Author: SME Chamber

Transport Malta has notified GRTU that it will very shortly be implementing a Budget measure as stipulated in the Budgetary Bill, 2015.

“Transport Malta in conjunction with the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure, receiving applications in accordance with a New Scheme to register Category M1 (Passenger Cars) and Motorcycles to be used during weekends and Public/National Holidays Only”

In accordance with the 2015 Budget measures, as from the 2^ndFebruary 2015, Transport Malta will be receiving applications to register Category M1 (vehicles used for the carriage of persons and which may carry no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver) and Motorcycles to be used during weekends and Public/National Holidays Only.

Such vehicles will be registered and licensed through the normal system, but the registration plates will be of a red colour and hence differentiate from the current fleet. Furthermore vehicles registered under this scheme may not be parked on the public road between Monday to Friday (both days included). The registration tax payable under this Scheme will amount to 40% of the full registration tax due. The Annual Circulation Licence Fee will be paid annually in full.

This measure will apply ONLY to M1 vehicles with CO₂emission levels equal to or greater than 221g/km and  must have an Emission level equivalent to the latest Euro standard or Latest -1 Euro standard and motorcycles with an engine capacity equal or greater to 801cc. A minimum level of registration tax equal to €2,000 for M1 vehicles and €1,000 for motorcycles will be established, applicable to both new and used vehicles being registered under this scheme. The objective of this scheme is to introduce a concept where high emission vehicles and motorcycles are kept off the roads during the week and hence reducing pollution. “

GRTU CEO Abigail Psaila Mamo has last week had a very interesting meeting with the new Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, H.E. Tarcisio Zammit. Together GRTU and the Ambassador explored possibilities of business cooperation between the countries. This comes at a very timely moment as Morocco, as a country in north Africa, is very stable and prospering.

The areas identified as promising were:

1. Tourism: Morocco has a very strong tourism sector and since Malta was exploring the possibilities of alternative destinations Marocco could be one of them. At the moment Malta and Morocco do not have a direct link.
2. Renewable Energy: The country is being given a significant amount of funds to invest in solar energy and desalination and this could be very interesting to our RES enterprises to create partnerships and Morocco has the space we are lacking in Malta.
3. Infrastructure and Construction: Morocco is currently undergoing constant restructuring and construction works to develop its infrastructure and increase the standard of living. This can also be very interesting to our contractors and developers.
4. Libya: The issue of Libya was discussed and Morocco could also be seen as an interesting country to explore for the businesses that had to pull out of Libya and until things stabilize they are also looking into other alternatives.

Morocco is rich in resources and has also a strong agriculture, telecoms, IT and textiles sector. It also has very good trade relations with the EU which are set to improve in the coming months.

Members interested to know more about these opportunities or would like to give submit their interest should contact GRTU by email on .  

F’ricerka indipendenti li ghamlet il GRTU jirrizulta li s-sitwazzjoni ta` Malta fejn jidhol prezz tal-fuel iddeterjorathafna. Din hi sitwazzjoni li ilha ghaddejja mis-sena l-ohra pero mill-bidu tas-sena il-prezz tad-diesel ikkumparat mal-medja tat-28 pajjiz ta` l-Unjoni Ewropeja varja bi €0.17c (taxxi inkluzi) sad-dsatax ta` Jannar ta` din is-sena.

Malta sad-dsatax ta` Jannar ta` din is-sena, fejn jidhol prezz tad-diesel bit-taxxi, tikkwalifika it-tielet pajjiz, mit-28, bl-ghola prezz ta` diesel. Ta` min jinnota ukoll li d-distakk mill-pajjizi li jikklassifikaw aghar minn Malta naqas hafna. Mill-banda l-ohra d-distakk mill-pajjizi li jikklassifikaw ahjar minn Malta fil-prezz tad-diesel zdied. Jekk l-affarijiet jibqghu kif inhuma, Malta ma 

ddumx ma ssib ruhha bl-aktar prezz gholi ta` diesel fl-Ewropa.

Il-Lussemburgu, l-pajjiz bl-irhas prezz tad-diesel, qieghed €0.40c irhas.Hemm sbatax-il pajjiz fejn id-diesel hu irhas b’ €0.20c minn dak ta` Malta u tlieta u ghoxrin pajjiz fejn il-prezz tad-diesel hu irhas b’ €0.10c.

Dan jaffetwa b’mod negattiv hafna il-kompetittivita ta` Malta u n-negozji kollha Maltin. Il-GRTU tifhem li la l-argument u lanqas is-soluzzjoni ma huma semplici f’dan il-kaz pero` il-figuri huma li huma. L-intraprizi Maltin bhalissa qed jitilfu opportunita` tad-deheb li l-kompetituri taghhom qed jiggwadanjaw minnha. La Malta bhala pajjiz u wisq anqas l-intraprizi taghha ma jaffordjaw jitilfu din l-opportunita`.

Il-GRTU pero tahseb li d-diskussjoni fuq dan is-suggett trid tkun kostruttiva u matura. Ghaldaqstant il-GRTU illum talbet lill-MCESD issejjah laqgha b’urgenza fil-prezenza tal-Ministru ikkoncernat sabiex issir diskussjoni xierqa, wahda li tikkjarifika fejn possibilment flimkien, l-Imsiehba Socjali u l-Gvern, johorgu b’soluzzjonijiet konkreti. 

The Maltese Beekeeper Association, which is presided by Stephen Galea, GRTU executive council member, is closely following developments in the sector which emerged after the importation of around 450 nucleus boxes by a foreign investor to Gozo.

These nucleus boxes are claimed to have been imported from France.

 However their journey to Malta has also included passage from zones which have already been affected by the small hive beetle. It has been established that there should be no movement of bees through or from areas which have been contaminated by the small hive beetle. It would have been necessary for the transport of the nucleus boxes to have travelled through such contaminated zones since they have been transported from Reggio Calabria and Catania.

The beekeepers greatest concern remains that the excessive quantities of the imported bees will eradicate the species of the indigenous Maltese bee. This occurs because the excessive amounts bring about mating between the imported queen bees and the indigenous bee which will automatically result in altering the species itself and trigger the aggressive streak in the bees. This situation is also alarming as it may have re-introduced the American foulbrood which leads to the destruction of effected boxes. This had occurred in Malta in the past which resulted in such a situation where boxes had to be destroyed, yet it was a limited and contained situation.

The Maltese Beekeeper Association main concern is that of the eventual annihilation of the indigenous Maltese bee. A meeting for Gozitan beekeepers has been held last Tuesday 20^thJanuary where these pressing concerns where discussed and it was concluded that some form action is necessary to respond to this impending alarm. A meeting has been called for Thursday 29^thJanuary and will be held in Malta since this will develop an issue in Malta as well. During the meeting to be held on Thursday the association will be seeking a way forward to address this situation and voice its concern.

Green MT, the National Authorised Packaging Waste Compliance Scheme will be collecting glass from curb side (door to door) from 17 Local Councils in Malta on the first Friday of the month as from February 6th, 2015.

At a Press Conference to launch this environmental initiative, Joe Attard, Green MT CEO said it is high time that glass packaging is no longer allowed to be placed in the black bag and deposited in our engineered landfill. The public is to use this initiative and also the Bring in Sites available already to the public. In the presence of mayors from a number of Maltese Local Councils he outlined that Green mt would be ready to provide additional individual bins for glass as required if requested by Local Councils. This will supplement the door to door collection. Thisinitiative follows a similar initiative in Gozo

launched as from the first Thursday of every month in November 2014 in ten Local Councils in Gozo. Currently these Local Councils have reached a 2 ton collection.

Green MT aims to collect 40 tons a month of glass from these Local Councils in Malta. The Local Councils on board this initiative include Dingli, Iklin, Marsascala, Mellieha, Mgarr, Mtarfa, Marsaxlokk, Naxxar, Rabat, Siggiewi, St Julians, St Pauls Bay, Ta’Xbiex, Floriana, Gharghur, Cospicua and Vittoriosa.  At all localities the collection will start at 08.00am Mr Attard outlined that a Mobile Advert will be visiting the Local Councils in the coming two months to make sure the public is aware of such an initaitve in these Local Councils. In addition a calendar is being distributed by Green MT Eco Councillors doorto door. Campaign has already started in Cospicua and Birgu and will continue for a number of months. In addition a leaflet has been produced to show residents why glass needs to be collected and finally recycled.

At the launch Mr Paul Abela GRTU President outlined the good work that GRTU has done over the past years to make sure that SME’s take over their environmental obligations, both morally and at law. He was pleased to note that SME‘s are today more conscious of the environment but he said that enforcement for those who remain out of the loop needs to continue by the Authorities. He also thanked Government for placing the WEEE Directive on the agenda of 2015 in respect to implementation. He said discussions should formally start in earnest so that once September comes along thesystem will be running without any hiccups or delays. Of course to implement this Directive a revision of the Eco Contribution regime is to take place

The Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses, Hon Chris Cardona, addressed an information session regarding the transposition of the Late Payment Fee Directive (2011/7/EU), hosted by GRTU.

The directive seeks to create a framework to address the growing concern of business-to-business payments and payments by the government or public authorities to businesses, where such payments are effected beyond the agreed due date or remain overdue. This, as we are all aware, causes burdens on business undertakings, particularly small business, causing stress on cash-flow and at times resulting in bankruptcy.

The Directive helps ensure the proper functioning of the internal market by limiting and harmonising payment terms, permitting suppliers to claim compensation, and allow interest in the event of late payment. This directive does not apply for transactions between consumers, interest in connection with other payments such as the laws on cheques and bills of exchange, and payments made as compensation for damages including payment from an insurance company.

Public authorities have to pay for the goods and services that they procure within 30 calendar days following the receipt of invoice. Enterprises are automatically entitled to claim interest for late payment and able to obtain a minimum fixed amount of €40 as compensation for recovery costs, with the possibility of claiming all remaining reasonable recovery costs. The rate of interest for late payment between undertakings is agreed between the undertakings. If there is no such agreement, or in cases where the transaction is between a business and a public authority, the applicable interest rate is at least at 8% plus the ECB reference rate.

A payment period should be fixed in the contract in the case of business-to-business transactions. This period should not exceed 60 days unless this is expressly agreed in the contract and it is not grossly unfair to the creditor. Interests are due the day following the end of the fixed period.

The new measures of the directive are obligatory for public authorities yet optional for enterprises. Indeed one of the main concerns voiced by business representatives was that the nature of the market itself may be challenging to affect the benefits of the directive in cases of business-to-business transactions, since this may result in debtors to opt for other suppliers. Indeed this is a concern that as the Directive stands, will have to be addressed by the market itself. However it does provide a basis to act as a framework to such agreements even though it will not be the solution to all problems.

During an MCESD meeting specifically held on GRTU’s request the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Joe Mizzi explained details about the new public transport operator and service. These included details on the acquisition by the new company, the investment it will carry out, the 15 year subsidy given by the Government and the increased service it is expected to result in.

In his intervention GRTU President Paul Abela explained that public transport is very important for our members and in fact members in the localities were transport service was poor saw their business affected as a result. Mr Abela said we should look at transport in a holistic manner because the new service provider will have little impact if our roads are still plagued with the problem of traffic congestion and parking issues.

GRTU President said that a Park and Ride system accompanied by a circular bus in the busiest localities is very important and Government should use funds from the Commuted Parking Scheme specifically for such cases and to create new parking facilities, even in conjunction with the private sector.