Kaizenlog

 

 

 

 

 

 

NO. 0065

 

 

SPEECH BY THE HON. CENSU GALEA, MINISTER FOR COMPETITIVENESS AND COMMUNICATIONS DURING A  SEMINAR ON  ‘A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE’ ORGANISED BY THE MALTA QUALITY GROUP  -  SLIEMA – 15^TH JANUARY 2008

 

 

The term ‘quality’ is quite a subjective one and can be interpreted widely.  In business management, for example, quality has become a central aspect and we are now  striving for Six-Sigma and Total Quality Management Techniques. However, for this address I shall take a quick look at the term quality from a government perspective and how policies adopted by this administration are aimed at improving the quality of our lives through improved standards and techniques.

 

Participation in European Union programmes has enabled the Government of Malta to improve the quality of life of all Maltese and Gozitans by implementing a strategic reform process that focuses on enhancing our national competitiveness. The National Reform Programme (NRP) through which the country’s socio-economic development challenges are being addressed is already helping to upgrade the quality of services in numerous sectors including those provided by enterprise and industry and tourism.

 

The Malta Standards Authority (MSA) is constantly introducing and developing further the adoption of various standards to upgrade the quality of our products and services. The MSA is responsible for quality infrastructure in Malta. Its competence in areas such as technical regulation, standardization, and accreditation has helped to ensure that producers, distributors and service providers are delivering high quality services.

 

Nowadays, when consumers purchase goods, they are mainly concerned about the product’s quality, price, design, value and appeal. The Government’s main responsibility is to ensure that everyone is in a position to be able to make such choices. This is only possible if enough wealth is being generated and if the people concerned are given the opportunity to purchase the goods of their preference.

 

A competitive market economy encourages entrepreneurs to innovate and improve productivity. Within the new social reality the marketplace forces you to make changes and it also offers the largest rewards to those who understand their customers’ best needs. In the information linked economy, where consumers, no matter where they live, know which products offer the best value and quality, the power to choose or refuse lies in our hands, not in the hands of lethargic privileged monopolies.

 

In order to maintain its competitive advantage, a country must identify niches in the global economy that allow it to add value to services that are already success stories. Malta’s future prosperity will depend more than ever on the dynamism of its entrepreneurial sector. Free competition is the watchword of the day. In order to guarantee a better quality of life in future one will have to be more and more innovative and have a capacity to develop new products and new markets and an ability to conduct research in developmental sectors.

 

In economic terms, membership of the EU has provided a more stable environment, more competition and possibilities for co-operation across Europe. This framework is probably one of the most outstanding benefits that Malta has reaped as a result of EU membership. The dividends of this geo-political and geo-economic transition process which we are currently experiencing will influence positively the destiny of future generations for decades to come.

 

The most fundamental factor that will ensure a better quality of life in the information age is education. This is why Government is investing so much our its education sector. The younger generation is already showing signs of being more adventurous than their parents when it comes to technology related products and services. They are also prepared to interact with other cultures rather than accept stereotypes. It is essential that contemporary educational systems offer students the necessary skills that will allow them to function and compete in the information age. This includes having a very good comprehension of the English Language, the lingua franca of the post-cold war world.

 

Given that Malta is geographically proximate to Europe, one of the world’s most dynamic zones of innovation and creativity, and also at the centre of one of the world’s most diverse sea routes, the Mediterranean, there is no reason why Malta cannot be a leading actor in the future development of our Euro-Mediterranean region. This will include offering technology based services in different sectors including tourism and financial services as well as offering state-of-the-art research and development facilities for multinational technology firms that are seeking to expand their activity to the Mediterranean area.

 

DOI – 15.01.2008

Welcome back to Kaizenlog.com, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed , Twitter You can contact us by using the contact form or submitting a comment. You can also share this post with your friends by clicking on the 'ShareThis' button above. Thanks for visiting!

 Print This Post

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at and is filed under Kaizenlog.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.