are four strategic objectives that have an economic dimension. One relates to the promotion of the ICT culture among small- and medium-sized enterprises, helping them to derive the benefits of introducing ICT in their operations.

The second (not in order of priority but simply in order of presentation) is to enable local businesses to take a more active part in the international economy through their participation in the e-business community; the third one is to strengthen the local ICT private sector and support ICT entrepreneurship; while the fourth is to internationalise the Maltese ICT industry to compete in the global environment.

Each of these strategic objectives has a number of tactical areas to address and some quantifiable targets. They are fairly tough targets but, once achieved, one can truly claim that Malta is becoming an e-economy. These include that by the end of 2006, 90 per cent of Maltese businesses will be online and 60 per cent of Maltese export-oriented firms will be using e-commerce to secure new business; that a programme is set up to facilitate at least 10 ICT start-ups each year; and that Malta will have an ICT centre of excellence serving as our central magnet to attract foreign direct investment in this sector.

There is, however, one underpinning feature of this strategy and this is the role of the social partners. The objective of becoming an e-economy can only be attained if the business sector is capable of exploiting the opportunities that are being offered to it. In other areas this has happened and so there is no reason why it should not be so this time round.

There is also the need for the support of trade unions which must recognise that investment in ICT would require a great deal of flexibility on the part of employees if it is to leave the desired return. Again, in the past, trade unions have been capable of recognising such opportunities and have not stood in the way of job creation.

Then there is also the need for the support of various stakeholders and influencers, such as the teaching community in Malta who need to encourage young students to appreciate the real value of information and communication technologies. There are a number of countries, that are competitors of ours, which have decided to go down the same route we have chosen. We can only reap the full benefits of the impact of ICT on the economy if everyone supports this project.