Four graphics and two photographs are omitted.

I. POLITICAL AFFAIRS

1. From Government by State Monopoly to Government by Dialogue in which all can freely participate

1.1. From Government by stealth to Open Government
1.2. From Government by diktat to Government by partnership
1.3. From Government by patronage to Government on the basis of equality
1.4. From Government by tension to Government based on the respect for rights

A Nationalist Government will be completely different from Mintoff's Government. The Nationalist conception of a proper role for Government in a democratic state is totally at variance with what Mintoff thinks a Government should be, and is entitled to do. We can best exemplify what Mintoff's notion of Government is, by reference to just one typical instance: the way he dealt with the Drydocks workers in June last year.

On that occasion he informed the Drydocks workers that there was the prospect of a financial loss on the year's trading out-turn of around one and a half million pounds. In fact it later transpired that the expectation was that there would be a profit of more than three quarters of a million pounds as in fact proved to be the case. Mintoff's Government is not given to volunteering information; it tends, in fact, to withhold or distort it, almost as if it believes that it is not in your interest to know too much about matters that directly concern you, possibly because the better informed you are the more likely you are to question and exercise your faculties of independent judgement.

The "reforms" which Mintoff proposed to force upon the Drydocks workers, because of the 'deficit' he had prospected to them, were in fact resisted and eventually shelved. It was an exercise in power politics which did not come off, but it was instructive, nevertheless, as an example of unprincipled Government. There was no attempt to consult wifh the workers, no attempt to reach an agreement with them, no attempt even to work through the Council of Administration in the Drydocks. The Mintoff Government simply determined upon a course of action and sought to impose it.

The Drydocks workers won this particular confrontation with Mintoff - but did they really? At the close of the year the workers got their long delayed revision of salaries and wages, and the workers were told that the revised rates took full account of the profit made that year. The increases, however, in total sum, did not add up to the total amount of profit made by the Corporation for the year. The workers have not been told where the balance of the profit has gone, though they have a right to know. They may be forgiven, therefore, for questioning what sort of workers' participation they really have in the Drydocks Corporation, and whether such participation adds up in practice to an exercise in partnership in any meaningful sense.

The Council of Administration of the Drydocks is supposedly in charge of affairs in the enterprise. In fact, however, decisions concerning the distribution of profits were clearly taken by the Government. Mintoff's Government, in disregarding legally established institutions, showed on this occasion the same sort of contempt that it has shown on others towards Parliament, the Courts of Law, the Church, and even other bodies supposedly autonomous established by itself.

There are some who refer to this sort and style of Government as "Socialist", yet perhaps a better way of categorising it would be to refer to it as State Capitalism. The Mintoff Government tends to run the country very much in the manner of a private capitalist, managing his own privately owned property, and seeking to maximise his own profit and not that of the country's citizens. The function of the citizen, in the Mintoff Government's book, is to serve the Government, and woe betide those who dare question its will or stand up to its whims. Government and citizens appear to be rival competitors in a race, with the Government prepared to stop at nothing in order to win.

Certainly this is not Government in any Christian Democratic sense. It is the complete antithesis of it. For there to be a truly democratic Government, a Government responsive to the sense, mood and wishes of the people, there must be in the first place, respect for truth and a recognition that the people of this country are entitled to be fully informed on all matters of Government which concern them.

A second requirement is that there should be a continuing and open line of communication between the Government and the governed, an uninhibited dialogue by means of which popular opinion can be sounded, opinions freely stated, and consensus attained wherever possible. A "Command" situation, where orders are transmitted from above for implementation without question is incompatible with respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual.

Thirdly, if there is to be true social justice, the resources of the community deriving from work must be apportioned not only among those who have contributed to production according to the extent of that contribution, but also in a manner which would compensate as far as possible for the disabilities which the less fortunate members of the community suffer from through no fault of their own.

Fourthly, there must be proper respect for the institutions through which meaningful democratic dialogue can be conducted, so that law and order can be maintained, economic development planned and implemented, and future progress ensured. A Nationalist Government will be motivated by these principles in all its policies and their execution.

A Government which behaves with proprietary arrogance towards the citizens of the country it rules is likely to have scant regard for the truth. It would be in keeping with the standards of such a Government that it should enter into a secret agreement with a foreign power, without informing its people or its Parliamentary institutions about it, and to continue to withhold information concerning such an agreement even when circumstances have led to a deterioration in relations between Malta and the foreign power with which we have this secret arrangement.

The Mintoff Government's distinguishing mark is its contempt for the opinion of others; it does not feel called upon to explain any radical shifts of direction in its foreign policy. We are on the friendliest of terms with a neighbouring country one moment and this country is described as behaving in a manner befitting our worst enemy the next. It is the same story with Italy: a country we could not trust at one time, because it was a neighbour of ours; and as it was possible that there might be a conflict of interests between us; they could not be relied upon to defend us. Yet the Mintoff Government was not averse, years later, to negotiating a "security" agreement with Italy which effectively gives them the discretionary right to determine if and whether they should intervene in circumstances where we may consider our security to be in prejudice. It is by no means certain that Italy has the military power to defend us. Yet Mintoff takes the occasion of this agreement to claim a major diplomatic triumph; and he calls this "foreign policy".

Even in its internal administration of the country, this Government has not been noted for its regard for the truth: in fact, in virtually dismantling the education establishments at secondary and tertiary levels, it has undermined the institutions where students are taught to think for themselves and to search for the truth. The management of the broadcasting media under this administration has reached unprecedented levels of banality, almost as if it was the deliberate intention of those in authority over the broadcasting system to ensure that those media do not in any way contribute to a broadening of people's minds, and to a raising of their standards of cultural and intellectual awareness. The Government's Information Department has not been very forthcoming where information about the running of Government is concerned.

A Nationalist Government will be an open Government. In accordance with modern practice in the most advanced democratic countries abroad, Government files and other official documents will be available to the citizen if he is the individual they concern, even in court cases where one of the contesting parties is the Government. Official documents will only be withheld when this is absolutely essential for national security and similar over-riding reasons of public interest. Information available to the Government should as a rule be given as wide publicity as possible, saving such information as may harm the legitimate interests of private persons. In its economic dimension the availability of information is particularly important because rational decisions must rest on an evaluation of relevant data. It is important that public opinion should be given all the information and facts it is entitled to have, just as it important that the information and facts should be the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The stress we place on information and truth is linked to the great importance we attach to the provision of education on as broad and as free a basis as possible. It is relevant no less to an improvement in the quality of broadcasting, to a furthering of the freedom of the press, and to the development of communications in other ways, so that our people can form their own opinions intelligently, in the manner of people having control over their own destiny.

A Government which considers itself vested with almost absolute powers - powers of ownership over the country it governs - feels little compulsion to communicate with the people, let alone to give them the true facts when it does. Communication implies a willingness to listen, to discuss, to attach due weight to what others have to say. It is difficult to appreciate the need for communication and dialogue if you start off from the premise that there is only one mind that matters, only one opinion that counts, that is worth having. Nor are you likely to be disposed to hear the other side if you are the sort of person who says, as a Labour Party Paper once did, when the University was ravaged and dismembered, that our intellectuals should be put into deep freeze. If you really do think development of the intellect is something to be discouraged, then it is easy to understand how such an attitude can breed arrogance and contempt, to the point where you might well feel that those who disagree with you should be brought into line by pressure and force if need be. Mintoff professes to respect freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, and to be committed to the ideals of democracy. He has even styled himself a "professor of democracy", and one of his favourite ripostes when called to account for some act of intolerance is to say in effect: "What are you grousing about - I haven't locked you all up in prison have I?" We are, it seems, expected to be grateful for small mercies.

What Mintoff chooses to overlook is that if we (who have done nothing that warrants imprisonment) are out of jail, so too are the thugs that beat us up, burnt our clubs, and the people who have made fortunes out of corrupt practices. Many of those who have minds of their own, and who chose to think with them, have left, in what has amounted to a mass exodus, the Government service, the nationalised banks, the educational sector, the medical service, the police force, the General Workers' Union and even the Cabinet. Their places in the Government service have been taken by foreigners and "yes men", often paid exorbitant salaries to do the jobs which their Maltese counterparts were doing much better for much less.

In many ways this is colonialism again at its worst, and we did not struggle for, and win, independence just to have one man free to lord it over us now as if the country were his own private property. Independence was for everybody and human rights are there to be exercised by all. Mintoff's brand of liberty fits in perfectly with the highly selective information practises of his Government. Its statistical service has lost all credibility. Nobody accepts that the Government's cost-of-living index provides a true measure of price movements any more than anybody accepts that the Government's measure of unemployment provides a true measure of those without employment, and who are actively seeking it.

A Nationalist Government would cherish a different concept of freedom. Freedom should not mean that one person sitting in his ivory tower at Castille is free to exercise sole and full power over the rest of us: on the contrary, it should mean that all citizens have the opportunity to develop their talents and to express themselves and their personalities in partnership with their fellow citizens. The Government is there to see that this takes place. Certainly it is not the Government's function to suppress all initiatives other than those which have its immediate backing, or which originated under its direct sponsorship, flowing from the uniquely fertile mind of the head of Government himself.

It is the Government's duty to protect all citizens, particularly the weak against the strong, not to seek to stifle the creative instincts of others. Indeed the Government should see itself as a catalyst for the bringing together of different minds and different view points, so that out of free discussion plans can be drawn up which would direct to the public good the capabilities and initiatives of all. The efforts of individuals, in isolation from others, can only be of limited value: these efforts, however, put together and coordinated within the framework of a national plan can be rendered much more productive.

A Nationalist Government will be guided by two principles which express its commitment to extend the practice of democracy from the political to the economic and social spheres as well.

The first principle is that the right to control, to direct and to partake of the fruits of work, should be reserved to those who in some way contribute towards the productive activity of the particular enterprise. The second principle is that we recognise the right of the owners of capital to receive adequate compensation for its use.

Without respect for the truth and without liberty there can be no true justice. Mintoff's Government has thought fit to instil in the public mind the belief that if somebody gets a job, an increase in wages, or some sort of permit or licence, all of which he is in fact entitled to receive as a matter of right, he should nevertheless consider himself beholden, should feel that he has received a favour, a gift, out of the kindness of the Government's heart.

We see this blatantly in evidence in the way the National Insurance Scheme has been projected. The benefits we are all getting under that Scheme, whether by way of pension, bonus or health service, are benefits we ourselves have paid for; yet Mintoff would have us believe that we are getting these benefits, these services, purely out of his Government's generosity and compassion. This humbug is a mockery of the idea of justice, whether social or distributive. Nobody can testify to this with greater authority than those who have been employed in the Government sector over the period of the Mintoff administration.

A Nationalist Government will seek to bring about social equality, through eliminating or compensating for natural or educational disadvantages arising from birth or other circumstances. This does not mean that we are in favour of "sameness": on the contrary, we recognise that every individual has his particular endowments, which may differ from those of others, his own deep desires, his own plans. But a Nationalist Government will strive so that everybody, and especially those who are disadvantaged in one way or another, should have both scope and opportunity for the fulfilment of their respective talents and personality. In redressing imbalances between the resources of citizens, in rehabilitating the emarginated, in providing services for the younger members of society, for those who have gone past working age and for others who, for one reason or another, find themselves handicapped by circumstances, the Government is doing no more than putting elementary social justice into practical application. By restoring equitable balance to the scales of welfare the Government is only fulfilling its duty and obligation to see that they are not at any time tipped too heavily against the disadvantaged and less fortunate members of the community.

A Nationalist Government would subscribe to the principle that the wealth of the world we live in belongs to, is the common heritage of, mankind in general. It is this consideration, this awareness, which led us during our last term of office to take the initiative in the United Nations to secure acceptance of the principle that the enormous resources lying in the seabed in areas outside national waters should be exploited for the common benefit of all, and the proceeds used, under United Nations auspices, to bridge as far as possible the enormous gaps which have developed between rich and poor countries. This was an initiative with enormous and far reaching implications. We have seen its relevance in a matter which concerns us intimately, in the context of the dispute which has arisen between Malta and Libya over offshore oil prospecting rights.

The Nationalist Party does not believe that the resources of the Maltese Islands belong to the Government of the day; they belong in our view to the people who have created these resources by the sweat of their labour. In shaping its social security policies and system a Nationalist Government will at all times heed the fact that the human dignity of the persons being assisted must be respected. We will guard against the pitfall of "anonymity" - of losing sight of the fact that the people we deal with are individuals, distinct human beings, and not 'things', anonymous numbers to whom a pension or other service is to be given. The state will not seek to usurp the vital function of the family, nor will it set aside the efforts of the voluntary societies and organisations in the welfare field. These voluntary societies render an essential complementary service which can only be adequately provided if those who give it are imbued with a true sense of dedication and sacrifice, which in the nature of things one is more likely to find in a volunteer than in a paid worker.

A Government which behaves as if it owns the country - in the manner of a capitalist, who considers the national heritage his own property, and not that of the community in general - is unlikely to respect truth, liberty and justice as binding principles of action. It is no surprise therefore that we find such a Government totally ignoring public opinion, administering our national affairs inefficiently, and prejudicing our future by undermining those institutions which directly bear on the capacity of our society to develop and evolve in an orderly manner.

This Government blunders from crisis to crisis, generates quite unnecessary tension and anxiety, and seems to go out of its way to induce a pervasive feeling of uncertainty as to what the future holds in store for us. Inevitably the cohesion of our social structure is shaken, the moral fibre of our people is eroded, and the way is laid wide open for the unabashed practise of crude patronage and open corruption. Politics becomes synonymous with lust for power, and political life a path by way of which unmerited material advantage can be more easily obtained.

Our laws have become cluttered with provisions which leave substantial powers of delegated legislation - by regulation - to unfettered Ministerial discretion, to be exercised as and when they see fit. This delegation to Ministers of power to regulate has been carried to the point where Parliament has effectively abdicated to the Government a substantial part of its substantive role, which is to legislate and to control the exercise of the powers vested in the Executive in terms of those laws. The ordinary citizen has now been denied the right, even, of challenging the exercise of Ministerial discretion, so that he does not any longer have the right to recourse to judicial process should he feel that Ministers have used their discretionary powers abusively. A review of all these laws, and regulations stemming from them will be undertaken so that the true concept and spirit of the rule of law can once again prevail.

A Nationalist Government will have to pick up the pieces and rebuild anew. Inevitably it will have to be a phased process of recovery. There is so much to put right. The more glaring abuses, the more urgent tasks, will have to be tackled first, while we embark on the longer term programme of national reconstruction and rehabilitation. The Constitution of independent Malta will have to be improved and strengthened to provide for greater popular participation through dialogue and for a more equitable participation by all in the fruits of what life has to offer.

2.1. INFORMATION

Information is the key to all progress in today's world. Mintoff's Government has seen to it that this key is kept securely away from popular reach, it has sought to bar access to information, to confuse people's minds, to camouflage its policies, so as not to let the people realise just where they were being led to.

A Nationalist Government will draw up a national information plan, on the basis of the UNESCO model of September 1974. The primary aim of this national plan will be to ensure that our people get full right of access to whatever information they may seek or may need.

We will seek to co-ordinate on a national basis all library facilities now provided by public institutions, we will properly organise and centralise the archives in which official public documents are stored, we will set up new documentation services, and we shall have an Advisory Board to help Government systematize and organise the diffusion of information from public sources on as efficient and as effective a basis as possible.

We shall set up centres of information at district level in various parts of Malta and Gozo. These centres of information will be at the disposal of the public, not only to provide information as such, but also to advise on problems that citizens may have concerning the exercise of their rights under the law, concerning doubts regarding their entitlement to social security benefits, concerning matters of interest to the consumer, matters such as prices and quality standards, etc. These centres will be under the charge of local Councils which we propose to set up, which Councils are referred to later in this Programme.

2.2. BROADCASTING

The Mintoff Government has reduced broadcasting in Malta to a sorry state. Never has quality been so low and never has the content of broadcasting been so brazenly partisan, to the point where it offends all sense of democratic propriety. There are several things which are wrong. In the first place the Corporation responsible for broadcasting in Malta is subject to direct Ministerial orders. Secondly the Broadcasting Authority has been put in a position where it can no longer effectively attend to its duties and carry out its statutory functions. Thirdly, appointments within the broadcasting sector have been unjustly and absurdly coloured by political considerations.

A Nationalist Government will correct all this:

Broadcasting will be hived off from Telemalta and managed by a Corporation made up of people competent in broadcasting, and capable of acting without political bias. The Board so constituted will not be required to take orders from any Minister.

ii. The Broadcasting Authority will be permitted and required to run its business once again without any sort of political leaning. The quality of programmes as far as information, education and entertainment is concerned should be substantially raised above their present abysmal levels.

iii. We will encourage the formation of groups of citizens who will act as unofficial monitoring boards, assess the quality of the programmes being broadcast, and thus bring public influence to bear directly on the choice and type of programmes being shown on the broadcasting media. Air time on the media will be reserved for those bodies and societies which feel they have ideas to project which would be of interest to the listening and viewing public, and such associations and bodies will be-assisted to avail themselves of the broadcasting opportunities put at their disposal in the most effective manner.

On assuming office the Mintoff Government found a set of laws relating to freedom of speech which dated back to the Colonial era, and which were being progressively withdrawn as circumstances allowed by the Nationalist Administration. Mintoff chose instead to keep these laws in being, and he even went to the extent of reinforcing some of them so as to further weaken the citizen's position vis a vis the Government. The Press law had been drawn up by the British Government on the eve of the last World War in order to be able to gag anti-Government sentiments publicly expressed. Mintoff has given a further dimension to these laws by insulating the Department of Information, in the exercise of its official functions, from the effects of the law of libel when commenting or making statements about private parties. The imbalance between citizen and Government has thus been heavily accentuated, since the citizen is vulnerable to libel action in situations and circumstances where the Department of Information, speaking and acting for the Government, is not. Today's law barely permits criticism of the Government, without exposing the person who criticizes to a charge of incitement; the official organs of information, on the other hand, can say what they please about private citizens, can do this in the most damaging manner, and yet are immune from legal proceedings. A Nationalist Government will redress this imbalance and will permit full freedom of expression to all in accordance with the true spirit of the laws concerned, and of the Constitution, respecting the right of freedom of speech.

The Constitution of Malta was designed to provide a framework within which democratic life in Malta could really function, but the spirit of the Constitution was not sufficiently firmly established to be able to survive and thrive under Mintoff's Government, and to safeguard the citizen against outright trampling on his rights.

A Nationalist Government will seek to instil in the people a greater awareness of the spirit which motivates it; it will also seek to involve the people in its revision, in order to ensure that the Constitution is not only respected but also improved and strengthened where necessary.

The 21st of September, Independence Day, will again be reinstated as Malta's National Day.

A Nationalist Government will subscribe without further delay to the convention regarding Human Rights which already binds other countries within the compass of the Council of Europe. The effect of this subscription will be to permit any Maltese citizen, who may feel that his fundamental rights as a human being have been aggrieved, to put his case before the European Court of Human Rights. Such Human Rights may still be prejudiced by laws of the Colonial era, which have until now enjoyed a privileged status under our Constitution. Such laws will no longer be sheltered. It will also be necessary to amend the relevant section of the Malta Constitution to add discrimination between the sexes to the other forms of discrimination which the Constitution specifically prohibits.

The Constitution will also need to be strengthened in other respects:

i) It will be necessary for instance to reinforce the guarantees relating to the independence of the Courts of law, and to the independence of other tribunals and commissions set up by the Government, because recent experience has shown that the guarantees, as they are now, do not provide adequate safeguards against political interference and pressures.

ii) It will be necessary as well to ensure that the citizen is given adequate protection against abuse of power by the Executive. iii) The Auditor General must be given further powers so that he can fulfill more efficiently his duties as watchdog over the use of public monies by the Government.

iv) There are various provisions in the Constitution which require the Government of the day to 'consult' the Opposition before taking action. The term consultation has tended in practice, under the Mintoff Government, to be arbitrarily construed and has become virtually meaningless. A more precise and meaningful definition is called for.

These changes will form part of a wider exercise in the course of which, subject to approval by the people, the Constitution will be generally reviewed, so as to ensure that it reflects at all times the fundamental moral values to which the Maltese people as a whole subscribe.

4.1. PARLIAMENTARY SUPREMACY OVER GOVERNMENT

A Nationalist Government will seek to restore to Parliament the dignity, the respect and the authority which have been so sadly eroded since Mintoff came to power. A Nationalist Government will in no way inhibit, the Opposition from exercising its constitutional role and duty of opposing; it will honour its obligation to answer freely and fully whenever questions are put to it in Parliament, and will deal fully as well with all criticism levelled against its policies or actions by the Opposition; it will make it its business to keep Parliament fully informed at all times about all aspects of the Government's work and its handling of the administration of the country; it will seek to give Parliament a more meaningful role in the enactment of legislation, as well as in the control by Parliament of the exercise by Ministers and Government departments of powers vested in them by legislative delegation. Parliament should be the place where the free interplay of dialogue can find fullest expression at the political level.

A Nationalist Government would like to see Parliament functioning more effectively. We deplore the way Mintoff has steamrollered Parliament over the past ten years, especially when it was dealing with vital aspects of Government business. We intend to make the accountability of Government to Parliament less of a fiction than it has been in Mintoff's time.

We will therefore appoint Permanent Parliamentary Committees to consider the more important aspects of Parliamentary business (such as expenditure of public monies, foreign affairs, etc.). The Committees will be able to go into the subject matter in greater depth and will be able to take all the time they need to arrive at considered judgements. Ad hoc Parliamentary Committees will also be set up from time to time to consider the provisions of draft laws in greater detail than limited Parliamentary time allows, to examine problems or projects which come under Parliamentary review, so that the House as a whole can take more informed decisions regarding such laws, problems and projects. They will, on conclusion of their investigative function, report to Parliament.

These Committees will have at their disposal whatever relevant information the Government may be in a position to provide, and they will be free to take expert opinion, as well as to sound the views of people considered knowledgeable and who have a legitimate interest in the matter being considered.

5.1. LOCAL COUNCILS

Mintoff's Government, not so long ago, was talking of setting up a network of "Neighbourhood Committees". It would seem that this proposal has been set aside, quite possibly because certain interested parties came to realise that these Committees, if established, would seriously limit the scope for the exercise of political patronage.

A Nationalist Government, in accordance with its proposed plan to decentralise the exercise of administrative power wherever possible, will, after taking soundings of public opinion in the various districts of the Maltese Islands, set up Local Councils. These Councils will be elected by the people who live in their respective areas, and they will be given s0ecific functions, functions which will be consultative in some respects and executive in others. If necessary, the Councils of certain localities may have their powers extended by special statute. This will be done in accordance with the principle of 'Subsidiarity' - a basic principle of Christian Democratic thinking since its very earliest days. The principle of 'Subsidiarity' - a basic principle of Christian Democratic thinking since its very earliest days. The principle of 'subsidiarity' means that decisions should not be taken at a high level whenever they can be taken by an authority at a lower level and closer to the people directly affected by such decisions.

The Nationalist Party has always expressed its warm appreciation of the good work being done by the many voluntary associations or groups of citizens set up to further the ends of some particular cultural or welfare objective. Under no circumstances will the Nationalist Government seek to limit or inhibit the work of these organisations, or try in any way to bring them under Government control; on the contrary it will, in consultation with these bodies, amend the law wherever necessary, so that voluntary bodies of this sort will be able to develop and extend the range of their activities, thus enriching the social life of our country.

Mintoff has never been able to clearly distinguish between the role of the Armed Forces and that of the Police Corps. He has confused the two and introduced an unnecessary overlap between them: the end resu It has been that today neither the Armed Forces nor the Police can function as effectively as they should. A Nationalist Government will once again revert the Armed Forces to a purely military role, and will require the Police to stick to purely police work.

6.1. THE ARMED FORCES

The role of the Armed Forces of Malta should be clearly defined. The Armed Forces are there so that, in case of need, they can defend the Airport until outside aid can reach us; to defend the coastline and our territorial waters; to provide a skeletal framework around which the Armed Forces can be built up in the event of mobilization; and to assist the internal security forces in situations where their particular training and equipment enables them to provide appropriate back-up support. Mintoff's views on the Armed Forces have undergone change. His first inclination was to see no need at all for land forces except as parade material; later on, he realised that our Armed Forces, small as they are, can yet serve a useful function in certain types of emergency. It was then, however, that he reaped the fruit of his improvident policies over the preceding years: he had long denigrated the trained officer element and had driven most of them into early retirement or resignation; the trained officers were replaced by political appointees who were left totally untrained and are, therefore, totally unfitted to function in an operational military capacity; so what we have now is a Corps which is undisciplined and ineffective as a military force. Mintoff's answer to the problem he himself had created was to merge the Armed Forces in effect with the Police. This however is no solution. A Nationalist Government will again revert our Armed Forces to their proper role, and train them up to the standards of the highly professional military establishment they once were. The conditions of service of the Armed Forces will be tailored to the sort of work they perform and the exigencies of the service they render. The Armed Forces will once again be placed under the command of competent officers, trained in the latest systems of modern warfare suited to the limited role they will be required to undertake.

The role of a police force is to maintain public order, to assist in the rendering and enforcement of justice, and to protect all citizens without distinction. The police force has been burdened with work quite extraneous to the nature of police work as such. It has been involved in the certification of sick employees who are absent from work, a job which was formerly done by the doctors, and has been subjected to a great deal of political interference.

Transfers of personnel from other departments of Government is no way to build an efficient police force.

Police work requires specialized training. Where this has not been given a Nationalist Government will see that it is provided. Within the Corps, promotions should be given on strictly objective and defined criteria. For the police force to be able to cope with its own work, let alone with such other extraneous work as is thrust upon it, it is necessary at all times to see that the establishment is kept up to full strength. The police force is so depleted today that certain police stations are only functional for a limited number of hours each day. This cannot be permitted to continue. A Nationalist Government will revise the conditions of service of the police force so as to relate them strictly to police work, and to the burdens inherent in such work. Among other measures envisaged will be the restoration of the right of a member of the police force to retire, when he is entitled to do so, without facing the prospect of a reduction or abatement of pension, should he decide to seek gainful employment elsewhere, after retirement from the police force at an age below the normal retiring age of other Government employees. A Nationalist Government will enable the police force to recover its self-confidence and self-respect, and regain the esteem of the entire nation.

7.1. THE CIVIL SERVICE

Mintoff's Government not only wrought havoc on the Armed Forces and the Police Corps - the uniformed elements of the public service - it also made a shambles of the non-uniformed element; the Civil Service. A large number of the best elements of the Civil Service, unable to adjust to the new system, and demoralized by the lowering of standards of honesty and efficiency to which they had long been accustomed, felt compelled to leave the service. Most civil servants in Government departments nowadays do their work in an entirely routine fashion, and give it as little as they can ort hey must: except in circumstances where private interests are being served, instead of the good for the community as a whole.

A Nationalist Government will clean up the mess and sanitize the environments which have been contaminated. The deterioration of standards of the Service has now reached a point where even those departments which have become totally politicised are no longer able to serve their political masters with the same measure of efficiency that was once possible.

A Nationalist Government will see that those who suffered injustice on account of political discrimination, or for some other reason, will be duly rehabilitated.

It is recognised that if the Service is to rise once again to its former levels of efficiency and proficiency it will need to attract a large intake of new blood, suitably trained and motivated. This will be facilitated by way of a general revision of salaries and conditions of work.

Recruitment and promotion procedures will be reviewed and reestablished on purely objective foundations, after consultation with the unions and interests concerned. Political favoritism in any shape or form is out.

The Civil Service will again be a general service in the conventional and traditional sense. Specialisation in particular areas or types of work will not be permitted to prejudice the service-wide career prospects of the civil servant, and all civil servants will be given the opportunity to broaden their experience and to fit themselves for promotion and higher responsibilities in the course of working out their career. A distinguishing feature of Government at political level over the past ten years has been the arrogance of those in power; some of this arrogance has rubbed off on to the civil servants, even those at very junior level, and this must be firmly corrected, because the public expects and will be given a truly 'civil' service in every sense of the term.

A Nationalist Government will give full scope for the exercise of initiative, for the generation of ideas, and for the making of proposals regarding methods and conditions of work by the employees themselves.

In 1978 Works Committees were elected in the various Government departments in order to advise Ministers on methods of increasing productivity and other matters. Circumstances since then have given rise to serious doubts as to whether it was even the Government's intention to introduce democratic procedures in Government departments. One outcome of these elections for instance was that a number of those who were elected to these Works Committees -persons who apparently the Government was not pleased to see there - found themselves transferred to other departments, on grounds of "Service exigencies" as the Government put it. In any event these Works Committees have not in fact been given any opportunity to participate in meaningful decision taking. It would seem that Mintoff's object in setting up these Committees was really to push out the Unions which were refusing to be cowed and were pursuing an independent line. When this ploy failed the Government's answer was to put these Works Committees into suspended animation.

A Nationalist Government will review the whole system under which these Works Committees are supposed to have been established, will remove its undesirable features, and will seek to use the Committees as effective instruments of workers' participation.

8.1. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

Over the past ten years there have been a number of disquieting developments in the Judicial sector. For three years we were without a Constitutional Court, and on other occasions we have seen other Courts effectively suspended owing to the transfer of the presiding Judge or Judges to other duties. This sort of heavy handed intervention by the Executive has led to the suspicion that other tampering with the administration of Justice has taken place, or is possible, and has given rise to the feeling that it is pointless to take the Government to Court, even when you have every reason to believe that you should win the case on its objective merits.

Mintoff's Government has enacted a law in terms of which the Courts are debarred from taking cognizance of cases where Government officials may have manifestly abused their powers in the exercise of discretion vested in them under some particular law, possibly acting under Ministerial duress.

Mintoff's Government has spoken about the Courts on many occasions in such derogatory terms as to seriously undermine the standing of the Judiciary; in terms which clearly betray a lack of the sort of respect one normally expects to see shown to the Judiciary by the Government of a supposedly democratic country. The Judges themselves haven't always managed to safeguard the dignity of the high office they hold in the service of justice in our country.

The Maltese people have seen the police force often reduced to the status of an instrument in the hands of Government, and they have heard the Government openly state that criminal proceedings will not be instituted against thugs who have indulged in the grossest forms of violence, on the flimsy and quite untrue pretext that these thugs had been provoked into doing what they did.

A Nationalist Government will see that the Courts of Justice and the police force will once again be able to act with full efficiency and without improper interference from any quarter. It will also ensure that civil servants are not all6wed to enjoy undue privilege in the exercise of their duties. It is necessary that there should be more Judges and Magistrates who enjoy public respect and esteem, especially from the Government which itself appoints them.

The police should act, and should be seen to act, not only in accordance with the letter but also in accordance with the spirit of the law and of the Constitution. Citizens must not be denied their liberty and cannot be kept under arrest for unduly long periods without any specific charges being brought against them.

There has been a disquieting increase in the rate of crime over the past few years, stemming largely from social, economic and in some instances even political circumstances. Our first priority will be to arrest this trend by tackling its root causes, but we must also strengthen the capability of those concerned with the apprehension of offenders to do their job effectively. The object of justice should not be vindictive; it should rather be directed towards rehabilitation through re-education. The punishment must fit the crime and it should serve to deter, but a reformed criminal should once again be enabled to take his place as a useful member of the community.

We will reform our penal approach on the basis of the most progressive systems abroad, in accordance with the recommendations of the Council of Europe. Prison sentences should not be imposed if other measures can equally serve to bring about the desired change of conduct in an individual. Where prison sentences are deemed appropriate young persons and first offenders should as far as posible be kept totally apart from the more hardened criminal elements.

The prison regime must aim primarily at rehabilitation and reeducation. The point of giving prisoners work to perform is not just to keep them busy, but also to teach them skills relevant to the finding of suitable jobs on the labour market, and to prepare them positively for social integration in a normal working environment when they leave. Prisoners must be encouraged and enabled to make good use of their leisure time. Prison officers must be suitably trained for their difficult 'mission' of supervising and actively promoting the rehabilitation of persons who have taken to crime.

A Nationalist Government will ensure that persons leaving prison are given the assistance they need by the State's social services, and are in particular enabled to find suitable jobs. The co-operation of voluntary societies, especially trade unions, can be of great help here.

9.1. THE SAFEGUARDING OF INDEPENDENCE

Though Mintoff's Government purports to be following a strictly neutral foreign policy, we see it in fact tending increasingly to incline heavily in one particular direction. This bias is evident in the accord recently negotiated with the Soviet Union, through which Malta has acquired no very obvious advantage, but only the understanding that, in certain circumstances, the two countries will endeavour to reach agreement on a common line of policy. This is, to say the least, extraordinary, considering the stress so often placed in the past by the Mintoff Government on its determination to stay clear of 'alignments'. Neither this agreement, nor that negotiated with Italy, has provided Mintoff with guarantees for the defence of Malta against external aggression of the sort he said he would be going for at the time of the last election.

A Nationalist Government's policy will be unequivocal and consistent. We will allow no country to exert undue influence over our affairs; will concede no country privileges incompatible with our status as a truly independent nation, and under no circumstances will we allow foreign military bases to be set up in Malta. A Nationalist Government will not involve Malta in any military alliance; nor will it permit Malta to be used as a base for attacks launched on other countries. We will seek security in the company of nations which share our ideals of liberty and democracy, and which have both an interest and the capacity to defend us should our territorial integrity (including the integrity of the sea areas which belong to us) be subjected to threats by hostile forces.

The Mintoff Government has failed to grasp that a small country such as ours can earn respect, and command attention on the international scene, not by postures totally out of keeping with the true extent of our power and influence, but by the more subtle influence we can bring to bear through the force of our ideals and the moral values we subscribe to.

Our previous Nationalist Government showed how Malta can in fact contribute to peace, and the shaping of a new international order, through the initiatives it took in the United Nations; initiatives relating to the harnessing of the resources of the sea for the common benefit of mankind, the treatment and care of the aged, and on other themes. For many years Mintoff chose to ignore these initiatives, to play them down, and only recently has he finally come to appreciate that they are not only issues of great importance in themselves, but also significant in terms of our own national interests as well.

There are prizes to be won by those who come up with valuable new ideas, based on human values of the highest order. One such reward, which we can justifiably aspire to, would be the selection of Malta as a Centre for the location of international institutions and for the propagation of cultural exchanges: we could lose out, here too, if we construe our interests in too narrow a fashion, and do not sufficiently appreciate that whatever conduces to the welfare of all must necessarily contribute to our own national welfare as well.

A Nationalist Government will continue to support the efforts being made to establish a new international economic order. One specific contribution a Nationalist Government would make in the fight against hunger, sickness and misery is referred to in the Section of the Programme relating to Youths. Apart form this: we will seek to extend the principle of "common heritage" to other areas where it can appropriately be applied, such as outer space, and the intellectual riches which have been bequeathed to mankind over the ages.

We shall pursue these ideals in the international organizations we belong to, such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Commonwealth.

The Mintoff Government has sought to give the impression that it was Mintoff's predestined role, his ordained mission, to bring order and peace once and for all to the Mediterranean area. Thus, he would in some way bring about the early withdrawal from the Mediterranean of both the American and Russian fleets, 'settle the Middle Eastern conflicts and disputes and bring peace to our Mediterranean shores, and launch a new era which would permit lamb and wolf to recline together in warm embrace. The total failure of his policies bears ample witness to the superficiality of Mintoff's understanding of the problems bedevilling the Mediterranean, the utter lack of realism of his Mediterranean dream.

The Mediterranean today still wears the scars of its colonial past, especially typified by the state of fragmentation of the area which we see today. Commercial transactions, sea transport communications, passenger movements: all still revolve on the old colonial axis, and linkages between former colonies and their respective former colonial powers remain vastly more important than the links which these ex-colonial territories have been able to establish between themselves in the Mediterranean. The peoples of the Mediterranean have yet to get better acquainted, we are not sufficiently aware of our neighbours' needs and potential and haven't really established in what ways we can help each other - and ourselves - in complementing our development programmes.

In the distant past, when the Mediterranean was the cradle of world civilization, there were close and diverse economic and cultural relationships between us. In more recent times we were separated by colonial dependence on other (Northern) countries. Even now however we have yet to re-discover our Mediterranean identity, to develop an awareness of what binds us together and what distinguishes us from one another, to cultivate an understanding of our respective social, economic and political systems, to acquire an insight into the conditions and ways of life of the different countries of the area; to discover, in other words, and appreciate the cultures of the Mediterranean peoples. We need to get to know each other better before we can develop closer commercial and other ties of mutual benefit.

Areas of operations which could lend themselves to concerted action at this stage include: the development of fisheries, under appropriate controls, and through a strengthening of existing organizations; research directed at the development of new systems for deriving energy from solar power, from wave motion, from wind force; improved air and sea communications; the setting up of industrial and agricultural banks, etc.

It was a strategic error on Mintoff's part to imagine that he could reap "Mediterranean" dividends from his unsolicited initiative at Helsinki, when, without any real mandate from the countries concerned, he set himself up as spokesman for them all. He got little support or appreciation from those he ostensibly represented. In concerning himself with the world stage Mintoff neglected or chose not to support initiatives closer home, at a more practical, down to earth level-the promising initiative for instance then being pursued for the further development of educational co-operation in the Mediterranean area. He also neglected to pursue a policy of collaboration between countries at grass-roots level, believing perhaps that contacts should always start at Governmental level before working their way down to local, regional or group level. In fact, as our experience in regard to sea pollution control has clearly shown, the forms of collaboration which work best are often those which start at base level and work their way up.

Under the Mintoff Government several initiatives which might have come to something were ruined because the approach was wrong, or because of sheer tactlessness on the part of the Government. Mintoff's Government has this tendency to patronise others - to seek to teach, lead, and dictate - which doesn't go down too well, and often leads to our losing the one big advantage we have over others in seeking to attract an international "Centre" to Malta; the advantage of being small and therefore supposedly free of any desire to dominate.

Arrogance and aggressive postures are not the qualities which go to make a good interpreter. Mintoff's preference for bilateral arrangements, when multilateral agreements would be more appropriate, often proves diplomatically counter-productive.

A Nationalist Government will base its Mediterranean policy on clearly defined principles, so that whoever negotiates with us will have no doubt as to who we are, or where we stand. We will seek first of all to give the process of dialogue an international dimension by promoting dialogue between the various countries of the Mediterranean. It is on the basis of such dialogue that we can later set up the common institutions and reach the agreements which will be the substance of our Mediterranean approach. A Nationalist Government will not seek to impose on or dictate to any other.

9.4. RELATIONS WITH EUROPE

The Mintoff Government's policy towards Europe has been inconsistent and ambiguous. We are Europeans one moment, something else the next. A Nationalist Government affirms unequivocally that we are Europeans, that our place is in the fold of a United Europe, as conceived by the three Christian Democratic Statesmen who are rightly referred to as 'the fathers of Europe'. The founding fathers regarded the economic community as a first step towards what they foresaw would eventually be a political union. We will seek full membership of the European Economic Community, if as we expect, the right conditions are negotiated for us to be able to take this step; because we see the further unification of Europe as a measure which strengthens the prospects of peace: while also conducing to a more balanced development of the different regions of Europe, and indeed of the different regions of the world as well. Membership of a federal organization of states does not lead to any loss of identity on the part of the states concerned: it strengthens it.

9.5. RELATIONS WITH ARAB STATES

A Nationalist Government would see Malta's membership of the European Economic Community as a factor conducing to better relations with the Arab states since we will then be able to contribute our bit towards the process of developing a new and more balanced Euro-mediterranean set of relationships.

A Nationalist Government cannot, without denying its own identity, fail to recognise that like any other the Palestinian people, today represented in effect by the PLO, have a right to a homeland of their own. We have no wish to intrude in the internal affairs of the Arab family of nations, but we will collaborate with it in promoting the movement for the re-awakening and development of the Mediterranean, with all sincerity and to the full extent of our ability. We consider it particularly important for the future of Malta that economic and cultural ties between ourselves and the Arab countries should be strengthened.

We undertake, in particular, to see a solution, preferably by way of negotiation, with the Libyan Gemaherija, on the oil exploration issue, in the context of a plan for the exploitation of the resources of the zone which would be of advantage to both parties.

9.6. STRENGTHENING OF DIPLOMATIC SERVICE

A Nationalist Government will put the Diplomatic service of Malta once again on a sound footing and restore its self-respect. We consider it important that Malta should be properly represented in those countries where large numbers of Maltese reside, such as Canada and Australia - and we will re-establish good relations between Malta and Australia (relations which have been under severe strain during Mintoff's Administration). The Diplomatic Service will be expected to involve itself in the promotion of Maltese exports abroad as well as in the negotiation of certain types of agreement, such as recognition abroad of educational qualifications obtained in Malta, problems respecting the payment of pensions to returned Maltese migrants, negotiation of double taxation agreements, etc.

9.7. MALTESE IN FOREIGN LANDS

A Nationalist Government will encourage Maltese people living abroad to maintain their Maltese identity, as well as their Maltese cultural awareness and heritage, through exchanges of artists, teachers and students, through aid to emigrants associations and in other suitable ways.

We consider that Maltese emigrants, even those who have become citizens of the countries they have settled in, should not be treated as if they were complete foreigners, particularly where the right to purchase property in Malta is concerned. There will be no discrimination between Maltese citizens, irrespective of whether they are returned migrants or not.

The Mintoff Government's total failure in the economic sphere is obvious, and made more so by the way the information services, controlled by the State, seek to cover it up. They tell us as little as possible, unless it suits them to do otherwise, and when they do give us information it is invariably slanted and designed to mislead, to obscure, to cover up, to pull wool over people's eyes. Governments which have nothing to hide, which are prepared to come clean with the people, do not behave this way.

Even so there were some things which could not be hidden, because the situation, the facts, are too well known.

Industrial Development for instance. We were led to expect by Mintoff's Government in 1971 that there would be jobs for everybody in next to no time. We were going to get as many large sized enterprises as we needed, and stable employment in the sector was assured. No problems at all. Yet our experience has been a succession of Labour Corps, one after the other, almost like the tree of Jesse, except that the Labour Corps' line of descent has not got us to its pre-destined end. It has provided no lasting solution, has not freed us from the need to resort to one short term expedient after another.

Mintoff's Government firmly undertook to see that, by the time the British base in Malta was finally wound up, we would be economically self-reliant. Yet to this day we witness the unedifying spectacle of our Government seeking, begging, for financial aid from foreign countries. Some sources do respond; others promise support but fail to deliver. It is questionable how far one can trust somebody who on the morrow of being helped by a country turns immediately to consorting with that country's enemies.

True, Malta does not lack financial resources generated by the savings of our own people. Yet Mintoff's Government has shown itself quite unable to harness these savings, to translate them into productive investment at home, to use them for the creation of jobs, and to further the economic development of our country along sound lines. The setting up of a new productive enterprise in Malta today, and the sale of its products in export markets, is no easy matter; less so today perhaps than ever before. Industrial initiatives have to be carefully planned on professional lines and Government backing in one form or another is required. Industry must see the Government as a dependable ally concerned with its problems, and able to guide and assist in circumstances where such guidance and assistance is warranted.

Mintoff's Government was more concerned with trying to show how clever it was, and that whatever private enterprise could do, his Government could do better. Large sums of Government finance, the people's money, were squandered on projects selected and set up under Mintoff's personal initiative and direction. The trees he set up have borne few leaves and even less fruit. Most of the industrial ventures launched by Mintoff's Government have been short-lived. A good number of them have gone bankrupt and a fair number of others are on the same slippery path to collapse.

Mintoff has not profited from experience or sought to change his approach. His reaction to failure was not to re-order his policies, to see that the industries being set up were in fact of the right sort, able to produce more and compete successfully in export markets; he sought instead to bridge the widening trade gap by cutting down on imports. Having failed dismally in the industrial sector, Mintoff extended his interference to commerce, hoping to compensate for his inability to generate sufficient flow of exports by taking over control of importation of consumption goods. The result has been grave inconvenience and privation to the consumer and widespread corruption in the administration of those trading activities brought under Government control.

Mintoff's policies have not only made the housewife's lot more intolerable: even industry has suffered. His Government has maintained the external value of the Malta Pound at a high level,, and in so doing has made the task of our exporters even more difficult than it already was and is. He could have provided our export sector with a measure of relief (by adopting some dual exchange rate system, as practised extensively abroad, or by some discount arrangement which would have given 'bona fide' exporters the opportunity to sell at a cheaper Malta Pound rate) but evidently helping our export sector is not one of his priorities.

In the tourist sectors our experience has been exactly as the Mintoff Government said it should not be, and it is apparent than even the policies spelt our in the new plan for 1981-85 are not being adhered to. Numbers have continued to increase, and qualitatively our visitors have continued to be the low spending sort, the sort whose holiday destination tastes tend to be volatile and changeable. The numbers have aggravated a number of our own problems, not least the problem of water shortage.

Agriculture: Mintoff's Government did not take adequate precautions, following the first outbreak of foot and mouth disease among our farm-animal population in Malta. They were given timely advice by experts, advice which was not heeded, and the result was a second outbreak. A refuse dump has been allowed to be situated right in the heart of an animal breeding agricultural zone, doing the rat population a service in the process and making it easier for them to go about their deadly business. We see evidence of the same lack of realism and sense of proportion in regard to fisheries: in the trawlers' project, now virtually bankrupt, on the one hand, and in the neglect on the other hand of the fish farming project, a project which holds out such high promise for the future.

The root cause of this disastrous all round experience, of the total failure of the Mintoff Government's economic policies, lies in this Government's determination to pursue a strategy of economic development based on the concept and practice of state capitalism -the worst form of capitalism - Capitalism coupled with Monopoly, with the Monopoly in State hands. State Capitalism, inevitably, is not only inefficient but also incompatible in practice with true social justice.

In recent years incomes have failed, in real terms,, to keep pace with the rise in prices. Money is getting to be worth less and less, and the less affluent members of our community are finding it ever harder to make ends meet.

There are indications, in the 1981-85 Plan, that the Mintoff Government is now aware that some of its earlier policies were mistaken and ill-conceived, yet we are given no reason to hope or expect that there will be the required changes in the right direction. It is clear that these changes will only come about if there is a change of Government.

10.2. TOWARDS AN ECONOMY WHICH SERVES THE PEOPLE

A Nationalist Government will be an open Government, will take the people fully into its confidence, hide nothing, and conduct its affairs on explicit, clearly defined, lines. We rehearse here the main thrusts of our economic policy in broad outline.

The primary objective of economic planning and policy will be to provide suitable job opportunities for all through the creation of stable new employment prospects as we did up to 1971. Under the present Government there has been an unprecedented job drain, with one job lost for every two new jobs created. In framing our policies as a Government we shall seek to collaborate, and work in association with, the representatives of all groups which go to make up the Maltese community.

We will not achieve this objective by way of the begging routine which has characterised Mintoff's Government, throughout its years of office, or through the negotiation of meaningless commercial treaties with certain countries, which lead to an increase in our imports from those countries without a corresponding and reciprocal increase in our exports to them. Our trading relationships will be biased rather towards those countries which can provide us with the technologies we require and the market outlets we need. A Nationalist Government, considers that the best way of achieving economic fulfilment is by way of membership of the European Economic Community, on such conditions and terms as will ensure that the solution we seek provides a sound and lasting basis for economic progress.

We shall encourage Maltese capital to invest in productive enterprise in its own home base. Maltese capital has nothing to fear from a Nationalist Government. We will not seek to expropriate or exploit private capital; on the contrary we shall as a Government do all in our power to help such enterprises take root, to complement the activities of each other, and to concentrate their endeavours on increasing production for export.

The Nationalist Party appreciates that the commercial community is rendering a valuable service to the country, and that they are better qualified to render this service than any Government department or organisation which seeks to supplant them. We recognise, nevertheless, that the Government has a duty to regulate commercial activities in the public interest, to check abuses, and above all, to encourage the setting up of consumer protection services, through which consumers will be enabled to safeguard their interests, ensure that prices are kept in proper check, and also that the quality of goods provided are of a standard appropriate to their respective price categories.

A Nationalist Government will introduce changes in monetary and fiscal policies (as well as in incomes and pensions policies) and we shall see that all concerned get a fair deal, while also redressing injustices suffered under the Mintoff Administration. We will provide a more appropriate climate for economic development, and will ensure that the proceeds of such development are equitably shared by all sections of the community. Right now the economy has ground to a halt, has ceased growing; it is stagnating, in evident distress. The Government's one objective, one concern, seems to be to extend the tentacles of state control; to progressively restrict the scope for personal, private initiative; to force people into a situation where they become ever more subordinated to the state: its dependants, its parasites even.

We see great scope for tourism, properly restructured, as well as for the rendering of "other services" by Maltese to foreign clients: services in such spheres as transhipment, the distribution and further processing of semi-manufactured goods, support services for oil and other companies operating in the Mediterranean, the provision of educational services for foreigners at all levels, the location in Malta of hospital facilities for old people and convalescent patients from abroad off-shore banking and other financial services, the siting here of the headquarters of international organisations, information banks, and other institutional facilities of like nature - the need for all of which facilities is c9nstantly increasing in our evolving modern world. Such services can be very rewarding if we equip ourselves, under appropriate Government regulation, to the high standards of proficiency required by prospective clients.

A Nationalist Government (in collaboration with the Church authorities, as far as its own land is concerned) will embark on a programme of consolidation of agricultural land, which consolidation is necessary if contemplated radical reforms in the Agricultural sector are to be accomplished. We envisaged the sector being more mechanised, better irrigated better organised on a cooperative basis; with more emphasis given (to glass horticulture, to the education of farmers (especially the young farmers) in more modern practices, to the improvement of the social condition of our farming community, to to relieving farmers of the inequitable burden thrust upon them as a result of the way they have been slotted in to the National Insurance Scheme by the Mintoff Government. We will provide water supply for agriculture at less prohibitive rates will once again give assistance to farmers giving into glass house constructions, and will assist agriculture in a great many other ways as well. We are, no less, concerned to see that our fishermen are enabled to lead better and more fruitful lives in pursuit of their equally vital calling.

We abhor State Capitalism. Our alternative is the Christian Democratic idea: the route to economic development and progress which emphasises personal as opposed to State initiative; the route that respects the right of all people to be consulted and involved in the shaping and implementation of national development plans and policies, at all levels and in all branches of the economic institutions of the country.

Economic development provides the means through which social justice can be more equitably practised, the means through which inequalities can be corrected and everybody can be enabled to partake in fair measure of the fruits of progress.

We do not accept as binding the recently enacted Development Plan which Mintoff's Government released in its dying days of office: a Plan which cannot be taken seriously, if only because it so obviously betrays the tired and stagnant state of mind of the Government which brought it out.

A Nationalist Government will, in its earliest days, set up a National Economic Development Council. The Council will be composed of representatives of all sections of the population, according to their respective roles in the social and economic life of the community: not only trade unionists, employers, economists and Government employees, but also pensioners, housewives, youth organisations, etc.: so that all, together, can participate in the framing and shaping of a new Development Plan.

The Council will be serviced by a competent staff and will be provided with all the information and specialist advice it needs. It will be able to commission experts to produce special studies on particular problems. It will take an active part in the formulation of the new Plan and, after the Plan has been approved by the Government and Parliament, the Council will have a monitoring role to exercise, to see that the Plan is properly implemented, and to propose to Government whatever changes or measures it may consider appropriate to keep the Plan at all times suitably up-dated and in line with changing developments and circumstances.

The Council will be empowered to propose guidelines for a national wages policy, as well as guidelines for the fixing of profit margins and commodity prices by the Authorities concerned. The Council will see that a new Cost-of-Living Index is drawn up which will more adequately reflect the real extent of price movements, and their effects on the cost of living. It will be empowered to propose criteria for the introduction of productivity incentive schemes. It will monitor economic developments abroad which could have a significant impact on our position in Malta. The Council's participation in the economic management of the country will be a major step towards meaningful economic democracy, through the direct involvement in economic planning of representatives of all parties concerned.

10.4. MEMBERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

Mintoff's Government cannot get itself to take the bold leap of a full membership approach to the Common Market problem. All it keeps on coming up with are temporary expedients and solutions: half-way measures which will not get us very far. Hesitation and undue delay at this stage can be prejudicial to our vital interests.

A Nationalist Government is firmly convinced that Malta's place is in the European Economic Community. It will, therefore, strive to obtain for Malta appropriate terms and conditions of membership, that will over an agreed and extended time-scale give us the opportunity to adapt and put ourselves in a position to reap full advantage from membership status.

We are already close to Europe economically. Most of our industries produce for European markets, and a large number of them are affiliated or otherwise integrated with European countries. Entry into the Common Market will give us additional market advantages in Europe, both by way of access for our products and through the technology transfers which may flow from closer relationships with European partners in the van of technological progress.

A Nationalist Government will help those Maltese industries which need help to adjust to the prospect of change, as a result of our Common Market policy, and the increased competition this policy may expose them to.

11.1. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES

Employment in the Government sector has gone up by around 5,000 over the period from 1973 to 1980; while job losses in the Manufacturing sector alone over the same period, have been of the order of 10,000. The sector is in great distress, industries are collapsing like nine-pins, many have gone bankrupt and others are in a precarious state. Our whole development strategy in this area seems to be disintegrating.

A large portion of total shareholding is in foreign hands, and of the Maltese shareholding portion, much the greater part is held by the Government. The size of the Government's total portfolio reflects, and accounts for, the wariness of Maltese private capital. The object of policy has been to involve private indigenous capital to a greater extent. It has failed, despite the ample financial resources available, possibly because of a lurking fear in investors' minds that a successful enterprise, once established, may become prey to the socialist Government's acquisitive instincts.

Mintoff's Government built up a sizeable number of industries (styled People's Industries in 1976) ostensibly to generate revenue, through profits, with which to pay for social services and other benefits. Most of these industries have contributed next to nothing to the public purse: decision taking was over-centralised, they were further hampered by the heavy hand of bureaucracy, but incompetent management and by the scope provided for corrupt practices, and this sort of situation was not conducive to profit making. The present Government is now seeking to sell off these industries to private enterprise, or to enlist the support of foreign partners with the required expertise. There has been no real attempt to have Workers Participation tried out in earnest in these industries - the People's industries - and there has been no profit sharing with the workers even when there were no profits to share. One worker's representative on the Board of Directors is no way of bringing the wishes of the workers to bear on decisions, when all important decisions tend to be taken by the Mintoff Government anyway, whether in exercise of its shareholder's rights or through its compulsive urge to interfere in everything.

11.2. DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

If investment in Manufacturing is to be encouraged, the constant shifting of policy positions by Government must stop. Policies need to be clearly and firmly laid down. Entrepreneurs need to know where they stand and confusing signals from Castille do not help at all. Uncertainty simply breeds caution and reserve. We will revert to a basis of steady Government known principles and professional handling of the affairs and interests of the Manufacturing sector.

The Development Corporation, set up after Independence in 1964 to spearhead the development of the sector, will be given the task of rehabilitating it, of re-establishing it along sounder, more lasting lines. The emphasis will again be on industrial promotion, and on the administration of the incentives programme.

The industries we need now are enterprises of a new bread, a new generation, working to more advanced technological processes, which will provide employment on a more lasting basis and also provide a greater measure of job satisfaction at all levels. The Corporation must be in a position to offer, as its main promotional inducement, a new and altogether more attractive and relevant package of incentives. The required package will be formulated and approved by the Government, after consultation with the National Economic Development Council. Its implementation will be entrusted to the Corporation which will have full authority to administer without any sort of leaning or interference from Government.

One of the Mintoff Government's most damaging mistakes was to seek to attract industries to Malta by dangling the "cheap labour" carrot. It was wrong to base our strategy on cheap labour and in any event industries attracted by this consideration quickly transfer operations elsewhere as soon as we cease to be cheap: they pack up as easily as they came here in the first place.

Employment in such circumstances is unstable and therefore undesirable. We need a newer generation of industries which can create the productivity margins to support higher wage levels. This implies the upgrading of wages, and the need for labour with higher skills. Our proposed educational reforms will ensure that the required skills are provided.

We recognise that, in our experience, the industries which really succeeded have been those with multi-national affiliations, because of their access to the right technologies, and the multi-nationals' ability to provide ready markets for the output of their Maltese subsidiaries. We will continue to welcome such industries, provided:

(a) there is a more ready inclination on the part of such international companies to enter into association with Maltese capital in the setting up of local establishments;

(b) they bring to Malta the most advanced technologies;

(c) they undertake to train our people not only in the use but also to understand and grasp the intricacies of the technologies brought to them;

(d) they involve Maltese personnel in all aspects of the work of the enterprise, including research and marketing. In this way we shall not only profit from the multi-nationals' ability to set up industries with appropriate technologies and assured markets, but also from the exposure of our people to the skills and other specialised activities which are a feature of multi-national operations.

We contemplate taking various measures to support exports:

i. National Export Board will be set up, on which the various interests concerned with the promotion of Maltese exports will be represented. The Board, suitably backed by supporting staff, and by the Government, will give the industrial sector a dimension it has hitherto lacked: the machinery to tackle the export problem on a cooperative and organised basis, working to a coordinated plan and availing itself as well of the services of overseas promotional stations.

ii. We will also establish a system of cheap export credit finance, and will provide, as well, what the Mintoff Government undertook to provide but failed to provide, despite an electoral undertaking in 1971: export credit guarantee facilities; so that our exporters who take risks in supplying certain markets abroad do not expose themselves to crippling losses through possible default arising from either political or commercial circumstances.

iii. Sea Malta will be required to provide our exporters with the infrastructural service they require - at competitive prices and with the required frequency of trips to the ports they serve.

A Nationalist Government will ensure that workers' participation is introduced in manufacturing and other enterprises on a meaningful, genuine basis. Benefits expected to stem from this reform, would include:

a) improvement of relations between Management and workers at "human" level.

b) enhanced productivity arising from the increased commitment to the success of the enterprise which could result from greater involvement of the workers in decision taking. This however is not the main object of having workers' participation. The theme is dealt with more extensively later in the Programme.

12.1. MALTA'S LEADING INDUSTRY

The Dry Docks has been and remains Malta's leading industry, and a Nationalist Government will give it every encouragement to further develop both its ship repair capacity, and its small ship building capability within the present Dry Docks precincts, along with relevant and similar work which will make profitable use of plant and equipment during periods when they would otherwise be underutilised.

We will take an early opportunity to dispose of certain matters relating to the Drydocks in respect of which decisions have been left pending far too long: matters such as the delimitation of the Drydocks perimeter line, the adaptation of our legislation to take account of changes in IMCO regulations regarding the admission of vessels carrying inert gases, etc.

Despite all Mintoff's talk about workers' control having been introduced in the Dry Docks, the Corporation is still not effectively being run by the representatives of the workers. The Council today is not autonomous in the true sense of the term. It is subjected to directives from the Government, and Ministers interfere in the running of the enterprise, even in administrative and purely technical matters.

A Nationalist Government will not, at any time seek to impose its will on the Dry Docks in this sort of dictatorial manner, which contradicts the spirit and esence of meaningful autonomy. On the contrary it will, in consultation and dialogue with the workers themselves, strengthen by appropriate amendment the provisions of the Law relating to the Dry Docks' Council and its functions, so that the Council will in future be insulated from the sort of political interference it has been hitherto subjected to. Another amendment envisaged stems from the need to clarify the relationship between Council, Management and Unions, in order to strengthen industrial democracy in the Dry Docks sector.

We repose full confidence in the maturity of the Dry Docks worker, and confidently anticipate that the right sort of atmosphere can be generated in the dry Docks which would permit every worker to develop his talents, and exercise to the full his ability and capacity to bear responsibility in the performance of his duties, thus contributing to a further increase in the productivity of the enterprise.

Mintoff's Government has continued to leave us all completely uninformed on vital matters relating to the Marsa Ship Building Yard. A Nationalist Government will establish all the relevant facts concerning this project and inform the people as to just what has been happening there.

It seems evident that this particular dream of Mintoff's, like his other one concerning the Kalafrana project, which not a single other country would touch, was unfortunately timed. There is a world-wide glut of ship building capacity and most companies in this line of business are having a hard time. All we know about Marsa is that very large sums of money have been spent. Although there are huge workshops (not being used) the project is nowhere near ready. Yet prices are escalating and tenders for plant and equipment have been allowed to lapse. Each delay means that if we are going ahead with this project it will be progressively more costly to do so. The Maltese people are having to pay dearly to see Mintoff's dream realised and for all we know it is money going to waste.

A Nationalist Government will consider what use can be made of the facilities at Marsa already available, and now lying idle, so that the investment can at least be put to some productive purpose as soon as possible. We note in the meantime that no steps have been taken to train workers in certain types of skills which would be needed if the shipbuilding scheme materialises. This sort of training takes a great deal of time. Nor has anything been done to set up certain specialised services (financial services) which are part of the "infrastructure" of shipyard operations.

The Government and people of Malta must have a clear picture of all the facts relating to this project as soon as possible, so that, while putting to the best possible use whatever we now have at Marsa which is usable for profit, we do not, until properly advised, dive deeper into financial commitments regarding this project than we can afford to or should.

13.1. AUTONOMOUS BOARD

Mintoff's Government suppressed the old Tourist Board, and we have a Minister directing operations in this sector, echoing the wishes of his political master; a Minister not much given to dialogue or open to persuasion.

A Nationalist Government will again set up an autonomous Board, on which all interests operating in the tourist sector would be represented. The Board will be financed partly from Government sources, and partly by levies raised, from tourist enterprises. The Board's first task will be to draw up a Master Plan for the further planning and restructuring of the sector. After discussion in the National Economic Development Council, and after having been approved by Government and later by Parliament, the Plan will be implemented - under the Board's supervision. The Board will be responsible for the running of what is now the National Tourism Organisation.

A Nationalist Government's policy in the tourist sector as in other fields, will be to encourage, coordinate and guide rather than do things itself. Our object will be to ensure that developments in the sector supplement and complement each other, in the overall national interest. We shall not be competing with private enterprise, nor shall we allow further discrimination against private enterprise in this field, whether in the provision of bank finance or in any other way.

We shall, in the national interest, and in accordance with the wishes of the tourist trade itself, take appropriate initiatives to trigger off development of tourism in future along different lines. While doing nothing to hamper today's type of tourist business, our object of policy will be to encourage a gradual transition from quantity to quality. If we manage to do this, and increase our takings from tourism by way of quality rather than numbers, we shall benefit not only economically but also culturally: higher quality tourism will improve the quality of life of our own country.

The transition will not be easy or quick. The publicity slant adopted during the Mintoff Government's time, and certain other failures of the Government (such as the water situation, the shortage of goods worth purchasing in our shops today, the poor cultural image we project) are not calculated to appeal to tourists of quality.

A Nationalist Government will strive to bring this desired change about. Mintoff's Government recognised the need for change but did nothing about it: they were in no position to, because they could hardly have promoted Malta as a quality resort when the quality of life of the Maltese themselves was so evidently and steadily on the decline. It will take a change in national orientation and attitude, a change which must involve everybody and take place at all levels, to provide the necessary impulse for the desired face-lift in tourism.

Mintoff's negative attitude towards resident tourists did much to drive them away. This was short-sighted because these people as a rule provided steady flows of substantial income into the country on a year-round basis, while also contributing to the enrichment of our lives in other ways. It will be our policy to provide a broader spectrum of services and attractions to bring quality tourism here - to cater for people who are not just sun-seekers but who also interest themselves in the cultural life of our country and in what Malta has to offer during the Winter months.

One of our objectives will be to give Gozo greater prominence as a national tourism attraction. Under Mintoff's Government Gozo did not get its fair share of the proceeds from tourism. Most of the expenditure incurred by tourists going to Gozo on day trips, as well as in the purchase of goods made in Gozo, ended up as profits in the pockets of foreigners or in the hands of Maltese resident in Malta. A Nationalist Government will seek to have Gozo promoted as a place with its own identity, quite distinct from Malta, and it will entrust the promotion of tourism in Gozo to the Gozitans themselves.

The emphasis on Gozo will be part of a wider programme of geographical diversification, so that the proceeds of tourism will be as widely dispersed, as evenly spread as possible, all over the Island, with the Southern parts getting their due share along with the more established Northern areas.

The Mintoff Government has built a new runway and has also enlarged the existing terminal building. There were errors in planning and execution and the public has had to pay much more than was really necessary: because somebody, as usual, felt he had to meddle, dictate and control. Yet to this day the terminal project remains unfinished, and the arrivals section provides inadequate facilities for the welcoming of incoming passengers. A Nationalist Government, conscious of the need to improve and complete facilities at the airport, and aware that we cannot expect quality tourism in conditions such as we now provide, will ensure that our airport provides an infrastructural service of the highest standard.

We have already referred to the airport in a national security context, and shall be referring to Air Malta and other matters relating to the airport later in this Programme.

The Services sector of our economy tends to generate more foreign exchange earnings per man employed than manufacturing industries; because the import content of such services as a rule is lower than in manufacturing processes, and the locally provided value added correspondingly higher. The skill content of services rendered also tends to be higher, and attracts higher reward.

One is inclined to think of services in terms of tourism but there are in fact a large number of other forms of service we can provide for foreigners - services a Nationalist Government will develop with a greater sense of commitment and urgency than has been shown by the Mintoff Government. This Government has spent so much of its time and energy trying to move in on the industrial and commercial sectors, that it had little time to do what a Government should do: to establish an appropriate climate and infrastructural frame-work which would encourage our people to develop their potential and to seek out opportunities in all fields.

There is scope for greater involvement in the area of services. The sort of services we refer to here include:

14.1. TRANSHIPMENT AND PROCESSING:
we will press on with much greater effort and commitment in bringing to fruition the project we started back in the 1960s of developing Malta as a transhipment base and export processing zone for re-distribution of goods to markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

14.2. FINANCIAL SERVICES:
we will develop further banking and financial services for foreign individuals as well as companies; both in Malta and on an off-shore basis. Our education system generally, and the University especially, will equip itself to teach the skills relevant to the provision of services of the sort envisaged.

14.3. OTHER SERVICES:
a Nationalist Government will help to set up clinics, where foreigners can come to Malta either for special medical attention or to convalesce in a hospitable climatic environment. Also envisaged are educational facilities in Malta for the training of foreigners in particular branches of learning; the setting up of 'information banks' and other projects of like nature where the emphasis will be on the provision of skilled services in Malta.

15.1. IMPROVEMENT OF SOCIAL CONDITIONS

We fully appreciate that Agriculture in our Island has an importance, from a national standpoint, which cannot be measured merely in terms of the economic value of its contribution to domestic product. The farming community has not been given the recognition it deserves in our scale of national social priorities: its role must be more appropriately acknowledged.

Judging by what the 1981-85 Plan says on the subject, one might well get the impression that Mintoff's Government imagines that the teaching of agricultural skills can most appropriately be done by means of television programmes, even though there has in fact been little if anything done, via that medium to educate farmers in the modern techniques of their profession. Certainly television can help, but it is not enough.

A Nationalist Government would reform the Agricultural School, and slant it not only towards the teaching of the subjects directly bearing on the practice of agriculture, but also towards such related aspects as the use, repair, and maintenance of agricultural equipment. The School will also give basic education in reckoning costs and prices of agricultural inputs and produce, as well as in the keeping of books of account.

A Nationalist Government will do all it can to encourage farmers' children to remain on the land, and to take an interest in developments in agriculture abroad. A scheme will be devised to enable them to go abroad to study their calling and see for themselves how things are done in other countries. We will rehabilitate the Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture. The centre at Ghammieri, now used as a production unit, will again revert to experimental research aimed at increasing productivity. The technical experts of the Department of Agriculture will be encouraged and enabled to improve their proficiency and keep abreast of progress in every aspect of agricultural science.

Farmers will benefit from other measures envisaged in our Programme, especially measures relating to taxation and pensions. As a first step towards closer integration of the farming community with the rest of Maltese society, we will establish the facts relating to farmers and farming by means of a properly devised census: the present so-called annual censal exercises do not give a true picture of the situation. Nevertheless, we are certain the trend is towards increased part-time farming, that the full-time farming population is both on the decline and increasingly composed of aging men and women. We will encourage young men to go back to farming as a full-time occupation. We can do this if we bring about a situation which provides farmers with opportunities for a better economic and social life.

A Nationalist Government would wish to see farmers whenever possible owning their own land, but fragmentation of land should not be carried too far. We shall enact legislation to facilitate the sale of leased agricultural land to those farmers who actually work it, and to facilitate as well the forming of agricultural cooperatives, so that more modern methods of agriculture can be practised economically. We shall draw up a plan for the better utilisation of agricultural land, and for improved access facilities to farms.

A land consolidation Plan will be drawn up. Among other things this Plan will provide for the restoration to productive use of small plots of land which have been abandoned either because they are too small in context to be separately worked, or because they are remotely situated from the main farm land tilled by the farmers who own these small plots. Consolidation makes it easier and more profitable for groups of farmers who work in collaboration, preferably as cooperatives, and would also permit the use of mechanised techniques appropriate to the area of consolidated land. A Nationalist Government will give affect to this plan on Government's own land to start with, and will encourage its extension to other land in the light of experience there.

A Nationalist Government will devise a comprehensive plan for the irrigation of dry land, so that as much of our rain-fed land as possible can be brought under irrigation. If reclaimed water under the Sewage Purification Scheme is to be of benefit to farmers it has to be provided at subsidised rates. Farmers will be encouraged and assisted to introduce "drip irrigation" methods which make more sparing use of our scarce water supply, but water for farming must be cheaper, otherwise farmers will not be able to afford it. Piped water supply will once again be supplied in farmsheds, on the firm understanding that those who abuse of this facility will be exposed to the full rigours of the law and the penalties which the law contemplates.

A Nationalist Government will once again encourage the extension of glass house cultivation. In our climatic conditions, and given the scarcity of agricultural land, this is a form of agriculture particularly suited to our circumstances.

The Mintoff Government's prejudice against glass house production is inexplicable. During the nine years of Nationalist Government, from 1962 to 1971, we spent £M210,000 in the setting up of around 200 glass house units: the corresponding figures for Mintoff's Government over 1971-80 are £M30,000 and 20 glass houses. The glass houses put up by the Nationalist Government for experimental purposes, mostly in the growth of tomato crops, are now being used either as sheds for the storage of animal fodder, or are being used for the production of crops for the Government itself, instead of for the benefit of the farming community as a whole.

A Nationalist Government will again provide financial assistance for the further development of glass house production, with the active collaboration of foreign countries who may be prepared to help in this area. We will provide a modern crop sterilisation service; we will again resume experimental work at the glass house laboratories at Ghammieri; we will, using Air Malta's transportation capability, assist in the exportation of flowers, and (if there are enough for export) also tomatoes and possibly other agricultural produce as well.

A Nationalist Government will provide farmers with all the technical assistance at its command to enable them to seek profitable export outlets for their crops. Farmers will not be deceived or kept in the dark about facts relating to the sale of produce abroad. Vital decisions concerning exportation should involve the farmers themselves, through the medium of a "Marketing Board". We will also encourage cooperatives to play a more active role in the importation of materials required for the development of agricultural production and for the growth of Agricultural produce.

A Nationalist Government will ensure that farmers are in future paid more promptly for the produce they export and will require them to pay for the seeds they order only on the receipt of their consignment of seeds. We will distribute fertiliser and pesticides received as donations from foreign countries without making any profit on the distribution, as has often been the case, and we will seek to hasten the importation of inputs, and other material used by farmers, whenever they are needed. We shall improve the facilities at the Pitkali centre: by extending the area of covered space and by providing cold storage facilities for agricultural produce.

15.6. COOPERATIVES

A Nationalist Government will encourage farmers' cooperatives in every possible way. Mintoff's Government enacted a law which was ostensibly meant to help and encourage cooperatives to collaborate with each other, but blunted the whole exercise by keeping the administration of financial aid to cooperatives under Ministerial control, instead of allowing it to be administered by the representative Board of Cooperatives.

We shall review this law, and increase the incentives it offers for the formation of cooperatives. Cooperatives will be given favourable terms of lease of Government land where consolidation has taken place. Opportunities will also be given for members of cooperatives to acquire experience abroad in the working of agricultural cooperatives.

A Nationalist Government will strengthen the Government's veterinary services, so that our herds can be immunised against disease, and protected against further outbreaks of disease which wrought such havoc on our farm-animal population during Mintoff's Government.

Special zones will be designated for the rearing of such animals. Animal health regulations will be tightened and implementation will be more strictly enforced.

The Civil Abattoir will have to be seen to again. Although relatively new, the Abattoir put up during Mintoff's time is not sufficiently modern or efficient and will need to be brought up to standard.

The Milk Marketing Undertaking should not continue to be run as a Government Department. We envisaged the setting up of a new modern milk processing plant, able to produce sterilised milk which can keep for long periods: the plant will be run, possibly, as a cooperative. The new system of milk sterilisation and the production of milk of long-keeping quality will be of advantage both to farmers and consumers: farmers because quotas will be done away with, and consumers as they will no longer have to take reconstituted milk or "mixed" milk.

Our proposals concerning the protection of farm-animals against disease apply no less to the protection of poultry farming. We will do all in our power to eradicate disease prevalent among poultry animals.

A board of Agriculture will be set up composed of representatives of the Department of Agriculture, of the farming community, of the Pitkali operators, of the sellers of agricultural produce, and of the consuming public, as well as of the farmers' cooperatives and of other interested parties. The Board will be charged with the task of drawing up a plan for the development of agriculture in our Islands, and will supervise its implementation when the plan is approved.

The Board will be empowered to consider ways of improving the practice of agriculture: through the pulverisation and composting of refuse, and other systems of soil enrichment, as well as through the granting of loan finance on special terms.

The Board will concern itself generally with all aspects of agricultural production. It will consider introducing uniform systems of grading and packing produce, and it will also look into the possibility of setting up an Agricultural Credit Bank to provide farmers with loan finance for the purchase of machinery and other capital outlays. The Bank could well be run on cooperative lines as well.

16.1. BOARD OF FISHERIES

A Nationalist Government would wish to see the consumption of fish in our Islands increase very considerably. We want to see an increase in the quantity of landed fish, a reduction of imported fish and a return to the fishing trade of those former fishermen who have left it, and an improvement in the conditions of work of those engaged on a full-time basis. A Board of Fisheries will be set up with terms of reference roughly as follows:

a) to ascertain what the true state of affairs is in the fisheries sector today, and

b) to draw up a comprehensive plan for the development of the sector along the desired lines.

This Board's functions will be more or less analogous to those of the Board of Agriculture already referred to.

Among the measures which the Board of Fisheries will be considering for the further development of the sector will be: the need to see that all professional fishermen are provided with efficient radio equipment to enable them to contact land while out at sea; the building of houses and stores for fishermen in appropriate locations, the provision of material and equipment used by fishermen in the exercise of their trade, and the proper maintenance and modernisation of facilities available to fishermen in the ports which our fishermen use as their operational bases.

16.3. ICE-MAKING PLANT

During the Mintoff Government an ice-making plant was provided, and deep facilities were built or otherwise adapted for the storage of fish. Most of the storage space so provided is in fact still being used for other purposes. A Nationalist Government will offer the management of the ice-making plant to the fishermen's cooperative, which will be helped to run it, along with the cold storage facilities originally earmarked for the storage of fish. These facilities will be put to their intended use, or others provided. We will also assist cooperatives to purchase surplus fish in the flush season for cold storage and later release in times of scarcity.

A Nationalist Government will see that the markets where fish is sold are suitably modernised and provided with proper weighing scales. Prices will be regulated so as to permit both fishermen and fish vendors to earn reasonable margins of profit. The rates of return, fixed eleven years ago, and still in force, will be revised:

The Mintoff Government's trawlers fishing project has failed because it was over-ambitiously conceived. It was run on the basis of too many trawlers, against the advice of experts and of the Nationalist Opposition at the time. For six years this scheme has done nothing but lose money, Maltese fishermen have not been taught the techniques of trawler fishing, and today these trawlers, when used, are usually crewed almost entirely by foreign fishermen. It is understood that the Maltese Libyan Trawling Company is in a state of virtual collapse, and only two of the Company's vessels remain sea-worthy.

A Nationalist Government will revive the project on the basis of one vessel to start with, and have this one vessel properly manned with an experienced crew.

The vessel will be used to trawl for fish as it should:
in fishing zones further afield than are normally reached by the traditional Maltese fishing craft. The vessel will be required to continue active trawling throughout the periods when it is at sea. The trawler will be essentially a "training" vehicle and we have no intention whatever of using it to compete with other fishermen on the local market.

A fish-farming project was started several years ago, but the Mintoff Government did not give it the support it merited. A Nationalist Government will revive this scheme on a more substantial basis, and will seek to channel investment finance into it, because we are convinced that this is a line of fisheries development that offers bright prospects for the future.

All the projects referred to in this section on Agriculture and Fisheries are designed not only to benefit the farmers, herdsmen and fishermen. by enabling them to produce more and earn ~ fairer return for their products and labours, but also the consumers- through the increased amount of produce that will come on to the market, and the more stable regime of prices that an increased and steadier supply situation would permit.

17.1. IMPORTATION AND PRICES

The Mintoff Government invaded the commercial field following the failure of its industrial initiatives to generate any sort of income flow by way of profits. The setting up of its Bulk-buying division was rationalised on the argument that large scale purchases of essential commodities would lead to our getting these commodities at cheaper unit prices; and on a more 'secure' basis. Things haven't quite worked out that way. Procurement procedure were so inefficient, and so irregularly conducted (giving rise to suspicions of malpractice which preoccupied even the Minister of Finance) that we have stumbled along from one commodity shortage to another, we are having to pay for the Government's mistakes by way of higher prices, and the quality of goods we are getting seems to be getting ever shoddier: exactly what the Bulk-buying scheme was ostensibly designed to ensure did not happen.

A Nationalist Government will not compete with established businessmen in the import trade, and still less will it seek to stifle them. It will remain responsible for the provision of essential commodities such as wheat and oil products, and where state intervention in the procurement of supplies is needed to ensure adequate supplies it will do so according to established principles and in the most open manner possible. The sole importing rights which Mintoff's Government has arrogated to itself, in various commodity lines, will be opened up again: colour television imports included. The earliest opportunity will be taken to do away with unnecessary controls, though this will inevitably be a phased operation in view of the pent up demand which has been allowed to build up over the past years. The dismantling of trade barriers will be effected in consultation with interested bodies, so that everything can be teen to be completely above-board, and there will be provision for appeal to an impartial tribunal should any party feel that his legitimate interests have been adversely affected in the process.

Corruption must be suppressed, uprooted, completely in this area of Government operations. The Bulk-buying division of the Department of Trade will cease to function, and the Price Stabilisation Fund will also be wound up. In our trade regime there will be no place or need for them. We will nevertheless undertake a searching enquiry into the way the systems in questions have been managed in the past, so as to fully expose to public view all that was done and how it was done. Irregularities brought to light will be appropriately dealt with.

The Mintoff Government labours under the impression that it is better qualified to determine what the housewife and other consumers need, and should buy, than they are themselves. Whether it is food-stuffs or almost any other type of commodity purchase - it is our paternal Government which decides what we should get, what quality, what sort, what choice if any we should be allowed, and at what price we should get it. It does lot allow that the consumer is the best judge of his own interests, and that these interests are in fact best served by a market situation where a buyer is free to choose on the basis of need, taste, quality and price.

A Nationalist Government will be particularly concerned to safeguard consumer interests. An institutional framework will be set up to enable consumers to express themselves on matters concerning the adequacy of supply, or the quality of the goods commonly purchased by them. The institution in question will actively investigate market situations to which its notice hss been drawn, and will avail itself of the powerful resources of the Broadcasting media to provide consumer information generally, and to stimulate consumer awareness of what the market has to offer. Advertising will be closely watched to see that the qualities and characteristics of goods brought to public notice are not misrepresented, to the prejudice of consumers falling prey to such misrepresentation.

A Nationalist Government will honour its undertaking to the citizens of Valletta to provide them once again with the amenities of a central market. We will also undertake a nation-wide survey to establish the needs of the various localities for a sufficient number of shops and other commercial establishments to provide for their normal requirements, and the issuing of trading licences will be determined in the basis of the findings of this survey.

18.1. BORROWING AND INTEREST RATES

The Seven Year Plan led us to expect that monetary policy would play a determining role in fostering economic growth, that the Central Bank would use its statutory powers to determine appropriate bank deposit rates which would mop up surplus liquid cash in circulation and channel it on to productive investment. In fact we have had the same interest rates for around twenty years and there has been no attempt whatever to direct surplus funds to those areas which could have profitably used them.

A Nationalist Government will lay down rules and criteria for a discriminating lending policy to be followed by Commercial and Investment Finance Banks. Money going into areas of activity or forms of investment enjoying a priority rating in terms of public policy will be obtainable on cheaper terms. Lending policy will take account of both type of investment and the degree of Maltese participation involved. Maltese participation not falling short of a stipulated minimum will entitle a project to better terms than would normally otherwise be obtainable.

The launching of a Capital Market is one of the functions which the Central bank should have taken in hand. The law requires it to "foster the development of a Capital Market and promote a sound financial structure in Malta." We will require the Central Bank to tackle this task. A Nationalist Government will not borrow unless it needs to. If we require loan finance, our preference (in contrast with Mintoff's borrowing policy) will be to tap local savings, even at moderately higher rates of interest than what can be obtained elsewhere. We will borrow abroad if the terms are exceptionally favourable, if foreign exchange problems develop, or if considerations of public interest clearly so warrant. But the general rule will be not to look abroad if we can get what we need at a reasonable price here. Local borrowing is repayable in Maltese currency, and the interest rates payable on it keeps the money within the local income stream.

The Mintoff Government has not allowed our banks to play as influential a role in economic development as they might have done. There has been too much political interference, this has impaired operational efficiency, and the resignation of a large number of highly qualified bank executives has contributed to a further lowering of standards.

A Nationalist Government will not use the banks as instruments in pursuit of the end of State capitalism. We will, in cons6ftation with people having relevant knowledge and experience of the working of the banking sector, seek to restore standards of efficiency and reorganise the banks, possibly along self-managing lines if this should prove feasible.

We will allow the banks to run their own affairs, without. political leaning towards quarter. If there is evidence of injustices having been committed in the past these will be redressed, in the light of the contemplated reform of the banking sector generally.

We will, in the same light, also determine whether, and under what1 conditions, it might be of benefit to the Maltese economy to allow new foreign banks to set up here.

A Nationalist Government will not consider itself bound to implement the recently imposed amendments of the Central Bank Act. We find it particularly hard to comprehend why it should have been considered necessary to set up an Investment Committee, distinct from the Board of Directors of the Bank, unless we are to take it as an implicit vote of no confidence in the present Directors of the Bank.

A Nationalist Government will review the law relating to Income Tax, and will amend it in terms of the principles and guidelines rehearsed below:

A) Firstly, we will -

i) exempt from liability to tax all persons whose total income from all sources does not exceed the National Minimum Pension.

ii) exempt fr