A sensible contribution, indeed, by the president of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry (Talking Point, September 25). Except, that is, for her views on Cola: (1) it "will certainly not encourage investors" and (2) due to its mechanism: "inflation... breeds further inflation".

My comments:

(1) Will COLA's absence encourage investors? It will not. A worsening investment environment is likely to result. For the past two decades Cola has served to "satisfice" by satisfying no more than the minimum requirements for achieving industrial harmony. It is the public sector that increasingly drags down the country's overall competitiveness. Potential investors are chiefly concerned with the situation in the private sector where competitiveness is perennially on the increase, despite the recession. That's why they keep on coming, albeit not so plentifully as everyone wishes.

(2) Cola is a consequence of inflation, not a cause. Its disappearance might well lead to a worse-than-inflationary scenario - deflation. God forbid.