Letters to the editor – March 29, 2022
Words of gratitude
I am pleased to write on the recommendation of Raymond Xerri, Consul General of the Republic of Malta for Canada, who represented the Maltese-Canadian diaspora with a view to building relationships and encouraging participation in all aspects of development. in a targeted manner. an effort to establish contact with members of the Maltese community in the Province of Ontario.
Despite the pandemic, Xerri continued to reach out to the Maltese community on various aspects, such as attending seminars and meetings, particularly in the field of diaspora studies.
There was one project that impressed me the most. Xerri has set up a specialized Maltese-Canadian library, with the aim of assisting Maltese-Canadian academics and students to study the history of the Maltese-Canadian diaspora and their ancestors. With his public appeal to the Maltese community, many have donated publications to the library.
His creativity and perseverance were an important contribution to the success of all the projects and events he worked on and, in doing so, helped to lift morale and foster new diplomatic ties between Canada and Malta.
Xerri’s biography speaks volumes about him, many are sad to hear of his departure, he is an intelligent gentleman of great integrity and will be greatly missed by the entire Maltese community in Canada.
I wish him continued success in his efforts, as well as good health to him and his family.
Ivy Bowman, member of the Malta Band Club – Mississauga, Ontario
Reforms needed
Now that the elections are over and the government has a new mandate, it is time to move forward more than ever to cut red tape.
This should not be just pre-election rhetoric but, rather, a daily mantra that the government should follow. After 2013, we had seen considerable effort to this end. The most notable results were in the Planning Authority and in some divisions of Transport Malta, among others. Processes have become simpler, decision-makers have been empowered, and digitization has seen the biggest leap forward from the considerable improvements in the first decade of this century.
However, all this has stopped a bit over the last few years. As the media rightly exposed stories of mismanagement and abuse, the unfortunate result was that the bureaucracy got worse. A hard-earned profit was lost as decision-makers recovered and sought refuge in new and never-ending procedures to justify decisions or, worse, not to take them. This must stop.
The government needs to empower and reassure the people in authority to make the right decisions with the necessary checks and balances.
There is also a need to further boost the digitization and use of new technologies. The country has invested heavily in the concept of blockchain, and coined the phrase Blockchain Island. The system is serving us well in the excellent structure for registering lease agreements. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the government seems to have lost interest in this advanced concept. The message was that this had to do with our greylisting by the FATF. Surely, those who thought so were mistaking the underlying technology with cryptocurrencies. Even in the case of the latter, the irony is that some finger-pointing countries were quick to copy the initial Maltese approach.
When we go back to the blockchain, we have to put it back on the agenda as a tool that has managed to cut red tape. We suggest next to be deployed in the land registry and to digitize the systems for ascertaining property titles. The present system is a thing of the past and needs to be replaced. There are personal interests that can resist this change but it will certainly remain necessary.
Blockchain can also pave the way for fractional ownership of property, which is very successful in opening up real estate investment opportunities to many more people, as the Berlin experience shows.
The government will find our support in these necessary reforms.
Michael Stivala, President, Malta Developers’ Association – Pietà
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