MONEY MAR 2017 ISSUE 41

BUSINESS | LIFESTYLE | DESIGN

HOME & INTERIORS ISSUE 41

FASHION:

3D PRINTING:

SEAN BUTTIGIEG

THE SCENIC ROUTE COTTONERA:

COLOUR CODES

THE REGENERATION

EXQUISITE LIGHTING IMPRESSIVE OFFICES

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CONTENTS

WELCOME

HOME & INTERIORS

MARCH 2017

08 THE WORLD IN 3D

Sean Buttigieg speaks to Veronica Stivala about how 3D printing allows architects to have a better understanding of the building before construction.

The property market is experiencing one of its best periods ever. Behind the huge amount of cranes and the soundscape of drilling, trenching and hammering is an industry that is contributing millions to Malta’s GDP while boosting employment and spilling over into other sectors.

The statistics indicate a boom in the construction industry. Between 2001 and 2015, property prices have gone up by a staggering 67.2 per cent – the biggest increases were fuelled by Malta joining the EU in 2004, when prices skyrocketed by 20 per cent in just one year, as well as by Labour’s return to power in 2013. Just consider that in 2015 alone, over €2 billion worth of property was sold, representing 15,557 contracts.

The local construction and property sector’s performance is even more significant when considering the European context, with other EU member states such as Greece, Spain, Italy and the UK struggling with political and social issues, bankruptcy and Brexit.

However, as the saying goes, not all that glitters is gold. The booming property market risks outpricing some sectors of society. Moreover, the balance between progress and the environment is always tricky to achieve. Also, Malta still needs a holistic master plan that improves our living and working spaces, restores our built heritage and reduces the wastage of our limited land and space resources.

In this issue of Money, Perit Joanna Spiteri Staines tells Veronica Stivala that rather than building more, rehabilitation of abandoned buildings and sites involving the community is key to the strategic urban renewal that the Cottonera area badly needs.

Victor Paul Borg reflects on our relationship with living spaces – taking cue from living arrangements in cosmopolitan cities abroad, he argues that sharing rental spaces does not necessarily mean social regression.

In this issue of Money, we also showcase the latest design and furniture trends, focus on property management, the importance for businesses to leverage big data, and propose a list of must-have gifts.

12 WHAT IS THE VALUE OF HOME?

High rents and shared spaces do not necessarily represent social regression, Victor Paul Borg says.

15 LETTING THE GOOD TIMES ROLL?

Despite Malta’s small size and inherent vulnerabilities, we are becoming a textbook case of growth and resilience, Orlanda Grech and Chris Meilak say.

19 A COLOURFUL MOOD

Vera Sant Fournier colour codes your interiors.

24 SOUTH SPECIFIC

While the three cities have seen a surge in interest on the property market, Perit Joanna Spiteri Staines tells Veronica Stivala that rather than building more, rehabilitation of abandoned buildings and sites involving the community is key to strategic urban renewal.

30 SQUEEZING VALUE FROM DATA The ability to leverage big data is becoming an important success factor for businesses, Joseph Micallef says.

32 WORKING FROM HOME

Jamie Iain Genovese helps you set up a home office.

38 A VISION FOR THE EURO

There is still hope in the Eurozone, Alexander Mangion says, while in the US, trade and immigration restrictions will take their toll on economic growth.

40 POWER TO THE POTENTIAL

Like many African nations, Kenya has plenty of potential. Yet when will it bloom into a success story?

42 TOP OF THE NOTCH

Money’s pick from the world’s best designers.

56 TIME STANDS STILL

Mona Farrugia takes a quick break in Sicily’s Agrigento and discovers antitourism in the town that life forgot.

58 OPINING FROM A DISTANCE

Why are there so many Europeans who admire Donald Trump without knowing him, the Bluesman asks.

Read on and enjoy.

COVER CREDITS Photography Steven Levi Vella Editor Anthony P. Bernard anthony@moneymag.me Consulting Editor Stanley Borg stanley@moneymag.me Design Peresso Design Studio peresso.webflow.io Printing Print It Distribution Mailbox Direct Marketing Group

Hand delivered to businesses in Malta, all 5 Star Hotels including their business centres, executive lounges and rooms (where allowed), Maltese Embassies abroad (UK, Rome, Brussels, Moscow and Libya), some Government institutions and all ministries For information regarding promotion and advertising call Tel: 00 356 2134 2155, 2131 4719 Email: hello@moneymag.me

Styling Luke Engerer Make Up Diandra Mattei at DM Face-Body-Hands Hair Stilista Hair by Alexia Models Michael at Models M wearing, Armani Jeans sweatshirt €140.00, Armani Jeans jeans €155.00

Money is published by Be Communications Ltd, No. 81, Howard Street, Sliema, Malta SLM 1754 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission. Opinions expressed in Money are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. All reasonable care is taken to ensure truth and accuracy, but the editor and publishers cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions in articles, advertising, photographs or illustrations. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome but cannot be returned without a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The editor is not responsible for material submitted for consideration.

4 - Money / Issue 41

Photography Steven Levi Vella www.steven-vella.com Styling Luke Engerer Make Up Diandra Mattei at DM Face-Body-Hands Hair Stilista Hair by Alexia Models Ana & Michael at Models M

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PRINTING

THE WORLD IN 3D

Sean Buttigieg

3D printing has completely revolutionised the architectural design process and the way buildings are conceived. Sean Buttigieg speaks to Veronica Stivala about how this process allows architects to have a better understanding of the building before construction. Curious? Read on and learn how 3D printing can help you design better buildings.

F

rom plastic, resin and concrete to porcelain, metal and even human tissue, 3D printing is stretching the boundaries of additive manufacturing.

In short, 3D printing is a process whereby three-dimensional objects are created layer by layer after having been designed on a

8 - Money / Issue 41

computer. It comes as no surprise then that architects are having a field day with this and recent advancements in the technology have proven that whole buildings can be printed out of concrete.

Obviously such advancements are still in their early phases but 3D printed concrete

is certainly something we should expect to see more of in the near future.

While to the layman 3D printing is, well, the printing of 3D objects, there are actually different types of 3D printing technologies and none of them are as straightforward as printing on paper:

Some printers use a heated nozzle to melt plastic and reposition it in its appropriate location, others use resin and UV light, and others use powder and glue.

Buttigieg explains how FDM technology is highly dependent on gravity “because parts are built layer by layer from the bottom up similar to the way buildings are constructed”.

Sean Buttigieg is an architect and business director at the Fablab in Valletta, a fabrication laboratory that makes frequent use of 3D printers.

So, a column can be printed easily because a column is essentially a series of circles stacked vertically, one on top of the other. However to build a bridge a supporting structure must first be constructed onto which the bridge can be printed over. Once the printing process is complete, the supporting material can be removed to reveal the desired bridge.

He explains how in its most primitive sense, “3D printing is an additive manufacturing process that uses Computer Controlled Mechanics (CNC) to deposit matter in a predefined two-dimensional outline.

“In order to achieve the three dimensionality that is synonymous with the process, these 2D outlines are stacked on top of each other resulting in a three-dimensional form. All 3D printing technologies follow the same principle.”

The most common form of 3D printing is the molten plastic method, technically referred to as Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). In this process a string of plastic is mechanically pulled through a heated nozzle which deposits the molten plastic in a pre-determined path.

These (unwanted but necessary) supports are printed simultaneously with the main form.

And it gets better, as you don’t even need to design the support geometry yourself, because the printing software – referred to as the ‘slicing’ software – creates it for you.

You can also print in 3D using heat to melt material while depositing the molten material layer by layer. Some printers use ultra violet light to solidify matter, or a mechanical pump to direct a semi-viscous matrix in its relative position. Other printers deposit a binding medium to consolidate matter. There are even

printers that can print in a variety, up to 10, of materials simultaneously. So, it is safe to say the possibilities are endless.

Locally, the technology is still in its infancy.

Buttigieg explains how most 3D printing services locally are used to produce scaled models of either whole buildings or just parts of a building. It is difficult to explain how long to takes to print something in 3D because this depends on the technology, the size of the print, and the intricacy and density of the design.

Yet Buttigieg does admit that the downside of most entry level, household printers is the printing time. That said, he notes how there are a number of 3D printing techniques that have been evolved to hasten the process, but are less available because they are more expensive.

3D printing offers architects and other creatives the opportunity to physically hold their designs and therefore analyse them better over traditional methods of merely visualising them on a computer screen. More than just helping plan better buildings, 3D printing offers the opportunity to test the physical attributes of a design, which were earlier only encountered in the final stages of fabrication or construction.

Money / Issue 41 - 9

PRINTING

Buttigieg explains further: “Rapid prototyping is the term used for making quick models to assess an idea or design. 3D printing is a rapid prototyping technology and has given users the opportunity to test ideas over and over before entering the mass production stage.

In the past, certain flaws in a design were noticed too late and only after hundreds or thousands of a product had been produced.

3D printing has created a new phase in the design process that provides designers with the opportunity to rethink certain design characteristics before it is too late.”

“MORE THAN JUST HELPING PLAN BETTER BUILDINGS, 3D PRINTING OFFERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEST THE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF A DESIGN” In the field of sustainability, more than 3D printing, it is the advancements in computational design that allow the creation of eco-friendlier buildings.

3D printing has become an integral part of Buttigieg’s design process. In some instances, he has used it in the early stages of design to test various proposals or options, and in others he has used it towards the last phases of a design in order to help with the physical visualisation of a final proposal.

One of the most influential design projects Buttigieg worked on was the design of a prototypical high-rise building during his work placement at HENN in Berlin. Models were generated to aid the analysis of form, scale and other attributes related to the design.

These models made it easier for the team to communicate certain design decisions among one another and made it easier for them to present ideas to their consultants.

As a medium, 3D printing should not be considered as an end to any means, stresses Buttigieg. Like any other medium it should be used as a tool in the instances where it offers added value. Take painting for example, some atmospheres are easier to depict using water colour, where others are only truly depicted using oils. The same attitude should be taken for 3D printing. Not every three-dimensional form should be 3D printed.

3D printing technology, in the field of architecture, has completely revolutionised the way buildings or products are

conceived. Traditionally, designs were analysed through a computer screen, which obviously has its limitations.

Now, geometry and form can be analysed in three dimensions adding a new layer of information to the design. Buttigieg is keen to stress that 3D printing should be used iteratively and in parallel to traditional hand sketching and 3D modelling.

“It should not be seen as a tool used for the final representation of a project, but just as frequently as the sketch,” he says, adding that “this is why the printing process should be made as cheap as possible, in order to encourage designers to take full advantage of the process.”

Buttigieg is adamant to keep prices realistic and offers competitive prices at the Fablab in Valletta.

“We believe it is not fair that the end user pays for the inefficiency of the machine and this is why rates are not time- but weightdependant. Therefore, the cost of a print depends on the intricacy of the model and its size rather than the speed of the machine.”

Fablab in Valletta lets people use the 3D printer as though it was their own.

“We are aware that not everyone has the financial capacity to purchase a 3D printer, especially one that prints objects as big as 40cm in width and length and 70cm in height,” states Buttigieg.

They have set up an online booking system where anyone can book a time slot and come and use the machine. He is keen to note how “people with no previous experience in 3D modelling or printing usually pick up very quickly after a few hours of consultation, which is given for free”.

Fablab also offers induction courses where enthusiasts can become accustomed to using the machines, the space and the online booking platform so that they can then use the space in their own time and at their own pace.

Fablabs can be found all over the world and their aim is to empower citizens technologically. Acting more of a community centre than a print shop, fablabs are spaces for people to bring their ideas to reality.

The printer at Fablab in Valletta has the largest buildable volume on the island. It also has the capacity to print in porcelain as well as nylon and traditional plastics such as ABS and PLA. info@ fablabvalletta.org, www.fablabvalletta.org

SPACES

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF HOME?

High rents and shared spaces do not necessarily represent social regression, Victor Paul Borg says.

T

here is much disquiet in Malta about the rental market being a landlords’ market: high demand for rents is spurring sharp rises in rental prices, leading to low-income tenants being

12 - Money / Issue 41

forced to live in smaller places far flung from the island’s commercial hubs.

There is even alarming talk of landlords renting out bedrooms in shared residences, mostly to

migrants from eastern European countries, most of whom work in low-paid service industry jobs, as well as refugees. Maltese people who don’t own their property are fuming at the supposedly high rents for tiny places.

Victor Paul Borg has published more than one million words, as well as hundreds of pictures, all published in books and magazines and newspapers in every corner of the world.

“THE IDEA OF HOME, AND HOW YOU RELATE TO IT, MORPHS ACCORDING TO THE SIZE AND NATURE OF THE SPACE AND THE LARGER ARRANGEMENT IN NEIGHBOURHOOD OR COMMUNITY” This state of affairs is familiar to me, having lived in a spate of large cities – in Berlin, London, Melbourne, and Bangkok.

Malta is simply becoming like a large city in this regard, a place where a massive influx of residents – immigrants, refugees (especially the Libyan refugees with money) – and booming tourism and economy has made housing a valuable commodity.

And this trend doesn’t necessarily represent social regression, at least if measured up to large cities in Europe, although landlords are certainly profiteering in Malta’s case (they advertise rents unexpectedly high to clueless foreigners, and that puts upward pressure in rents across the board).

In the large European cities, living in houseshares is the norm for single people and only the affluent can afford to have their own flat.

It’s only families with children which then feel compelled to branch out into their own property. I lived in house-shares in Berlin and London and Melbourne for many years.

The difference from Malta in these cities is that there is a system of finding rents in house-shares or flat-shares. The system is mostly developed in London because it’s Europe’s largest city with a significant transient population – people moving in and then moving out with dizzying regularity. Houses or flats are rented out to the existent tenants at a fixed price for the entire space, and when one of the tenants moves out the same rent has to be shared by a smaller number of inhabitants, and the remaining tenants take it upon themselves to find a new housemate to replace the departing tenant.

Prospective tenants find out about places for rent in classified newspapers (and websites), and then they set up an appointment to see the place and meet the existent tenants, discussing house rules and temperamental issues of existent tenants. Eventually, the existent tenants vet a number of candidates and choose the one most suited as a future flatmate.

This system has developed organically over the years, and the great thing about it is that a newcomer to London finds more than just a place to share. That’s because the system of vetting ensures that the inhabitants would have common characteristics, leading to close cooperation and harmony in the household, and to the tenants becoming friends. So it’s a way of making friends and getting into the social circles in London.

A similar system would work in Malta if the demand for rents remains as high as it is now. House-shares would allow people on low-income to live more centrally in harmonious and friendly households. It just needs an existing letting agent, or some kind of other entrepreneur, to set up the system, then build it up slowly so that landlords and tenants would be informed about it. Landlords have an interest in a system of this type because it leads to more satisfied tenants and hence lower turnover of tenants; and the landlords wouldn’t have to keep looking for tenants themselves – their income is assured, irrespective of the number of tenants.

The problem with Malta is that the market developed too fast, given the unexpected influx of immigrants, and it’s a boom market, and landlords are riding this wave of immigrations – taking advantage of hapless immigrants, refugees especially, profiteering while they can. The market will eventually stabilise, and some of the runaway prices (there are rents advertised online that are as expensive as rents in London) will come down again.

I found a similar system in Australia, but in Asia it’s a completely different deal. In Asia cities individuals live alone in studio flats. I spent six years living in studio flats in Bangkok, and I was content because I could have the privacy of my own pad in a large buzzing city. It’s a kind of compact living that is possible because the service infrastructure is set up for it: a studio flat would have no kitchen or washing machine.

Cheap and hearty meals can be had at a

range of stalls on the street outside – stalls do different one-plate dishes, setting up tables on the pavement, peddling fare that is remarkably inexpensive and good. And you would find everything in the neighbourhood, even coin operated washing machines. Life takes place out of home mostly – studios are usually kitted with fridge and microwave, allowing you the chance to have microwave meals when you don’t feel like eating outdoors, or when tropical storms maroon you in the living space. Other large Asian cities also have similar setups.)

Now I am spending considerable time in Malta again. My pad is the large ancestral home, the house my parents left me, a space that certainly affects the way I think about home. For the idea of home, and how you relate to it, morphs according to the size and nature of the space and the larger arrangement in neighbourhood or community. And after living in cramped or shared places in large seething cities for almost two decades, I now perceive my current house as my palace of possessions and refuge. I spend most of my time indoors, working from home, in a house amply supplied for prolonged periods indoors.

The large house – houses in Malta are on the larger size of the spectrum, even maisonettes and flats – defines how we live in Malta, and how we feel about our house. It’s the reason why our houses are our pride, our singular achievement in life, why our houses are filled with appliances and comforts and mementoes.

At the end of our lives our houses become filled with the detritus of our lives and accessories of the things we value. Our houses are comfort zones, a cocoon for retreat and rejuvenation. We constantly improve our house, pottering and tinkering around the house regularly. We cook lavishly and fill the cabinets with tinned foods as if preparing for a siege. And our houses become something more meaningful than a place to live: they are our creation, our private museums.

Money / Issue 41 - 13

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ECONOMY

Orlanda Grech and Chris Meilak are economists at EY Malta’s economic advisory unit.

LETTING THE GOOD TIMES ROLL?

Despite Malta’s small size and inherent vulnerabilities, we are becoming a textbook case of growth and resilience, Orlanda Grech and Chris Meilak say.

S

ometimes you wonder whether we are living in a parallel universe. The foreign news is choc-a-bloc with political and economic turmoil, only to be followed by official data consistently confirming Malta’s economic success story. The unemployment rate is one of the lowest in Europe, firms are having a hard time finding new recruits in most sectors, and property is in high demand.

These are only some of the key benchmarks.

Clearly, despite our small size and inherent vulnerabilities, we are becoming a textbook case of growth and resilience.

Dissecting the reasons behind this positive state of affairs leads to two sets of factors – internally and externally driven ones. The latter is highly volatile and subject to the whims and travails of political leaders as well as regulatory developments (read: Brexit; BEPS).

And in any case, a small country can never have the same political clout as other larger economies to significantly influence international developments.

Which means that the only real economic levers in our hands are those influencing internal factors.

To maintain Malta’s position as a stable and thriving economy offering a safe environment and a high quality of life (and perhaps retaining some Mediterranean elan!), significant investment is needed. And it would probably have to come at the expense of foregoing current consumption.

Focus on five areas would be fruitful.

First is the physical infrastructure. There is a common feeling that the country is at the limits of its carrying capacity, both in terms of the total resident population, as well as

Money / Issue 41 - 15

ECONOMY

inbound tourist numbers. Should we agree a 10-year infrastructure upgrade plan – partly already covered in the operational programme for the current EU funding period – to extend the country’s economic useful life?

“ECONOMIC SUCCESS NEED NOT COME AT THE EXPENSE OF OUR GREEN ENVIRONMENT” If we see the country as a collection of fixed assets with a depreciation rate that requires earnings to be earmarked for future re-investment purposes, two types of infrastructural needs arise: larger-scale national infrastructure (such as roads) but also smaller scale community-based infrastructure (including rubble walls, historical landmarks such as chapels, restoration of paintings in public buildings, buildings belonging to social and cultural clubs operating within our towns).

Bank financing is rarely the (only?) solution where such projects of a public good nature come into play, so a mix of alternative funding is being looked into.

We should also focus on innovative mentality: as a population, as public and private sectors, our default mode are the tried and tested methods which might still be effective but might be

16 - Money / Issue 41

uneconomical or too bureaucratic. Do we take the time to think outside the box and challenge the way we do things? For instance, business models might need to be rethought if they are now outdated. Also, welcoming disruption in the face of changing technology is fundamental, including realising that inorganic growth strategies such as mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures are a possible way out. Innovation in the way we operate on a daily basis would allow us to retain or re-invent our competitive advantage in all sorts of changing scenarios – including changing regulations.

Another important element is social fabric and income inequality: if one had to qualitatively analyse news on local media related to various social facets (family and relationships between friends; work environment; third party agreements; business relationships; migration) there seems to be an indication that we are devoting less time (maybe because we have less of it) to meaningful relationships, and becoming less patient with third party interactions. Social intolerance among different cultures and nationalities is also becoming a widespread occurrence.

It would definitely be a negative outcome if economic success would come at the expense of such a basic human need and a cornerstone of social stability. And could potentially the widening gap between low and high-income earners accentuate these trends in the social fabric?

Power to the citizen is also important.

Recent happenings such as Sunday shopping restrictions being lifted and an end of roaming

charges prove that the consumer has gained confidence in voicing their own opinions and grudges against customs and rules that are seen as hampering the quality of life. It seems that this emerging trend is here to stay, with consumers being the ultimate drivers of markets, society and government actions.

Economic success need not come at the expense of our green environment. Quality of life, which is highly sought after by both Maltese and non-Maltese looking at residing here, is not just about job opportunities, reduced travel time and consumer choices.

It is also about leisure possibilities – and a green environment is clearly a key component in this complex formula.

To maintain the positive economic energy and continue along the road of long-term economic sustainability, we might have to be cruel to be kind. Now is the time to utilise today’s comfortable economic cushion to think beyond the here and now and challenge ourselves on what economic legacy we will be able to leave ourselves and the next generation.

Finally, our political system appears to need innovation as well. Politicians and their parties should be encouraged to think more in the long-term. Presently, longterm projects do not necessarily guarantee political tenure and this is where we keep going round in circles. To break out, there is definitely scope for some form of cooperation agreements between parties on long-term projects which must be adhered to whichever party is in power.

The ID Chair Concept offers countless customisation options to suit individual users. The FlowMotion mechanism with its multiple functions, a variety of backrests, armrests, seats and bases as well as a wide range of colours and upholstery covers allow each user and each company to create ‘their’ own ID Chair – be it for open-plan workspaces, individual or team offices, conference areas or management offices.

ID Chair Concept

LUXURY

A COLOURFUL MOOD Vera Sant Fournier colour codes your interiors.

U

sing your interiors to lift your spirit can easily be done by introducing and knowing how to use colour. With good planning and a few samples, you can find the colours that will turn your home into an expression of your style and an extension of yourself.

There is a certain psychology in colour and its use, be in food presentation or placebos – colours can determine human behaviour, influences, feelings and perceptions that are perhaps not too obvious. Here we explore primary colours, their meanings and suggested uses.

Once you have established what you want to get out of your interiors at home and your business you are then in a better position, together with your interior designers and decorators to plan the colour scheme and make the necessary purchases based purely on how you want to feel in your own space.

Money / Issue 41 - 19

LUXURY

“COLOURS CAN DETERMINE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR, INFLUENCES, FEELINGS AND PERCEPTIONS” BLUE We certainly feel a sense of calm if we lie on our backs and look at a bright blue cloudless sky – the paler a shade of blue is, the more freedom it evokes. Blue relates to one-to-one communication and enhances self-expression and our ability to communicate our needs and wants.

RED A warm and positive colour, red is associated with our most physical needs and even our will to survive. Strong and powerful, red is both masculine and feminine as it excites the emotions and motivates us to take action. It signifies a pioneering spirit and leadership qualities, promoting ambition and determination. It is also strong-willed and can give confidence to those who are shy or lacking in will power.

Being the colour of physical movement, red is the colour of sexuality and can stimulate deeper and more intimate passions in us, such as love and sex on the positive side or revenge and anger on the negative note.

Red can stimulate our appetite and is often used in restaurants for this purpose. It is said that red can increase cravings for food and other stimuli, but being surrounded by too much of the colour red can cause us to become irritated, agitated and ultimately angry. Too little and we become cautious, manipulative and fearful. Balance is key with red.

It inspires higher ideals and instils a spiritual perspective. Blue as a colour or in different shades is often a colour scheme we suggest for bedrooms, as it inspires tranquillity and peace. Simple touches of this colour, even just on scatter cushions or other soft furnishings, will enhance these ideals.

GREEN

YELLOW

Considered to be colour of balance and harmony, this emotionally positive colour gives us the ability to love and nurture ourselves and others unconditionally. A natural peacemaker, green promotes focus and can help to promote fresh ideas – this makes it ideal for a home office.

From a meanings perspective, green is the colour of growth, spring, renewal and rebirth. It renews and restores depleted energy. It is the sanctuary away from the stress of modern living, helping restore in us a sense of well-being. This is why there is so much of this relaxing colour around us and why we need to keep it that way.

Yellow is related to the ego and a sense of self worth, to how we feel about ourselves and how we are perceived by others. Yellow helps with decision-making as it relates to clarity of thought and ideas, although it can often be impulsive. Yellow helps us focus, but as it is considered to be the playful colour the spectrum, this particular joyous colour can also produce anxiety as it is fast moving and can cause agitation.

However, yellow is also uplifting and creates enthusiasm for life by awakening greater confidence and optimism. Yellow is also said to boost metabolism so it is a great colour to use in a kitchen contrasted with grey and other woods to create warmth in your interiors.

NEW ADDITION TO GLOBAL NETWORK Since starting operations in Malta in 2009 with its local partners CSB Group, Regus has witnessed this continuous transformation and growth, not only as mere observers but also as host to a number of significant players in the fields of financial services, ICT and gaming.

Encouraged by the success achieved and the prospects for the future economic growth of the country, Regus will be opening its second centre in Malta.

“Due to the ever-growing demand by the international market for serviced office space, we are opening our second centre in St Julian’s,” Andrew Grech, Regus Area Manager for Malta, said.

The new centre, at the Dragonara Business Centre, Paceville, will provide office space for 161 persons including 30 co-working desks, 20 - Money / Issue 41

apart from meeting room facilities, virtual offices and 270sqm of common area. The offices are filling up fast since the soft opening at the beginning of December, with companies from a variety of sectors.

“What we are seeing here shows that location is crucial for foreign companies as they want the external environment, and not just office space,” Grech said. Paulo Dias, CEO of Regus for Southern Europe and Africa, said that Regus is the perfect solution provider in response to the need of managing a flexible and mobile business.

With the new centre, Regus will increase its office space to 2,245 sqare metres, a total of 275 workstations and 86 offices.

For more information visit www.regus.com.mt

The New Sitting Experience

9

Different postures

Today’s global workforce is incredibly diverse, giving rise to even more different physiognomies of people at work. From body size and shape to gender and generation, each play a role in the sitting preference of each individual. We are more mobile than ever. It’s not a fleeting trend. Mobility not only impacts the way we work, but also the way we sit. Today’s workplace demands a chair that anticipates posture and body movement. To design a new sitting experience, the Steelcase team stopped looking at chairs and started looking at people.

Gesture

Think

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Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The value of the investment can go down as well as up. Investments should be based on the full details of the Prospectus, Offering Supplement and the Key Investor Information Document which may be obtained from BOV Asset Management Limited, Bank of Valletta p.l.c. Branches/Investment Centres and other Licensed Financial Intermediaries. BOV Asset Management Limited is licensed to provide Investment Services in Malta by the MFSA. The BOV Investment Funds is a common contractual fund licenced by the MFSA as a collective investment scheme pursuant to the Investment Services Act and the UCITS Directive. Issued by BOV Asset Management Limited, registered address 58, Triq San Ĺťakkarija, Il-Belt Valletta, VLT 1130, Malta. Tel: 2122 7311, Fax: 2275 5661, E-mail: infoassetmanagement@bov.com, Website: www.bovassetmanagement.com.mt. Source: BOV Asset Management Limited

PROMO

THE LOW COST AND EFFICIENT PAYMENT SOLUTION I

t is a fact that people living in Malta each hold on average €43 in cash every day - this is equivalent to a staggering €15 million.

The reason behind this is that consumers are many times faced with only one option to pay for goods or services – cash. Cash is however not the most efficient way to transact. While card payments are on the rise not everybody is in possession of a debit or credit card – youngsters, foreign residents in Malta who do not have a bank account are just some of the many consumer types that fall in this class. On the other hand, today most people have a smartphone which they carry with them wherever they go.

Consumers everywhere are moving towards a more digitally connected life. Thanks to Myney mobile payments app, smartphone users in Malta have the option to carry cash digitally placing Malta is at the forefront of the mobile payment world. It is now important or crucial that shops, service providers and professionals adopt this new technology and start offering their consumers the ultimate way to pay.

One may or might have the impression that offering consumers Myney mobile payment solution costs a lot of money to implement.

Actually, on the contrary, this is not the case.

While nominal charges do apply for business customers, these are kept to a minimum and work out to be lower than cash and card handling expenses.

Myney app can be downloaded for free. In fact, it was built in such a way so as to allow any person or business that accepts payments from consumers in person to do this through their own smartphone thus not enduring any additional hardware costs. So, whether you are an owner of a large chain of shops, a small shop, a doctor or any other professional, or even a take away kiosk who also delivers food to offices and homes, and own a smartphone then you could start offering your customers ultimate convenience to pay you through Myney from their smartphone. No coin change, no hassle, no carrying of cash.

Transactions are concluded within a second and with ultimate safety and security.

Myney also offers the possibility to pointof-sale system providers to integrate their systems to the Myney back-end. This integration offers their business customers the latest payment system and keeps them at the forefront of technology. Myney is already or presently connected to four POS systems and three more are being readied or prepared for final testing before rolling out to their business customers.

Interested in offering this Myney as a payment option to your customers? You can start accepting payments within two days. All you need to do is download the Myney app on your smartphone and click register. Then choose the business account option and just insert a few details. One of the Myney sales team members will contact you to set up

an appointment to collect some more information and get you connected.

Alternatively, simply call Fexserv to set up an appointment and we will be very happy to take you through a presentation and discuss with you the solution that best fits your and your customers’ needs.

Myney also offers the possibility to pointof-sale system providers to integrate their systems to the Myney back-end. This integration offers their business customers the latest payment system and keeps them at the forefront of technology. The integration is a simple process and does not require too much effort. Myney is already connected to four POS systems and three more are being readied for final testing before rolling out to their business customers.

Money / Issue 41 - 23

PROPERTY

The land between Margherita Lines and Cottonera Lines is in dire need of a landscaping project.

SOUTH SPECIFIC

While the three cities have seen a surge in interest on the property market, Perit Joanna Spiteri Staines tells Veronica Stivala that rather than building more, rehabilitation of abandoned buildings and sites involving the community is key to the strategic urban renewal this area so badly needs.

A

n afternoon stroll along Vittoriosa winding flower-potted roads is picture postcard perfect. Indeed, the three cities as a whole – that’s Vittoriosa, Cospicua and Senglea, collectively known as Cottonera – have seen a surge in interest on the property market. Yet despite this, Perit Joana Spiteri Staines laments how Cospicua, at the heart of the three cities, “is still crying out for strategic urban renewal.”

Spiteri Staines discusses the property situation and the way forward for the development of this

part of Malta which has such great potential.

How would you describe the situation of property currently available in the three cities?

A walk along the Santa Margherita Lines is all you need to grasp the extent of abandoned land and derelict properties in this part of the island. The reality is that Cospicua had a population of 6,235 in 2001, which fell to 5,119 in June 2013 illustrating a decline of 20 per cent of its population in 12 years.

The decline in population is also accompanied by an increasing amount of vacant residential buildings which according to the NSO 2011

Perit Joanna Spiteri Staines

census, stand at 21.8 per cent of total residential units in Cospicua. These figures are further exasperated by the large amount of derelict non-residential buildings including vast swathes of fortifications and bastions.

The scope for renewal is great.

How much property is available in terms of the rest of Malta?

NSO statistics from 2011 for the whole of Malta cited some 40,000 empty residential dwellings. Further studies are required to establish the extent of vacant industrial and commercial sites. The Strategic Plan for the

Plan of the area in question between Margherita and Cottonera Lines is in need of a master plan.

“COMMUNITY BUILDING MUST WORK IN PARALLEL WITH PHYSICAL REGENERATION” Environment and Development (SPED) in fact states quite clearly that not only do we not need to develop further land, but also that most likely there is no need now to increase our building stock.

In the light of these studies, we seriously ought to redirect our energies into the rehabilitation of abandoned properties or properties in a bad state.

What state are the three cities in?

Numerous streets are in a semi-abandoned state, with the occasional building being rehabilitated. Thanks to the last set of ERDF funds, major historical sites such as Fort St Angelo and the landfront fortifications of Vittoriosa have been very

An abandoned historic building in Cospicua earmarked for demolition.

successfully restored by Heritage Malta and the Restoration Unit. These projects, together with the recently introduced ferry from the capital, have helped renew interest in the three cities, attracting visitors from Malta and overseas.

Such projects are fine examples of what can be done with our historical properties. However, a grass roots rehabilitation of the three cities can only happen if there is a bottom-up approach.

Community building must work in parallel with physical regeneration.

And what is the value of the three cities in comparison to property elsewhere in Malta?

Malta has no proper public register of the sale prices of properties so it is difficult to answer this question. One cannot compare a historical property in Birgu or Senglea to a new build in Tal-Ibrag. However, it is evident that the former is unique and can only increase in value.

The three cities are part and parcel of Malta’s history and have a strong sense of place.

After all, tourism brochures feature pictures of our historic cities and towns, and not streetscapes of flats in tal-Ibrag.

We tend to group the three cities together, but would you identify any specific characteristics in terms of the property market and how this affects sales?

The three cities are experiencing changes with Vittoriosa probably having taken the lead. The presence of the Vittoriosa marina and the rehabilitation of several properties there have helped this city improve.

Sadly, Senglea and Cospicua lag behind. Statistics of literacy and unemployment support this trend with Cospicua having the lowest literacy percentile in Malta and the highest level of unemployment.

Looking at the past, we can already identify an upward trend in the visual aspect of the cities, the demand, and property prices. What are your predictions for the future?

Real regeneration can only be measured by reversing the declining population of these areas and their fortunes. Anything else is simply sporadic and an isolated intervention.

Sustainable regeneration only occurs when communities within the area are regenerated both in terms of numbers of persons living and working there, combined with improved social conditions and facilities.

Money / Issue 41 - 25

PROPERTY

And how has this, and will this, affect the rest of the real estate market in Malta?

Current laws, planning policies but also the discipline of planning as practiced locally, as well as the type of fiscal incentives available are insufficient to encourage the rehabilitation of our village cores and older properties. As long as we continue building endless numbers of flats on the outskirts of our historic villages and towns, rehabilitation will remain piecemeal.

Our priorities need to be reversed and clearly, we ought to consider implementing effective measures to refocus investment towards the rehabilitation of existing properties. The recent policy document Irrestawra Darek, which allocates funds towards restoration of properties for first time buyers is an excellent step in the right direction and we are yet to see whether it will catalyse real change.

The lack of appropriate building standards also play a part. Too many new properties are frightfully poor in standard. The irony is that we build poor quality residences in previously desirable areas, while timidly seeking to encourage investors to rehabilitate derelict properties within our village cores. And our planning regime appears to be helpless to resist the phenomenon.

So clearly it is the supply side of the market that is redirecting investment away from rehabilitation projects. Regeneration of Cottonera will not take place if we carry on intensifying development in the North, thus redirecting investment potential away from where the focus should be.

How would you say the building of the new university will affect the property situation in the three cities?

The injection of students within the heart of Cospicua can lead to a long-term sustainable solution for renewal. The placing of an educational institution within an area which requires regeneration is a textbook solution for catalysing regeneration.

St Helen’s Gate and stepped curtain. The area outside St Helen’s gate is in a completely abandoned state.

However, one of the key factors that will result in long-term regeneration is when students are encouraged to rent properties in the area. The development of some 18,000sqm of virgin land to provide accommodation for these students will not help Cottonera and the property owners of Cospicua are being denied the opportunity to offer properties for rent.

Just think of what the student populations of Perugia or Florence do for the city.

What patterns do you predict and what factors do you anticipate will affect this?

At a conference last year several speakers wrongly, to my mind, refused to consider the possibility of the property market taking a downturn, identifying the strong drive to attract foreign residents to the country as the major contributing factor to the upward trend in property prices. There are two aspects to this we need to consider.

NSO statistics (2011) show there are circa 1,300 empty residential units within Cottonera.

Rehabilitation projects must target the use of these properties as a priority. The vision must be that of creating a university town similar to those of Oxford or Bologna, even if these are of larger scale. The three cities are perfectly capable of accommodating the various faculties together with all the residential requirements of the educational institutions of the area. Let’s think Campus City for Cottonera.

The boom we have now is a result of foreign residents as well, driven by those who seek to rent. But what happens when, in our enthusiasm to each bite a piece of the pie, prices generally reach levels beyond which our own citizens can afford? And if they cannot afford to purchase a place, will they be able to rent? And when renting is also no longer an option, will government need to intervene to avoid a housing crisis?

Property in Malta is currently seeing an exponential increase in prices. The big question is, how long will this go on for?

The enclosed casements in the curtain wall of St John’s Bastion are in a derelict state.

26 - Money / Issue 41

We should also not forget the situation a few years ago, when prices in certain categories of properties, primarily the low to middle level, stabilised and in some areas fell, due to a significant number of unsellable or unwanted properties being available. Looking forward, at what point will the boom collapse? And will it happen when developments price themselves out of the market, when the supply of good and not-so-good quality properties once again far exceeds the demand, or as a result of some economic shift?

The ongoing building spree may be desirable from the economic viewpoint, helping push economic growth in the shortterm. We should however take some time out to study the medium to long-term social and environmental consequences, which, let’s face it, will eventually filter through to the country’s economic performance.

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ART

KALEIDOSCOPIC CELEBRATIONS

O

n Friday, March 24, the façade of the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta will act as an interactive canvas to Colours in Motion, an architectural projection that will bring together art, music, poetry and animation.

Produced by Soundscapes, the piece will be Malta’s tribute to the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome.

It was on March 25, 1957 that the Treaty of Rome was signed by Belgium, France, Italy,

28 - Money / Issue 41

Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, thus founding the European Economic Community that laid down rules about custom duties and established the customs union. Six decades on, it may not seem like such an exceptional event, but for a continent that had been continually at war for almost a millennium, that treaty proved to be the beginning of a friendship between neighbours and cousins.

In fact, today, that treaty is considered to

be the pediment on which the European Union was built, and it is that unification of a continent whose history, languages, beliefs, values and art are so similar that Colours in Motion is set to commemorate.

“In this project, the Treaty of Rome becomes a spring board for a fantastical journey,” explains Ruben Zahra, who came up with the intriguing narrative for Colours in Motion and composed the soundtrack for

the whole project. “The political unity of the six countries is reflected through their artistic and literary heritage.”

With illustrations by the young, talented artist Julian ‘Julinu’ Mallia, this interdisciplinary projection has been put together by motion graphics artist Paul Camilleri, who had created one of Malta’s first architectural projections back in 2006.

The 10-minute piece, whose themes are those of migration, maritime and Mediterranean, will follow a Maltese girl as she travels between six worlds inspired by paintings from the six original founding member states, namely the Belgian surrealist René Magritte, Dutch artists Vincent van Gogh and M. C. Escher, French impressionist Claude Monet, Italian artist Lucio Fontana, Franz Marc from Germany, and Joseph Kutter from Luxembourg.

Zahra’s original music, scored for string quartet and percussion, will accompany the leading lady of the story (a jet-black-haired

girl who will represent Malta). Woven in the fabric of the soundtrack will also be threads of poetry from all 28 Member States in their native language, coming together as an ode to celebrate unity through diversity.

“The excerpts of poems from all 28 Member States add a strong European dimension to the project,” adds Zahra. “Each language has a unique rhythm and cadence so that the collective counterpoint of these strands will contribute a kaleidoscopic texture to the fabric of the music.”

Colours in Motion, however, will not be a traditional architectural projection.

As one of Malta’s most iconic buildings, and as the current seat of the EU Presidency – for which this project has been commissioned – the Grand Master’s Palace’s façade will act as a three-dimensional canvas whose features will lend themselves to the storytelling, incorporating Malta in the overall narrative of the internationally-inspired piece.

“We wanted to create an art-piece that

is site-specific to the chosen venue. The architectural features of the Grand Master’s Palace are integrated in specific moments within the narrative, contributing threedimensional elements to the projection.

Moreover, Colours in Motion presents a high benchmark of artistic excellence portraying a dialogue between paintings by 20th century masters, poetry and music.

And, yet, all these strands come together as one celebration that audiences of all ages can enjoy,” Zahra concludes.

The launch of Colours in Motion will take place on Friday, March 24 and, to mark the anniversary while also adding an extra layer to this narrative projection, Zahra’s original music will be performed by a live ensemble on the night. The piece will then continue to be projected alongside a playback of the score throughout that weekend from sundown onwards.

For more information about Colours in Motion visit www.eu2017.mt

Money / Issue 41 - 29

TECHNOLOGY

SQUEEZING VALUE FROM DATA

The ability to leverage big data is becoming an important success factor for businesses, Joseph Micallef says.

M

ore company executives are today basing their decisions on cold, hard facts as opposed to what their guts tell them.

A survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit among 600 corporate leaders across the globe found a growing

appetite for data and, perhaps more importantly, a growing emphasis on datadriven decision making. Organisations are trying to harness the increasing volumes, types and formats of data, from traditional and digital sources, which companies are creating, storing and consuming – what

we know as big data – to make informed, forward-looking decisions.

Indeed, big data has become one of those corporate buzzwords which frequently come up in management circles. The promise that big data will yield profound value for

Joseph Micallef is a partner at Business Transformation and Training at BEAT Limited, a Maltese niche-based consulting firm specialising in the provision of project management, strategic advice and business transformation solutions. www.beatconsult.com

companies has become so popular, it is often taken as truth. And yet, I get the impression that corporate leaders have not really grasped the significance of developments in this field.

This is worrying, as the ability to leverage big data is becoming an important success factor for CEOs and corporate leaders in general.

The benefits of becoming a more datafocused decision-maker – and ultimately a more data-driven organisation as a whole – come in many forms and depend largely on the individual company. However, datadriven organisations can generally expect to become more responsive to customer needs and to seize business opportunities that may previously have been hidden from view.

Data is a new raw material, and if, as a decision-maker you are not managing data, you are not managing your business. This implies that today’s corporate leaders need to become strategic data planners; they should develop analytical skills and learn to ask the right questions. And they should focus on becoming more familiar with the technology that is used to derive valuable business insights from vast data stores.

Historically, data management and analysis were widely considered IT jobs. Recent studies have shown that perception and reality is changing quickly. In a study conducted by business technology solutions firm Avanade, the majority of respondents (58 per cent) reported that data management is now embedded throughout their business operations.

“DATA-DRIVEN ORGANISATIONS CAN GENERALLY EXPECT TO BECOME MORE RESPONSIVE TO CUSTOMER NEEDS” More significantly, 95 per cent of businesses with dedicated business analysts do not consider data analysts as part of their IT staff. Instead, companies are now distributing that expertise to line-of-business groups throughout the company. More than half of global companies (59 per cent) say that more employees than ever before are involved in making decisions as a result of more widely available company data. Taken together, these findings point to an ever-greater emphasis by companies to distribute data management,

analysis and decision-making power to a wider base of employees. Big data is quickly becoming everyone’s business.

The tools are there, and they’re getting better. More people have more access to more technology than ever before. Research shows unmistakable signs that technologies used to manage, analyse, report and make business decisions from big data are becoming easier to use and are more widely available to employees in small and large companies. This is evidenced by the greater access to technologies that help find, manage and extract value from data. With this change, data-related jobs and skills are permeating a wide variety of departments across these companies.

Nevertheless, the complexity of the data involved means that there are still major challenges to squeeze all the potential benefits from data management. It is not surprising that in The Economist Intelligence Unit survey mentioned above, finding the right people with the right skills is the Number 1 obstacle to launching a successful big data

project. The same survey also points to the difficulty of interpreting unstructured data – which includes some 85 per cent of all data, everything from the text found in email and on social media sites to machine-generated logs – as another major challenge.

For those attempting to gain business insights from the data their business is collecting, I would advise that they take the time to reflect and understand their environment, their landscape, where they want to go and what they aspire to be, and engage people that have done this before. Moreover, decisionmakers who want to become strategic data planners should begin by gaining a solid understanding of where their data resides.

That means looking closely at all of the data sources within the company, and creating a plan as to how that information is going to be processed and used.

There are great tools out there from a technology standpoint. However, as in most things in business, it’s not just about technology. It’s really about people, technology and process.

Money / Issue 41 - 31

OFFICES

WORKING FROM HOME Jamie Iain Genovese helps you set up a home office.

A

nother in the series of things that our current, local, island-culture seems to be fighting is that of remote working. Uncaringly, however, western work culture shrugs.

The rise of the home office is with us. With remote working via VPNs, virus-like growth in the numbers of freelance positions, and a high turnover rate for HR departments all over, the home office is increasingly becoming an important part of the domestic front.

32 - Money / Issue 41

With it should not come dips in professionalism or productivity, though some might argue there is less of the former to go around, but rather a chance to do better. Employers that do not trust employees to work from home should not be employing said employees at all. What good is all our screen time, the rise of automation, the bigger and better internet speeds and the growing ubiquity of Wi-Fi if we still insist on everyone schlepping to

an office, in cars, in droves, bothering with packed lunches, petrol-sponged commutes, and all to drag daily tasks over the work day in an attempt to look constantly busy, while peeking, browsing, and perusing sites like Reddit, or social networks?

To put up with this, longer than necessary, is a bit of a farce. If the technology, and with it our capability, changes, then our practice should change to reflect this. In

anti-septic or ‘work’-like, as it’s still a part of your home, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t feel that way.

The arrangements should also be favourable.

If you keep bumping into a desk, cabinet or coffee table chances are it shouldn’t be where it is, if you should even have it at all. It’s one thing you have control over – to work in an office of your design that occasionally literally gets in your way is deeply, and pitiably, ironic.

other words, to have employees switch to remote working is an effort in maximising the efficiency of your chosen workers.

The fear that they’ll pull the wool over your eyes and get paid for having a grand ol’ time watching The Young Pope in their pyjamas is misplaced. If there are tasks, they’ll get done – and that alone would be the metric of employee efficiency.

park my espresso cup on, a drawer at hand with useful documents or treats. To add, it is also an anchor, a fixed point in my home that allows me to moor and get to work, with necessities at an arm’s length. This is best had, in my experience, in front of the window, the position made to minimise glare on the computer monitor, a view (if you’re luckier than I) at a glance.

I could go on for a bit more making the case for the adaptation of remote working, especially with regards to those in specialised positions such as IT, who would undoubtedly possess better tools to use from home; an environment catered to them, but it might be wiser to refocus the discussion on how best to set up a home office, which is far more practical anyway.

“A GOOD CHAIR CAN BE EXPENSIVE, BUT YOU’LL BE USING IT FOR MOST OF YOUR DAY, EVERY DAY”

It would not be too outlandish to say that some could opine that a lot of office work can be done on a tablet, which one could use to journey around the house in – a conference call in front of the library, drafting up a Powerpoint presentation over a grapefruit breakfast in the kitchen, reading meeting minutes or typing up a report on a balcony chair or out in the garden – true.

But tied-down, desktop computers are a thing, especially in professions that need a strong powerhouse of a computer. If not, the practice of having an actual desk is still recommended. I myself find it beneficial to have a notebook to scribble on, a coaster to

Once we have established a good fixed point we can move outwards: what is the other furniture is it in the right place? You essentially want good shelves for books and some personable knick-knacks that you like, some storage space to stow way ugly items or files, a couple of other chairs for guests, a lamp for ambient lighting (warm, large shade, in a corner to have the light bounce off the walls, and not too tall), and an excellent chair for yourself.

The décor choices are, truly, in your hands and to your tastes – however do keep in mind that the nicer the place and the easier the colours, the better you’ll feel over long stretches in the office. Don’t make it too

Chairs are also part of décor, and they should be lovely, but they should also be good to use. First things first: as important as ergonomic is, you don’t have to sit on some nasty, mesh-line mess of a chair that looks like a sci-fi Nascar prop reject. A good chair can be expensive, but you’ll be using it for most of your day, every day, and your health is important. Don’t skimp too much, but don’t go around throwing €3,500 thinking that you can only sit on the best.

I mentioned shelving, and I know it’s all too tempting to want to buy a lot of shelving so you can just keep everything in your hyper-efficient lair of many good works, but the truth is that it will only get in the way. You aren’t a tortured, misunderstood genius, you aren’t Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes, you aren’t prioritising work over cleanliness – you’re just lazy.

Spring clean every day you can, sort all your papers religiously, throw out any junk you don’t need.

Neglecting this is like stacking coins, you quietly keep doing it believing your hands are the steadiest hands that could put neurosurgeons to shame, until all of a sudden it comes crashing down in a gloriously loud and catastrophic manner and you find yourself picking up 250-odd 10c coins from the floor. In other words, clean while you work – if it’s good enough for chefs, it’s good enough for you.

Other than these tips, there’s not much else that I should say. Maybe I could recommend you a good coffee maker, or remind you that breakfasts shouldn’t become continental and lavish since you still have to get to work, or I could even give in to the cliché of reminding you to wear trousers when on a conference call.

I could do all these things, but it might be better to just repeat myself: working from home is a chance to work better, for you and your employer. Don’t forget that.

Money / Issue 41 - 33

BREATHE EASY

THE CLEAN AIR TECHNOLOGY HIDDEN SEAMLESSLY IN THE PAINT ON YOUR WALLS

BE PART OF THE AIRLITE FOREST PROJECT

BENEFITS

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(*) The surface of an average tree projected on the ground is about 36 square meters.

PROMO

MARKETING 2020

EUROPE AND BEYOND

T

he Malta Institute of Management (MIM), in collaboration with the European Marketing Confederation is organising a conference entitled Marketing 2020 – Europe and Beyond on March 30, 2017 at the Westin Dragonara Resort, St Julian’s.

This quality conference is surrounded by the support of high profile organisations and speakers offering a great opportunity for marketers and people in business and for which MIM is proud to present the chairman of the European Marketing Confederation (EMC), Andrew Harvey who will deliver a keynote about marketing 2020.

Harvey will give participants a hands-on insight about the outcome of a very fresh study carried out by the confederation through its member associations.

The presentation will share the vision of senior marketers about the priorities of the marketing function as they see it evolve in the next years and where they think they stand in terms of performance against those needs.

This keynote will answer key questions such as what will marketing be in 2020?

World class author, speaker and consultant, Emeritus professor Malcolm McDonald will present his most recent keynote on ‘How marketers can develop financially quantified value propositions’. This keynote revolves on how to capture the attention and the business of customers.

McDonald will show that any supplier who can quantify financially how they can help their customers grow their profits will always succeed, no matter how difficult the market conditions. A lot of what constitutes value from a supplier is about helping the customer to avoid disadvantage, but, much more importantly, those suppliers who can demonstrate that they will create advantage for them will be respected and there will be fewer conversations about price. This keynote will spell out a process for developing financially-quantified value propositions Well known economist and independent professional and corporate advisor Dr John

Andrew Harvey

Malcolm McDonald

C Grech will give an overview about the outcome of both keynotes, their possible applications to the local scene, moderate the discussion and facilitate the question sessions.

This conference is part of MIM’s mission to enhance the management profession in Malta within a broad international framework focussing on developing the competence, ethics and effectiveness of managers.

John C. Grech

The event is meant to continue giving a contribution to the development of the marketing profession and to encourage the effective use of marketing principles to reach organisational goals, whether for profit or non-profit making.

Registration for the conference can be made by phoning 2145 6819 or via e-mail at events@maltamanagement.com

Money / Issue 41 - 35

MANAGEMENT

EFFECTIVE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

A contract is essential to the peaceful regulation of common areas, Melvin Caruana says.

T

he property market is one of the major economic contributors. In the past decades, we have seen a shift within the property market, which brought with it different cultural thinking and attitudes.

Whereas in the past, people used to live in large confined areas, having their own privacy, we now have to adapt to an environment where we have to share certain areas, which we commonly refer to as condominium or common areas.

One of the common problems that we encounter in such an environment is the responsibility and obligation related to shared services.

36 - Money / Issue 41

Usually, property sale contracts stipulate where such services should be installed and how these should be regulated.

Sometimes, such services are also installed in places which are not common parts but are privately owned, including private garages and yards.

Owners of such spaces have the responsibility, usually by virtue of a contract, to allow access for any repairs and maintenance of such installations.

Private roofs are also sometimes designated to allow the installation of certain types of services which, by virtue of

a contract of sale – this usually stipulates that the owner is obliged to allow the underneath owners to install services required for their private dwellings, such as water tanks and satellite dish.

At times, faults of such installations may be a nuisance for the overlying owner. It is at such time when disputes start to arise.

But how can such issues be resolved?

There are no hard and fast rules which state that such issues cannot arise, but one thing is for sure – having an agreement in place will avoid certain mishaps in the future. This can be agreed

Melvin Caruana is a marketing and risk management graduate and has been specialising in real estate and property management for the last 20 years. He is the founder of Smart Property Management (Malta) Limited which forms part of Smart Group.

upon either at selling point or by virtue of condominium rules and regulations, better referred to as the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Besides regulating the use of common areas, such agreement will make reference to what is commonly used or not and how repairs or maintenance for such types of installations could be conducted. One would also agree upon a pre-advice time for such maintenance works. The latter will ensure that the overlying owner will be available to granting access while on the other hand, ensure that such owner is comfortable enough to have people make us of the private dwelling or areas for such scope.

A disputable issue which property managers usually face and are asked about is which part falls within the association’s responsibility and which carries personal property owner’s duty to act upon.

Taking the example of the services required for drains, usually such installations are

“HAVING AN AGREEMENT IN PLACE WILL AVOID CERTAIN MISHAPS IN THE FUTURE” attached to common systems. This does not mean that the whole installation belongs to the condominium or that the responsibility attached to it pertains to the whole association. The same goes where one enjoys an undivisable common roof which has installed upon it certain required types of services which are used by the underlying apartments.

systems, but also to installations on top of shared roofs or any other area which is deemed to be of common nature.

Although such issues usually end up in front of the arbitrator or at times, at Court, one should keep in mind that there is a distinction to what is common or not.

Usually, a common item will be defined by whether the use of such was being shared at the time of the occurrence or not.

Shared systems belong to the association while personally used services belong to the respective owner. This reasoning does not only apply to water or drainage

Another important factor at time of repairs, or lack of which may give rise to a damage to other property, facts should be established, prior to pointing fingers about who is responsible.

One should keep in mind that, by having a written agreement isn’t a sure waiver of such responsibility in front of the law, however this will help mitigate certain situations at judgement time.

Not every situation is the same and we always advise our clients to seek advice from professional people prior to start acting. In this way, everyone will have a clear idea of their responsibility.

Money / Issue 41 - 37

MARKET REPORT

A VISION FOR THE EURO There is still hope in the Eurozone, Alexander Mangion says, while in the US, trade and immigration restrictions will take their toll on economic growth.

T

he international media is currently in a Trump frenzy detailing plans to boost the US growth rate. On the other hand, it seems that a certain level of dissatisfaction and negative sentiment keeps prevailing in Europe. Numbers are starting to indicate otherwise, as slowly but surely, the Eurozone economy seems to be finally embarking towards a steady path.

A look at Eurostat data for a number of indicators, ranging from economic growth rates, business sentiment and unemployment for the single currency give us reason to hope for better times ahead. Indeed, the Eurozone has reported 14 consecutive quarters of growth, the unemployment rate has gone below 10 per cent for the first time since the crisis and economic sentiment has reached its highest level in six years. Such results may appear as surprising considering the question marks hanging over Europe in 2017.

While European leaders and economists alike remain worried on the potential impact of a collapse by Italian banks and Greece’s due to their long-running financial crisis, eurozone growth in the fourth quarter of last year was estimated at 0.5 per cent, faster than the US rate.

For 2016 as a whole, growth in the eurozone outpaced that in the US by 1.7 per cent to 1.6 per cent. It may be minor, but telling.

A number of reasons are contributing to these positive results: the economic financial crisis is now nearly a decade old, and despite its very negative social effect, it has forced countries and companies to be leaner, more productive and attentive to their spending levels. Credit is also due to the European Central Bank’s monetary policy which despite its critics, is, together with the significant drop in the price of oil, encouraging individuals, families and businesses to borrow and spend.

Domestic demand has fuelled most of the recent growth.

AND ACROSS THE POND….

Things are not so rosy for newly-elected President Trump. Yes, most stocks and shares witnessed a positive jump in January, excited on promises of tax cuts, deregulation and large scale infrastructural investment.

Moreover, economic fundamentals appear bright, as US consumer spending grew in the last quarter of 2016, supported by a rise in wages. Economists are banking that domestic demand that could support economic growth in early 2017.

on thorny issues such as tax reform and infrastructure spending.

which could be disruptive for financial markets and the real economy”.

Goldman Sachs, in a recent analysis, noted that while bipartisan cooperation looked possible on some issues following the election, the “political environment appears to be as polarised as ever, suggesting that issues that require bipartisan support may be difficult to address”. It also said Trump is likely to follow through on campaign promises on trade and immigration, “some of

In this current scenario, a number of economists are currently forecasting a fiscal expansion of no more than 1 per cent of GDP, largely through tax cuts starting in 2018. As the Wall Street Journal recently put it, for an economy that isn’t in recession, the US is facing one of the bleakest fiscal outlooks since World War II.

However this enthusiasm seems to have been short-lived, as restrictions to trade and immigration, are bound to take their toll on economic growth. The benchmark S&P index has lost no less than 8 points upon Trump’s anti-immigration announcement.

Moreover, despite the safe Republican Party control over Congress, the experience with repealing Obamacare shows that the President will not be able to streamroll over the Chambers for reaching agreements

“THE TWO-YEAR BREXIT NEGOTIATIONS MAY CREATE DISTRUST IN THE MARKET”

Licensed stockbroker Alexander Mangion is Managing Director at MPM Capital Investments since 2009.

The company is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to provide financial services in Malta and holds a Category 2 licence. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree in Banking & Finance (University of Malta) and a Master of Finance & Investments (University of Nottingham).

IT’S NOT ALL GLITTERY THOUGH Nevertheless, the challenges persist. Some are short-term, the others lurking in the background.

The UK has pressed on its efforts to trigger its exit from the European Union by the end of March. The two-year Brexit negotiations may create distrust in the market. Elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany risk bringing to power anti-European (or at least anti-euro) populist parties with protectionist agendas.

As the World Economic Forum recently pointed out, public disaffection is, to some extent, a result from the euro crisis. Traditional arguments about Europe as a peace project have lost their appeal. If eurosceptic attitudes spread further, the temptation for Europe’s national governments to go it alone will rise – at a time when the need for common solutions to complex problems is stronger than ever.

In the background, fragmented financial markets and big problems remaining in some peripheral countries, such as Italy and Portugal’s weak banking sectors and high public debt, there are reasons to doubt whether Europe’s recent rise is sustainable.

Peter Praet, a chief economist at the ECB recently pointed out that the current environment is still far from “stable”.

But the source of trouble isn’t only from the inside, with an unpredictable Russia, buoyed by messages of support from the newly elected US President, as well as uncertainty in the Middle East, also threatening stability and prosperity.

Unless these issues are addressed correctly, the EU risks dampening its internal success by importing instability from outside.

Money / Issue 41 - 39

COUNTRY PROFILE

POWER TO THE POTENTIAL

Like many African nations, Kenya has plenty of potential.

Yet when will it bloom into a success story?

S

ince emerging from the shackles of colonialism, Africa has struggled to live up to expectations.

On one hand, the continent is the world’s greatest source of raw materials – it is incredibly rich in resources and is staggeringly beautiful. These elements attract tourists and investment, with a 2016 McKinsey & Company report saying that Africa’s combined Gross Domestic Product will reach $2.6 trillion by 2020. Consumer spending is also on the rise, boosting the economy of African nations, particularly sub-Saharan ones. And while most cite Asia and India as the world’s fastest growing economies, Africa is similarly posting huge growth rates.

On the other hand, while Africa’s growth prospects are encouraging, it is still largely prisoner to bureaucracy, corruption, illegal immigration and skills shortages. It is ironic

40 - Money / Issue 41

how, for instance, a nation like Nigeria is, on paper, one of the wealthiest in the world and yet most people live in heartbreaking poverty – just consider that Nigeria has revenues of over $80 billion from oil reserves alone, and yet some 70 per cent of Nigerians live on less than $1.25 a day.

Kenya is also caught in this struggle. The numbers for this East African nation look good. Since 2010, when a new constitution ushered in a new political and economic governance system, Kenya has seen an improvement in its governance structure. This was not a one-off initiative – Kenya has also shown itself keen to address challenges such as land reforms, youth unemployment and extreme poverty.

Social reform is also on Kenya’s agenda.

For instance, while laws criminalising the LGBT community are still in place in many

African countries, in Kenya, LGBT refugees from other nations are given temporary and permanent homes.

Although there is no clear government policy with regards to LGBT issues, the country is less intolerant to the gay community than other African nations – there is no harassment of organisations working in this space and no shaming of those who have come out as gay.

Although it still has a long way to go, Kenya, unlike other African countries, is relatively safe for gays.

The country is also investing in education.

Kenya’s government has promised to transform Kenya into a middle-income nation by 2030 and to this end, is investing heavily in education. The ICT ministry has launched a digital literacy programme through which it will deliver 1.2 million

is projecting a six per cent increase this year, fuelled by low oil prices, ongoing infrastructure investments, supportive monetary policy and good agriculture performance.

Inflation has also remained within government’s targets – government has also capped lending rates to four per cent, which is intended to provide affordable loans to low income households and small businesses.

devices to the country’s 21,718 public primary schools by the end of this year.

And it is not just the government that is taking initiative – various companies are involved in bridging the educational gap by introducing e-learning into Kenyan classrooms.

One particularly successful initiative is eLimu, a local software platform that seeks to optimise learning through technology.

Another Nairobi-based company, BRCK, has developed Kio Kit – a portable digital kit that includes a WiFi hotspot, a small server packed with educational content, and 40 tablets that can be charged wirelessly. This aims to address the lack of accessibility that schools, especially those in rural areas, suffer from – just consider that only a third of Kenyans have internet access while schools suffer regular power outages.

Yet trouble is always a rumble of thunder at the horizon. For instance, while government has reduced child mortality, devolved healthcare, is offering free maternal healthcare and increased healthcare spending, a three-month strike – currently ongoing – has brought the country’s health system to the verge of collapse. Around 5,000 doctors walked out in December, claiming low pay and poor working conditions – yet it is patients who are suffering the brunt of this industrial action, with millions trying to survive weeks without healthcare.

The services sector, including tourism, contributes around

63% of GDP

Government is also struggling as it tries to control thousands of heavily-armed herders that are invading conservancies and private properties in Laikipia, one of Kenya’s most important wildlife areas. The herders are killing wildlife and one person has been reportedly killed. This is especially troubling as the situation risks frightening off tourists – for Kenya, the services sector, including tourism, is extremely important as it contributes about 63 per cent of GDP.

Kenya’s future depends on various factors, from addressing poverty and inequality to building a dynamic private sector and helping its youthful population write successful stories. If this is achieved, Kenya not only has the potential to become one of Africa’s great success stories but can also play a pivotal role in East Africa.

25.6%

of the population lives in cities

The economy, however, is proving itself robust.

The World Bank’s Kenya Economic Update There is only one primary school teacher for every

The national unemployment rate stands at around

47 pupils

10%

However, youth unemployment is estimated to be as high as

35%

Kenya’s main trading partners are Uganda, Tanzania and the UK

Only a

third

of Kenyans have internet access

The GDP per capita stands at

$1,424

Kenya’s population stands at

46.1 million

increasing by an estimated one million a year

Money / Issue 41 - 41

Interview GIFTS

TOP OF THE NOTCH Money’s pick from the world’s best designers.

THE GIN TROLLEY

By Jonathan Green / Quench Designer Jonathan Green, in collaboration with Quench, has created an iteration that incorporates both natural and modern materials for a sophisticated finish that exudes luxury. The trolley is divided into sections to reduce clutter when filled while other nifty features include a ventilated cabinet, a mini-fridge, a recessed walnut garnish board and a polished stainless steel drip tray.

BLOCK SOFA

WRENSILVA CONSOLE AND SPEAKERS

Spanish design studio Mut embraces their geometric aesthetic for their seating collection for Missana. Available as sofa or armchair, the compact silhouettes play with modern shapes, pairing bold curved seats with solid cube and rectangular bases.

Wrensilva’s latest product has all the power and quality of the company’s classic, full-size consoles, but crammed into a more streamlined and affordable, system. Billed “ The Loft”, this unit packs in a 300 watts per channel Wrensilva amplifier, a turntable and some Sonos functionality too.

By Mut Design Studio / Missana

42 - Money / Issue 41

MANUTTI SOFA Manutti has joined up with designer Lionel Doyen to launch the impressive “San” furniture range: a collection aimed to help you master the art of zen.

POISED TABLE

By Paul Cocksedge

It is made of a thousand pounds of rolled steel, precariously balanced. London based Paul Cocksedge Studio is the internationally acclaimed design practice of directors Paul Cocksedge and Joana Pinho, their commercial and experimental work is best known for exploring the limits of material, as well as their commitment to technological ingenuity.

KILO TL NERO PORTORO LAMP Kalmar Werkstätten releases another limited edition ‘Kilo’ design, this time in a darker marble. The Austrian brand’s lamp embodies a slim polished nickel stem that contrasts its jet black Nero Portoro marble stand, set with natural golden veins. The base is paired with an impressively large silken shade that further cajoles with the model’s balance.

CITY GYM SOFA

By Stephen Kenn

A custom version of the Inheritance Collection sofa originally designed for the Todd Snyder + Champion City Gym shop in New York. The steel welded frame is oxidized black, with grey webbing, cognac brown leather, and Faribault Woolen Mill’s Foot Soldier blanket cushion covers. Each sofa comes with a decorative pillow and an additional U.S. Navy reproduction blanket (as pictured).

Money / Issue 41 - 43

THE

SCENIC ROUTE

Photography STEVEN LEVI VELLA www.steven-vella.com Styling LUKE ENGERER Make Up DIANDRA MATTEI at DM Face-Body-Hands Hair STILISTA HAIR by Alexia Models ANA & MICHAEL at Models M

HER // Calvin Klein Jeans jacket, €299.90 // Hilfiger Denim sweatshirt, €89.90 // Hilfiger Denim shorts, €99.90 // Hilfiger Denim trainers, €89.90 // HIM // Calvin Klein Jeans jacket, €209.90 // Calvin Klein Jeans t-shirt, €29.90 // Calvin Klein Jeans jeans, €119.90 // Hilfiger Denim trainers, €99.90 //

HIM // Calvin Klein Jenas shirt, €99.90 // Armani Jeans jeans, €155.00 // HER // Calvin Klein Jeans jeans, €139.90 // Calvin Klein Jeans top, €99.90 //

// Calvin Klein Jeans shirt, €99.90 // Armani Jeans jeans, €145.00 // Armani Jeans shoes, €140.00 //

// Hilfiger Denim swearshirt, €89.90 // Calvin Klein Jeans jeans, €99.90 // Hilfiger Denim trainers, €99.90 //

// Calvin Klein Jeans jacket, €249.90 // Hilfiger Denim t-shirt, €49.90 // Hilfiger Denim jeans, €119.90 // Armani Jeans Trainers, €190.00 //

// Armani Jeans top, €140.00 // Armani Jeans skirt, €180.00 // Armani Jeans bag, €110.00 // Armani Jeans shoes, €190.00 //

Interview GIFTS

FORMS OF BEAUTY Work, play and relax with these design essentials.

OH DEER Made in Finland, the Clippings Deer shelf showcases an unusual form and practical function – the best of Scandi style.

SITTING ART This Spin chair by Damian Hirst is part of a series specially commissioned by Jasper Morrison.

VICE SQUAD The Linley vice box features marquetry in ripple walnut, sycamore and straight walnut. The box is lined with red bolivar veneer and includes playing cards, whisky decanter and tumblers, cigarette cutter and holder for 12 cigars.

52 - Money / Issue 41

TAKE SIDES The Marioni Raymond side table is made of marble, metal leaf and iron and adds style to any bedroom.

SHINE A LIGHT A beautiful collaboration between Anglepoise and Paul Smith, this lamp is made of aluminium and stainless steel.

ROCK THE HOUSE This rocking horse by the Stevenson Brothers is made of oak and sports real horse-hair mane and tail.

ON THE GRAVY BOAT This elegant gravy boat by Lotus Arts de Vivre is crafted from a nautilus shell and lined with Indian silver.

Money / Issue 41 - 53

Interview GIFTS

A NEW SEASON

Spring into springtime with Money’s gift list.

A HAND FOR SHOES These square-toed Chelsea boots by Gaziano & Girling have been meticulously handcrafted from a single piece of chocolate leather for a sleek, flawless finish. The durable Goodyearwelted soles ensure you’ll get years of wear out of them.

A CLOSE SHAVE This stylish shaving kit by Czech & Speake features zebrano handles and a badger-hair brush.

SAPPHIRE WRIST Over the years, Hublot has promoted aesthetic and chromatic codes and materials to the ranks of distinctive benchmarks. The Big Bang Unico Magic Sapphire brings together several of these, as evoked by its very name: an iconic watch, a Hublot movement, a historic signature and an acclaimed innovative material.

54 - Money / Issue 41

GET TAGGED This luggage tag by Bottega Veneta is perfect for the frequent traveller with a considered sense of style. It is skilfully crafted in Italy using the label’s hallmark intrecciato technique, which dates back to the 1960s.

WATCH THIS The Dom Reilly watch roll is encased in full-grain leather and lined with shock-absorbing foam.

SAFE MOVE The Fuga helmet is collapsible and consists of three articulated rings that can be folded flat in a single movement, occupying less than half of the helmet’s total volume when expanded.

A MAN IN SPRING London-based label Hackett is celebrated for its elegant tailoring and quintessentially British approach to design. Woven with a dapper herringbone pattern, this blue blazer is made from lightweight linen and finished with a striped satin butterfly lining, which ensures a smooth fit.

SUPER SKI The Giro Onset semiframeless goggles come with increased peripheral vision, an expanded field of view and an anti-fog coating.

Money / Issue 41 - 55

TRAVEL

TIME STANDS STILL

Mona Farrugia takes a quick break in Sicily’s Agrigento and discovers anti-tourism in the town that life forgot.

T

oday I know why nobody has bothered compiling a list of thoroughly soulsucking, depressing towns of Europe.

Or even the Western world. The contrary of a bucket list. I looked and it does not exist. You know how some towns are described as ‘See X and die’? Well, you see Favara and you know you need to live. And instantly you wonder how its inhabitants have done it. It is also a study and lesson in corruption, anthropology and anti-tourism.

Practically on our doorstep.

Favara is half an hour away from Sicily’s Agrigento by broken road. I had never stayed in the west of Sicily before and was lured by two things: the online beauty of the Hotel Villa Athena, one of the few five-star hotels in Sicily, with its view of the Valle dei Templi from each room, and the very fact that in February, contrary to many others, it was actually open and receiving visitors. Sicily takes a ‘break’ in January and February and some wondrous business people even manage to drag this holiday out to March.

56 - Money / Issue 41

The roads leading to Favara are beyond broken, like most of Sicily’s. They are ‘done’, but terribly, a product of graft and serious backhanders where money is made from things done badly, rather than well.

Most of the tarmac has more waves than the Mediterranean. New roads hold pools of water in the middle and bizarrely even on the sides so that it is like driving in a cut-off cylinder.

Mud gushes from the clay sides, gravel unites in clumps in places you didn’t even know exist and which the car discovers for you last minute.

Others, moon-crater-like, you notice when you are in them and a scream emanates from your throat without a thought. Not a single autostrada toll booth is operational. Some have been built, look new and abandoned, and have been for the past three years.

Road works add an hour to an hour’s journey and it is a rarity to see a workman anywhere near them. On more than one occasion I have been on the verge of missing the catamaran at Pozzallo because the signage sends me to the core of villages,

the car system to the left and Google maps to the right: even the GPSs can’t agree.

Did I mention work somewhere? What, if anything, is going on in this part of Italy?

Because this is a part of a G8 country, a member of the European Union. An abandoned bit, from Rome down, that reports to the federal government. We may be doing a lot of things wrong in Malta but it is only when you arrive here that you realise how many we are doing right.

We have practically a zero per cent unemployment rate. All our construction and cleaning, back-breaking jobs are being done

by Serbs and Somalis. Our Lidl cash points and our buses are being operated by Sicilians.

In Sicily the back-breaking jobs, when existent, are still being done by Sicilians who are desperate for jobs. The Serbs are too sharp to go there and the vu cumpra from sub-Sahara are not selling anything.

But there are still a lot of immigrants in Agrigento, walking around doing nothing. You

Food and travel writer Mona Farrugia runs Angelica in Valletta. www.angelicamalta.com

can see a sociological future imploding now.

For some reason, they still think Italy is a good destination. Obviously nobody has told them of Favara. I’ve been all over Africa and it’s gorgeous and stunning, the standard of living much higher even in hovels.

When I stopped the car at the entrance to the town, I was stunned as I watched a vu cumpra trying to convince an Italian man to buy a bad copy of a branded baseball cap. The man refused but seemed to enjoy the banter.

In other areas of central Agrigento they were trying to sell lighters. Lighters.

Why did I end up here? Well, it was one of those situations where I go up to the receptionist and say ‘What do you suggest for today, if we don’t feel like going to the temples?’ She suggested the Farm Cultural Park, a project by a group of young architects who, desperate to ‘fix’ their surroundings, got together to attempt this. The project has had a lot of PR and so features in all the architectural glossies, building expectations. I laud the architects’ efforts but the aim of the project was definitely not to attract tourism to the area: at this point they are simply trying to breathe some life into a corpse.

Sadly, the receptionist simply had no idea why anybody would want to go to this area of

Sicily and this question flummoxed her. I find this a lot in Sicily: the earth is so generous and yet its inhabitants do not love it. After a while she said ‘Some architects have created a very wonderful enclave in Favara’. ‘Where?’ ‘Favara’.

I may have a partial visual answer to the architectural disaster that is this town.

Imagine Bugibba and Delhi had a car crash and you’ll get an idea. Sociologically, anthropologically, bad things are happening.

Al the panifici in the town centre were closed on a Saturday afternoon, the day of the week when commerce should be at its peak.

People seemed to only be shopping from the discount supermarkets. All the shops have moved to the messy main road on the ‘outskirt’ (there is only one). Food, Italy’s mainstay, its most exportable product, is being marketed in ugly concrete and produced in Bulgaria and Romania then imported.

Vegetable vans are inexistent. All the town’s restaurants were locked and bolted.

When a part of Italy has forgotten its history, food and culture, you know it is in deep trouble. Nutrition is a basic of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Directly after comes shelter. The houses here are beyond scary and the architecture has taken revenge upon itself. Any old houses have disintegrated. The new ones, in spite of being built hundreds

“WHEN A PART OF ITALY HAS FORGOTTEN ITS HISTORY, FOOD AND CULTURE, YOU KNOW IT IS IN DEEP TROUBLE”

of years later, are in an even worse state.

The people are humbled and angry. When I stopped to take photos, it was an affront and they glared at me. They know.

In Agrigento centre, at a lovely little pasticceria, the owner asked me where I had been and when I mentioned Favara, he exploded. ‘La politica!’ ‘You mean ‘la mafia’’ I half-questioned. ‘No! Qui e la stessa cosa. I nostri politici sono terribili. You see this? If I sell you the sweets and pack them now, I pay 10 per cent IVA [VAT]. If I pack them and sell them to you later, I pay 22 per cent. That is what they care about.’

I wanted to have more of these chats with other business people, but nobody seemed to be interested in human interaction.

Like I said, a study in anthropology. Worth the trip in itself. Or maybe not.

The Hotel Villa Athena sits perched outside Agrigento, bang in the countryside of the west of Sicily. I chose it because it is a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World group and this is usually an indicator of quality and boutique feel.

The quality of the room is high, as it well should be for a five-star, but lacking things like an espresso machine, now a mainstay of hotels of this calibre. I was practically ‘forced’ to book a ground floor suite (a higher one would have been cheaper and had more light, not to mention view) because I had my dog with me and it was the only room they would give me. On the website, the suite has full views of the Concordia Temple: in reality, it is semi-basement and the view is only from certain particular angles.

The one fabulous thing about it, though, was its in-room hammam, a dry sauna, which it offers over and above the bath in a separate bathroom. I absolutely loved it and have never come across it in another hotel room before.

Top marks, especially in the chill of this winter.

Amenities were promised one brand but then turned out to be generic hotel stuff, which is not what one expects from an SLH. At the restaurant La Terrazza Degli Dei, ambiance is quality and so is the food. The wine list is extensive and extensively marked up, Taormina-style. In the evening, if it’s not bucketing down and the roads worrying, drive to Agrigento centre where two restaurants stand out: Osteria ExPanificio which, as it says on the tin, used to be a bakery, and Civicododici. Both are housed in old, stripped wall buildings and both make modern takes on Sicilian cuisine.

The Bluesman is a Maltese sound engineer working in New York.

Interview NEW YORK

Opining from a

distance

Why are there so many Europeans who admire Donald Trump without knowing him, The Bluesman asks.

nd the T-Bird crashed to the canyon floor. Okay, last reference to Thelma and Louise, reprised from my previous column. Reality did indeed come crashing down on top of large sections of not just the US population, but of the world.

A

Sam Harris wrote on January 29 that he had been seeing this trend drawing nigh for over a decade. His take on the first week of this new administration: “President Trump has had a busy first week in office, displaying the anarchic grandiosity, callousness, and ineptitude of which he seems uniquely capable. He is every inch what we knew him to be: a malignant Chauncey Gardiner.”

The aftermath has been petty bickering over the size of the crowd at the inauguration, outright outrageous claims that are clearly at odds with the facts (denial of the actual popular vote numbers), spinning, by his staff of whirling dervishes and the sheer contrast in conduct between him, and his treatment of his wife, and the Obamas.

Laughable phone calls to foreign leaders, well documented worldwide, which has had Senator McCain and others making conciliatory phone calls to the insulted and a slew of signings of executive orders watched by a fawning Mitch McConnell and a simpering Paul Ryan who both appear to be thrilled by the turn of events, to the point where they have excreted their spines and all previous attempts at maintaining a semblance of a dignified democracy along with said spines.

A bunch of those orders still have to pass through Congress while others will most certainly be challenged in the Courts but as far as John Q and Jane D Redneck are concerned, it’s, you know, action.

The following day the protests began, starting with the Women’s March in DC and in every major city in the free world on every continent including Antartica.

I thought it was rather shameful that Hillary Clinton attended the inauguration thereby

58 - Money / Issue 41

lending a veneer of legitimacy to the result increasingly tarnished by what has been coming out about the Russian degree of involvement as well as being an ungrateful slap in the face to all those who had believed in, or were otherwise ‘with’, her. Also out of place was Debbie Wassermann-Schultz, the former head of the Democratic National Committee, attending the Women’s March. WassermannSchultz was forced to resign that position when her involvement in the sabotage of Bernie Sanders’ campaign came out.

in reality, without knowing him. It may be understandable that there’s a particular sentiment expressed by Trump that resonates and finds empathy given what Europe is currently facing but his solutions would actually have the opposite effect than that which was intended.

Speaking about crowd size, a constant source of irritation and finger-envy to the Drumphenfuhrer, a meeting at the HarleyDavidson factory in Milwaukee was cancelled because either the factory management or White House staffers, already on the ground to set it up, were uncomfortable with the possibility of large protest crowds showing up. There were going to be some symbolic executive orders supporting US business signed. Instead Harley-Davidson took a couple of bikes and hands were shaken on the White House lawn.

Everybody has the right to opine but doing so from a distance misses the understanding brought about by many years of breathing the same atmosphere as those of us experiencing the Trump presence close up. Going merely on the perception obtained via the small doses on TV outside the US, is like thinking that Hitler was an upstanding fellow really because he loved Eva Braun, was avuncular to his generals’ children and enjoyed the fidelity of his German Shepherds.

The tally of executive orders, which require legal citation, and executive memos, which do not, for both Trump and Obama in these first couple of weeks is about the same but where Obama’s had been of the closing Guantanamo kind, Trump’s have been of the ‘a lot of my friends are having a hard time getting loans’ and wall-building variety.

There was a piece by David Brooks published on January 27 in the New York Times highlighting the contrast between President Reagan’s cheery optimism and Trump’s dark view of the world. He wrote: “He seems to suffer from an angry form of anhedonia, the inability to experience happiness.” This frightened view of the world causes him to “adopt a combative attitude that makes him unlikeable” despite being desperate to be liked.

This attitude of arrogance is why I find it hard to understand why there are many in Europe who admire this guy so much, and

First it would provide more proof of the big bad wolf characterisation of the US by its enemies and second, it will drive feelings towards sympathy at the cost of vigilance.

Before everybody gets into a tizzy, I’m not likening the two – after all Adolf served, with merit, during the Great War while bone spurs or some such prevented Trump from signing on. But for Europeans to think that it’s fine for someone who thinks that Putin is the epitome of political excellence, to talk of doing away with NATO for instance, is folly.

Surely there are enough problems to tackle in the EU without individuals expending energy on lecturing to all and sundry about how the US is supposed to feel about the administration. We got it. It will get sorted.

The checks and balances have already started to kick in.

The judiciary will have its say and Senators Sanders and Warren are determined to hold the administration’s feet to the fire. The promises to not tamper with social security and keeping the Wall Streeters in check, to mention two, are a matter of record and like Putin, we have tape. But the women were the first to awaken.

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