12 Fil-Mija

Kienet interessanti ħafna l-istqarrija tal-Ministru Manwel Mallia li l-kontribut lill-ekonomija tas-settur tal-imħatri bl-internet issa qed ilaħħaq mat-tnax fil-mija tal-Prodott Gross Domestiku.
Wieħed jieħu gost li s-settur qed joħloq daqstant ħidma, b’impatt pożittiv fuq l-andament ekonomiku tal-pajjiż kollu. Dan qed jikser bħalissa kull rekord għal kemm żmien nista’ niftakar jien.
Madankollu, jaqbel li nżommu saqajna mal-art. Il-qasam li qed insemmu hu wieħed li jista jkun problematiku. Iqajjem ġelożiji u riżervi.
Se jkun hemm pajjiżi li bħal fir-rigward tas-servizzi finanzjarji, se jkollhom interess jaraw kif jagħlqu l-vitien li qed joħolqu l-opportunitajiet. Fuq ċerti punti jista’ jkun li għandhom raġun. X’aktarx li jużaw is-saħħa tagħhom biex jieħdu r-raġun tagħhom fuq il-punti kollha.

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L-ECONOMIC SURVEY
L-informazzjoni dwar kemm hu kbir is-settur tal-imħatri bl-internet tikkonferma kemm l-istruttura tal-ekonomija tagħna nbidlet bil-kbir fl-aħħar għoxrin sena. Jekk ma’ dan il-qasam iddaħħal is-servizzi finanzjarji, tasal għall-konklużjoni li bejniethom iż-żewġ setturi jammontaw għal aktar minn terz tal-ekonomija Maltija.
Issa, fi żmien il-budget, il-Ministru tal-Finanzi joħroġ rassenja li titkellem dwar żviluppi minn sena għal sena fl-ekonomija Maltija. B’mod stramb, dan id-dokument għadu mfassal fuq il-mudell li kien inħadem fis-snin sebgħin għal tmenin tas-seklu l-ieħor. Jiġifieri jittratta l-industrija, il-biedja, u t-turiżmu. Imma dwar is-servizzi finanzjarji u servizzi oħra, ftit li xejn jgħid. Anzi l-informazzjoni dwarhom “tinħeba” fi statistika li tidher f’setturi oħra.
Ili ngħidha, imma illum il-biċċa qed issir aktar u aktar lampanti. Dan il-mod kif qed tintwera l-ekonomija tagħna f’dokument li hu ċentrali fil-preżentazzjoni ekonomika tal-gvern mhux jagħmel sens.
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RAPPORTAĠĠ POLITIKU
Ta’ spiss iqumu kummenti fostna dwar ir-rapportaġġi partiġġjani li jidhru fil-midja Maltija. Jiġbdu wisq lejn il-linja tal-partit jew it-tendenza politika li l-ġurnal jappoġġja tant li anke l-fatti li jippreżentaw jispiċċaw kondizzjonati minn dan l-appoġġ.
Indunajt li l-istess ħaġa tgħodd anke f’pajjiż bħal Franza, fejn bħalissa għaddejja kampanja elettorali għal min se jilħaq President; u fost ġurnali mitqiesa bħala l-aqwa li hemm – Le Monde u Le Figaro. Tal-ewwel b’mod ġenerali jappoġġja x-xellug, tat-tieni l-lemin.
Ġara li kemm ix-xellug u kemm il-lemin sejrin ħażin.
Allura, fl-ewwel paġna ta’ Le Monde qed jidhru stejjer dwar kif il-lemin taħt Francois Fillon mhux ħlief jiltaqa’ ma’ indifferenza u suspetti mill-elettorat u mill-klassi politika. Waqt li f’Le Figaro, l-istejjer ewlenin fl-ewwel paġna jikkonċentraw fuq id-diżgwid li tinsab fih il-kampanja tal-kandidat soċjalista Benoit Hamon u l-mod kif diriġenti soċjalisti qed jabbandunawh.

12 per cent

Most interesting was the information provided by Minister Manwel Mallia that the contribution made by internet gaming to the island’s economy has now reached 12 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product.

One can only be pleased that the sector is generating so much activity, with a positive impact overall on economic growth. At present, the latter is at record levels never before reached for as long as I can remember.

However, we must not to let outcomes blind us to realities. Internet gaming gives rise to problems. It triggers cross-border jealousies and reservations.

As in the case of financial services, there will be countries interested in damming the channels through which opportunites flow. On some issues they may have good reason to do so. But they will quite likely deploy all the power they have to strike back right across the board.

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Economic Survey

The data about how big the internet gaming sector has become confirms that the structure of our economy has changed greatly over the past twenty years. If to gaming, financial services are added, the conclusion is that taken together, the two sectors account between them for more than one third of the Maltese economy.

Now, at budget time, the Finance Minister issues an economic account describing the year to year developments in the Maltese economy. Strangely, this document still sticks to the template laid out for it during the nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties. Thus, it discusses at length industry, agriculture and tourism. But it has practically nothing to say about financial and other services. Instead, information about these areas is “hidden” in statistics related to other economic activities.

I have raised this matter for quite a while but now the problem has become blatant. The prevailing method for the description of the Maltese economy in a document which defines the governmet’s economic narrative no longer makes sense.

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Political reporting

Frequently we listen to comments about how partisan news reports in the Maltese media turn out to be. They draw too much on the party line or on the political alignment that the newspaper has adopted. Even the facts as presented end up conditioned by the publication’s political commitment.

I’ve noticed that the same could be argued for a country like France, where a presidential election campaign is now in full swing; and this among media houses which are considered the best in their field – Le Monde and Le Figaro. The first is generally supportive of the left, the other of the right.

As it happens, both left and right are doing badly.

So, Le Monde’s front page features stories about how the right captained by Francois Fillon is meeting with indifference and suspicion from voters and political heavyweights. Meanwhile, in Le Figaro,mainline stories on the front page concentrate on the disarray that is characterizing the campaign of the socialist candidate Benoit Hamon and how socialist leaders have been abandoning his cause.