Maurice Mizzi – ‘There is no denying that our lives have been transformed’

Having lived through the suffering of World War II as a youth, Maurice Mizzi, President of Mizzi Organisation which he joined in early 1964, is no stranger to trying times. In some ways, however, he says living with an invisible enemy has been harder.

“I lived through World War II when I slept 100m below ground in a rock shelter in our garden with many of our neighbours. We’d sleep at 6pm and wake up at 6am – often with water pouring in from the garden – to then go about our business, which for me meant going to school,” says Maurice.

“The pandemic, though, is worse. Instead of enemy planes, there’s an invisible virus and no warning of danger until it hits you. The jeopardy posed by COVID-19 has increased since spring, and that’s partly due to people being fed up of staying at home. They’re out mingling and putting themselves at risk of contracting the virus – but at this point, people are simply craving normality.”

Maurice, who holds several directorships – including for Continental Cars Ltd, Mizzi Motors Ltd, General Soft Drinks Co Ltd, Mizzi Estates Ltd, Arkadia Ltd and BNF Bank Plc – considers the impact of this on business, explaining that widescale adoption of technology to avoid meeting in person has been revolutionary.

“When the pandemic is over, this system of communication will still be used. Online meetings might not always feel efficient, but there’s a lot less time spent travelling. There is no denying that our lives have been transformed.”

Maurice reflects on what the future will bring following an unprecedently uncertain time. “Many businesses have closed and, without state funds, most other companies would have been in serious trouble by now, so that is disheartening.”

“While the issuing of vaccines is promising, the process of mass-producing them will take over six months, so our return to normality could take another year or two. The question is, with many companies eating into their reserves, which ones have the financial resources to last until then?”