Malta well prepared for the millennium bug

by David Kelleher

Malta is well prepared to tackle problems that may arise on 31 December/1 January and nearly all government entities are Y2K ready.

In its final report before the end of the year, the government-appointed task force said Malta is as well prepared as many other countries, although complacency must not be allowed to set in.

"All organisations including ones within the private sector, must continue to review and refine their contingency plans. Let us not forget that according to the latest international statistics, 55 per cent of Y2K failures will happen throughout the year 200 and not at the roll-over period," George Papagiorcopulo, chairman of the Challenge 2000 task force.

The Millennium Bug affects all computer systems and equipment using software that is date dependent. It also affects equipment with embedded microchips.

The problem arises because computers will not recognise the change from (19)99 to (20)00 and this could bring systems to a complete standstill in all sectors of society.

Most government entities covered in the report either retained their positive rating or else improved theirs. A few entities, which did not provide the task force with information, continue to be classified as 'white', meaning not enough information was available for assessment.

However, the most important entities - Enemalta, Maltacom, Water Services Corporation, MIA, Air Malta, the local banks and Malta Maritime Authority - all received a green or amber rating. In the third report in October, Air Malta had received a red rating.

Malta Freeport Corporation and Sea Malta received a white rating. With regards to the Freeport, the report said: "Challenge 2000 has nothing to report on Malta Freeport Corporation." A request to Sea Malta by the task force to carry out a detailed review was rejected. The company also refused to give details about any contingency plans to Challenge 2000.

The Public Service is also very well prepared to the roll-over. "The report shows a high-level Year 2000 status on IT systems and infrastructure of every department within the Public Service... and on the whole is prepared for the millennium," the latest report said.

Challenge 2000 said that there is no time left to test systems. "All time will now allow is to review and, if at all possible, test and re-test contingency plans."

"As the date rolls over, and as failures start to occur, organisations are advised to shy away from a quick fix, as this could result in larger problems later," the report said.

Mr Papagiorcopulo stressed that the emphasis now is on contingency planning and the task force has been working very closely with the Department of Civil Protection to set up a National Command Centre at the AFM Barrack in Luqa. Representatives from key organisations will be reporting at specified times to the control centre on what problems, if any, will be encountered.

More information on the Y2K problem can be obtained from the task force's website (challenge2000.magnet.mt).