Ronald Attard, EY Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and Central Asia Strategy and Transactions Leader, admits that this has been “a strange year” with Governments across the globe having to pull in reserves to help ailing sectors and their employees.

Yet, as we move into the autumn, and “the scale and persistence of the crisis is becoming increasingly clear”, the “continued investment in health needs to be the number one priority” in Budget 2021, he insists, adding that investment in MedTech and technological innovation, for instance, could help “curb the spread of the disease and mitigate further economic hardship.”

The second priority, in his eyes, is the prevention of “wide-scale” job losses. For “ensuring that employees are as safe as possible, and businesses have secured financial stability” is fundamental to the economic health of the island, and this is a concern for Government as well as individual businesses, he says.

“As we deal with the immediate impact of COVID-19, organisations should be thinking about how they’ll thrive in a post-pandemic world. This really is a time in which businesses must re-pivot for the long-term and some are already exploring how they can set themselves up on the right trajectory for growth as they come out the other side,” he describes.

To this end, and speaking more generally, Mr Attard asserts that the three main priorities for Budget 2021 should be “the acceleration of technology for cost reduction and customer access; a stronger focus on climate change and sustainability; and a reconfiguration of supply chains with a strong focus on Malta as a nearshoring destination.”

Elaborating, Mr Attard says that the crisis has “accelerated digital transformation” and shown us the power digital tools have to “enhance, sustain and grow businesses”.

He points to remote working as a positive development, saying that while teleworking opportunities may have already been available, the pandemic has allowed this mode to become more mainstream, thus alleviating traffic, reducing infrastructure pressure and creating less need for office space.

Thus, the forthcoming Budget must be one which implements sustainable strategies “at country and company levels”.

And, he says, the importance of such an emphasis is being corroborated by investors on the ground, with the 2020 EY Malta Attractiveness Survey (to be released in October) finding that nine out of 10 FDI investors believe Malta should prioritise the environment as part of its COVID-19 reboot strategy.

“We would like to see this shift in strategy in most quarters as we need to carefully consider the built environment with less focus on physical space such as offices, protect ODZ areas, improve waste management and build on the circular economy. Improving our sustainable tourism offering goes together with improving the quality of life for all our citizens,” he explains.

Moving on, Mr Attard also highlights the need to support local businesses in a context where retail spending has plummeted, explaining that, according to the Central Bank of Malta’s economic updates, the volume of retail trade and industrial production have contracted, while the EY Future Consumer Index highlights how consumers globally are becoming more careful with their money.

“Many governments are urging consumers to get out and spend, but a number of consumers are deciding they’d rather not – or not yet,” he says, adding that incentives and schemes to support local industries will be of utmost importance in such a context.

Ultimately, he concludes, Budget 2021 “must be a Budget that looks far into the future”, offering companies peace of mind, despite the unpredictable context. Yet, he is hopeful that a crucial balancing act can be achieved in Government’s plan for next year.

“Malta is a small and nimble country and we have already seen packages of economic incentives being brought in at the outset of the pandemic with speed. Flexibility to provide focused action and support in the coming months is critical.”

This is an extract of a feature first carried in the September edition of the Commercial Courier