‘Politics seems to no longer be about serving the people’ – Zerafa Advocates Founder

Zerafa Advocates Founder Omar Zerafa on Tuesday called for more long-term thinking from politicians in order for generations to come to have a better future.

This came amid growing concerns about plans for Malta’s environment, with rapidly increasing construction and deteriorating green spaces across the country. Such a lack of care for the environment has resulted in a number of issues, including the most recent power cuts, which have been attributed to skyrocketing temperatures.

“We are so shortsighted,” Dr Zerafa remarked, before noting that the Malta’s has recently witnessed a “temporary collapse” of its infrastructure. This has prompted a vast portion of the population to realise how dependent it is on those that lead the country and take decisions on their behalf.

“Politicians and leaders, from all parties and political beliefs, work very hard. They work hard to get elected or re-elected in five years. Politics seems to no longer be about serving the people. It has become all about the politician,” he added.

He explained that politicians tend to focus on the next five years, as longer-term projects “do not render quick results”. “And this will remain so, unless we work hard together to change it,” Dr Zerafa said.

He thus questioned whether any of Malta’s leaders are thinking about the legacy of children and the generations to come.

“Our little ones do not deserve the horrendous skyline we have built for them. They do not deserve to wake up at night without electricity. They do not deserve to long all the time for a family trip abroad so they can see a bit of green and enjoy the countryside,” he said.

He proceeded to make reference to the Seventh Generation Principle, a way of thinking where decisions that are made in the present are done with the idea that they will result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. Dr Zerafa remarked that this principle, which is used by indigenous tribes abroad, “seems to be alien” to the Maltese.

“If only we could keep in mind the seven generations to come when taking any decision, we could, together, build something better and bigger that will be used and enjoyed by your kids and mine, and the generations to come,” he added. With this way of thinking, actions will be more heavily focused on being “sustainable” and “long term”.

“We are a small island. In a lot of areas we have shown that we are very good at what we do and we can achieve good results together. It is not too late to reverse the damage we did and work together for a brighter future,” he concluded.

Commenting on the post, Aramis Capital (Europe) Ltd Managing Director Andre Darmanin said that the “quality of politicians” is another aspect that needs to be looked at.

“I can’t understand how regulators have to vet people at financial institutions because they need to be of integrity and competent, when most of our politicians never managed or ran big operations. Operational success requires knowledge, academia, and experience. I haven’t seen any politicians carrying any of these qualities,” he explained.

Dr Zerafa is an Advocate that specialises in the financial services sector, including the structuring and licensing of collective investment schemes. In 2014 he founded Zerafa Advocates, a law firm that focuses on providing clients with a “tailor-made solution rather than an off-the-shelf product”. He holds a LLD in Law from University of Malta and a LLM In European Commercial Law from University of Law.