Category: Analysis

  • Malta’s Transport Reform: Another Dead End or An Actual Road To Change?

    Malta’s Transport Reform: Another Dead End or An Actual Road To Change?

    By Julian Bonnici

    Promises of reform to Malta’s transport are much like the system itself: chronically delayed, over budget, and often failing to live up to expectations. From the failed Arriva venture to ambitious metro pledges, successive Maltese governments have repeatedly missed the mark, as pointed out by international experts, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    Minister Chris Bonett is the latest minister leading the attempt to solve Malta’s perennial traffic problem, unveiling a set of proposals he said would bring about the necessary culture shift in the country while admitting they would not serve as a long-term solution. 

    Bonett indicated that the latest proposals, slated to roll out over 18 months, could cost around €15 million by the end of this year. Yet crucial details and cost breakdowns remain unclear, with Bonett assuring more specifics would follow.

    But what are the numbers behind the proposals? And, crucially, will they meaningfully reduce Malta’s notorious traffic congestion, exacerbated by nearly half a million cars on the island?

    Amphora Media spoke to experts Dr John Ebejer and Dr Karl Camilleri to get their sense of the situation.

    Malta’s Traffic Numbers: A Snapshot

    NSO FIGURES TRANSPORT MALTA
    Source: NSO

    Breaking down the proposals: Vehicle incentives and the bus network

    The government’s recently unveiled ‘Reshaping our Mobility’ action plan outlines seven pillars, ranging from a “24-Hour Economy” aimed at distributing off-peak traffic – to broad and somewhat vague strategies promoting alternative mobility. However, the vehicle-focused incentives captured immediate public attention, specifically:

    Surrender your Licence Scheme: 

    A cash grant of €5,000 annually for five years (€25,000 total) for individuals who give up their driving licence and car for five years. 

    This scheme is set to be implemented first, with a scheduled launch between April and June of this year.

    Scooter Shift Grant: 

    A cash grant of €1,500 per year for four years for a total of €6,000 if persons renounce their motor vehicle licence and car for four years and start using a small scooter.

    This will be the second scheme to be introduced. No specific timeline was given.

    Be the change 17+:

    A cash grant of €1,500 per year for four years for a total of €6,000 to 17-year-olds if they opt to drive a small scooter on the condition that they don’t obtain a driving licence by 21.

    This will be the final scheme to be introduced. No specific timeline was given.

    Other proposals include a motorcycle purchase cash grant, a reform to the classification of vintage cars, carpooling at the University of Malta (which has already failed in the past), tax incentives for employers to promote employee transportation services, and a green trail plan policy for the public sector.

    It appears that among experts, the policies as a whole, particularly the vehicle incentives, radically fail at addressing the issue – and rather act as a band-aid to a wound that won’t heal.

    Yet, experts consulted by Amphora Media underscored a vital, albeit overlooked, proposal: improving and expanding Malta’s bus routes and the revision of the road network in preparation for a new contract for operating the Malta public transport system.

    Malta Public Transport Buses

    The current proposals will complement projects already taking place, some encouraging people to buy and drive cars. 

    Currently, drivers can get grants of €400 to €1,500, depending on the vehicle type, to retrofit their petrol or diesel vehicles to use liquified natural gas. At the same time, Transport Malta also pays car owners to switch to electric vehicles or install photovoltaic panels, and a generous grant encourages drivers to buy electric cars. 

    The government also invests heavily in building more roads and subsidises fuel prices to keep them low. 

    IMF experts also suggest that “Pricing actions—e.g., on vehicle and fuel taxes, or parking charges—would be helpful.”

    Counting the Costs

    The exact costs of the government’s proposals have yet to be fully revealed, with Minister Bonett only broadly indicating they could exceed €15 million.

    Nevertheless, preliminary calculations suggest potentially alarming expenditures, especially considering participants can rejoin the driver population after the schemes end. 

    The proposed budget also includes numerous strategies beyond vehicle reduction, like parking solutions and alternative transport methods, raising concerns over the impact of these projects.

    Here’s a rough projection of potential costs:

    Surrender Your Licence Scheme:

    (€5,000/year for 5 years = total €25,000 per participant)

    % of Driving populationParticipantsAnnual CostTotal Cost (5 years)
    0.2%600€3,000,000€15,000,000
    1%3,000€15,000,000€75,000,000
    5%15,000€75,000,000€375,000,000

    Scooter Shift Grant:

    (€1,500/year for 4 years = total €6,000 per participant)

    % of Driving populationParticipantsAnnual CostTotal Cost (4 years)
    0.3%835€1,250,000€5,000,000
    1%3,000€4,500,000€18,000,000
    5%15,000€22,500,000€90,000,000

    Be the Change 17+:

    (€1,500/year for 4 years = total €6,000 per participant) 

    % of total number of 17-year-oldsParticipants (Approx. 5,000 17-year-olds)Annual CostTotal Cost (4 years)
    1%50€75,000€300,000
    5%250€375,000€1,500,000
    10%500€750,000€3,000,000
    Minister Chris Bonett
    Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works Chris Bonett – Source: DOI

    Major Enforcement Concerns

    Minister Bonett insisted that the proposals were not there to simply dish out money and would need to be accompanied by a “commitment” to the scheme. 

    Participants who leave the scheme before its expiration will be required to repay the government for the remaining years. 

    For example, someone leaving the Surrender Your Licence Scheme after three years would owe €10,000 to the government.

    However, in Malta, promises of robust enforcement often ring hollow. Transport Malta, which will be heavily involved in the scheme, has grappled with numerous scandals over the last few years. 

    Several people have been charged with leading a racket to ensure specific candidates obtain their driving licenses, allegedly telling instructors to “take care” of candidates flagged by “some ministry or Castille”. There have also been further allegations of Transport Malta officials running a similar racket on maritime fines

    More recently, Amphora Media has also revealed a series of suspicious cheques former Transport Malta CEO James Piscopo received while holding the role. Investigators suspect these could be tied to multi-million payments they believe are linked to the Kappara Junction and Malta Public Transport contracts.

    Has it worked abroad? Finding a Viable Long-term Solution

    Internationally, license surrender programs are rare precisely because they are expensive relative to their effectiveness. Schemes focusing on modal shifts (scooter and public transport subsidies) are more common due to their greater sustainability and better cost-effectiveness.

    Scooter incentives have worked effectively in countries with substantial scooter-friendly infrastructure like Italy and Spain. Ultimately, Malta would need significant investment in this area to replicate such success. 

    Rental scooters had become popular in Malta regardless, but the government issued a ban  – unprecedented in the EU – following widespread public outcry over their use.

    In 2024, motorcyclists and cyclists accounted for roughly 40% of all traffic-related injuries, hinting at a widespread issue that should be addressed before significant numbers are placed on the roads.

    Experts consulted by Amphora Media agree that Malta has squandered valuable time and resources fixating on an underground metro, a project which would require enormous infrastructural works and significant population growth—roughly 1,000,000 users—to even justify.

    Instead, experts pointed towards a significant shift from car-centric policies towards a focus that promotes public transport – and namely, substantial investment in a reliable, expansive bus network or the creation of a new light rail transport system.

    However, achieving these would necessitate difficult decisions, especially reconsidering on-road parking in crucial transit areas.

    Yet, implementing these solutions would require Malta’s government to adopt a tougher stance—more stick, less carrot.

    Questions will be raised about whether the government or the Minister would be willing to make that decision and sacrifice votes.

    Paris is among the cities that successfully moved from car-centric to people-centric design. 

    The Urban Institute in the US praises Paris’s “sustained drop in car use—as well as fewer crashes and less pollution.”

    The transformation started with lowering speeds in the city, closing former highways to cars and opening them up to pedestrians and cyclists, expanding pavements, and allowing residents to enjoy car-free areas on weekends. Paris also slowed or eliminated traffic around schools and freed up space by removing on-street parking in many areas. 

    As of 2022, personal cars remain the dominant mode of transport, but they no longer account for over half of the means of transport. The share of bus trips has doubled, and the share of bicycle trips has tripled between 2016 and 2022. 

    In 2023, Paris received the Sustainable Transport Award . The drive to reclaim the city’s iconic boulevards is called a ‘soft revolution’. Its popularity was boosted by participatory budgeting, giving residents a say in how to allocate the resources.

    These achievements were not easy. A court had overturned car bans, and hundreds came out in protest. But mayor Anne Hidalgo, who championed these policies, continues serving her second term undeterred.

    Perhaps, ultimately, those with a strong vision will have their way in the end.

  • Fort Chambray: A Bad Deal For Malta

    Fort Chambray: A Bad Deal For Malta

    By Michaela Pia Camilleri obo The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation

    “The giving away of Fort Chambray and the surrounding land for the ridiculous amount of Lm10,000 a year… was and still is a scandal for many Maltese and Gozitan people.” This is how former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described the sale of Fort Chambray before becoming Labour Party leader. Fourteen years later, he endorsed a new transfer to the Gozitan hotelier Michael Caruana.

    Now, the fort and the public are being sold down the river for a third time after parliament approved changes to the concession granted to Caruana in 2005. The changes, rushed through parliament without public consultation, allow him to sell his concession to a group of investors in negotiations over the site, after Caruana failed to honour significant parts of the public concession. 

    Last December, the Planning Authority gave the go-ahead to demolish the only British-era barracks in Gozo to make space for luxurious developments within the Fort. Several NGOs have appealed, and the hearing will be held on 25 March 2025.

     Why was Fort Chambray’s sale a bad deal for Malta?

    The site, covering an area of nearly 100,000 square metres, consists of three designated areas: a hotel area; a residential area; and “other areas”, being historical buildings found on the site, which include only British-era barracks in Gozo; a bakery built by the Order of St John; the polverista, built at the time for storing gunpowder; and the fortifications. 

    An analysis of Caruana’s 2005 contract by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation shows that the PN government of the day, led by Lawrence Gonzi, granted Caruana a lenient contract.

    The agreed price for the land was low, €3.5 million for nearly 100,000 square metres of land, amounting to what would today be around €35 per square metre and an additional sum of around €2,300 per month in ground rent paid over 87 years.

    In 2005, Caruana agreed with the government that they would complete the project in three phases: 

    • Phase 1, which involved the construction of 80 apartments and villas overlooking the Mġarr Harbour area, was completed in early 2007, with the units promptly launched on the market.
    • Phase 2 would include additional villas and apartments, this time overlooking the Gozo Channel.
    • Phase 3 would develop a touristic area with a 6-star hotel.

    However, Caruana stopped investing in the site once Phase 2 was complete, leaving things as they were. 

    When contacted by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, Caruana said that on 24 January 2005, he settled all the contractual amounts due, as well as all the debts, including those racked up by previous concession owners. He also said that he has never donated to a political party.

    The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation’s requests to the Lands Authority and the Lands Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi to confirm that the payment of the premium of Lm1,500,000 and the annual temporary ground rent of Lm12,100 were all paid by Caruana and that no outstanding payments remained to be paid – were ignored. 

    Did Caruana breach the contract?

    Green: Phase 1, Blue: Phase 2, No colour: Phase 3. Photo: Din l-Art Helwa Ghawdex.

    The contract bound the developer to complete the development of the residential area in two phases: one not later than one year from the date of issue of a planning permit and the other not later than three years.

    While the contract does list penalties of Lm100 (€240) for each day of default in case of failure to complete the development within the time limits, it does not specify a deadline to obtain said permits, meaning that there was never any actual timeline for the project’s completion. 

    After Caruana withdrew his development permit applications, he was able to stop the clock. There were no clauses in the agreement explaining what would happen in such a case. 

    The developer also bound himself to, at his own cost, fully restore and maintain the historical buildings on the site. These buildings have been left in a state of disrepair. 

    The polverista. Photos: Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex.

    Regarding the hotel area, Caruana had one year to decide whether to build a hotel or another project. The hotel was never built. However, the contract was very weak, and he was only obliged not to leave the designated hotel area in a dilapidated state. 

    Where does this leave us?

    We are left with several questions. 

    Why did the government, first under the Nationalists and then under Labour, give away valuable real estate so capriciously and with such minimal obligations for the developer? 

    Why were both sides of the House of Representatives so quick to give it up once again instead of fixing past mistakes?

    We asked both the Labour Party and Nationalist Party whether any of the developers ever donated to them. We were met with no response.

    Michaela Pia Camilleri is the Research and Legal Officer for the Daphne Caruana Galiziia Foundation.

  • 0.3% Of Malta’s Magisterial Inquiries Come From Private Citizens — Bill 125 Will Shrink That Number

    0.3% Of Malta’s Magisterial Inquiries Come From Private Citizens — Bill 125 Will Shrink That Number

    By Sabrina Zammit

    Magisterial inquiries have been one of Malta’s few avenues for citizens to seek justice and hold those in power accountable. A new bill threatens to close that door – and recent data shows private citizen-filed inquiries account for just 0.3% of all magisterial inquiries.

    In response to a series of parliamentary questions by MP Amanda Spiteri Grech, Justice Minister Jonathan Attard revealed that only 25 magisterial inquiries were initiated by private citizens between 2017 and 2024, a fraction of the 7,650 carried out by magistrates & initiated by authorities. 

    Private citizen-filed inquiries have led to major investigations and, in some instances, criminal charges into significant scandals, including the VGH/Steward case, 17 Black, the Panama Papers, Electrogas, and the Mozura wind farm deal in Montenegro.

    Bill 125 would drastically limit that ability. It has courted significant controversy and was introduced amid fresh requests for inquiries into Prime Minister Robert Abela’s cabinet members. Critics say that the bill has been rushed through parliament and that the government has been unwilling to engage in public dialogue.

    A vote on the second reading of the Bill will be taken later today. The committee stage will follow, and a final vote will be taken after its third and final reading.

    Data from 2017-2024

    Under the proposed law, citizens must present evidence to the police, not the magistrate, and follow stricter guidelines. This would undermine accountability, especially if authorities fail to act.

    The Bill removes the ‘reasonable suspicion’ standard, introduces a stricter evidentiary requirement, and places magisterial inquiries under the supervision of the Attorney General, which could compromise judicial independence. 

    The government argues that the Bill aligns with recommendations made by the Venice Commission, which stressed it should “not abandon Malta’s legal traditions but evolve to provide more effective checks and balances than those currently in place.” 

    PL MEP Alex Agius Saliba and Minister Attard travelled to Brussels for a series of meetings, including former LIBE Committee Chair Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar. Agius Saliba has reportedly begun circulating a government-produced ‘fact sheet’ about Bill 125. 

    The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation has urged the European Parliament’s Socialist and Democrats (S&D) group to retract their support for the proposed reform.

    Justice Minister Jonathan Attard
    Source: DOI

    Bill 125 Slashes Citizens’ Right to Seek Justice

    Besides eliminating direct citizen petitions and imposing stricter evidentiary requirements, Bill 125 mandates individuals to wait 6 months for police inaction for an initial request for a magisterial inquiry. 

    A two-year deadline is being introduced, after which all collected evidence would be passed onto the Attorney General, regardless of the inquiry’s status. Given the court’s long-standing issue with delays, this could result in a premature conclusive status for incomplete investigations. 

    Another major reform is the introduction of penalties for abuse. If a magistrate determines that the inquiry initiated by a citizen against the accused was “unfounded, frivolous, vexatious or abusive of the judicial process”, the same citizen would be held responsible for covering costs. 

    These expenses could run into the millions—for context, the inquiry into Egrant cost over €1.2 million, while the Vitals exceeded €10 million.