MDA hides Sandro Chetcuti’s involvement in developers’ association

An MDA statement confirmed that former Nationalist Minister Michael Falzon “was unanimously elected” to head a nine-member council, which included one member from Gozo.

However, the MDA statement, which had the particularity of mentioning even the appointment of a Gozo representative, failed to mention the appointment of former GRTU Vice-President Sandro Chetcuti as Vice-President of the new developers’ association, as revealed by Illum.

Illum had revealed that Chetcuti “twice refused the post until the pending criminal court case against him for beating up GRTU Director-General Vince Farrugia was concluded."

“However applause from among those present was enough for Chetcuti to accept the post in this new Association,” it added.

The MDA confirmed the involvement of lawyer Robert Abela in the MDA, having drafted the developers’ association statute.

Addressing the meeting at Le Meridien Hotel in St. Julian’s after the statute was approved, Falzon was quoted as saying that the MDA was to be “the voice of developers in their dealings with government, MEPA and other regulators and the media”.

The association wanted to act proactively and one of its first initiatives was to introduce a code of ethics, which members would be called upon to abide.

“Being a member of the Malta Developers Association, which can be used also in advertising, means that you are dealing with a business entity of integrity,” Falzon insisted.

The MDA would also be seeking changes to legislation, “including the Civil Code in relation to common walls and airspaces, to ensure that certain contradictory Court judgments are clarified”.

The MDA insisted it was in favour of “stability and the elimination of uncertainty, especially in the issue of building permits. The association is not against increased regulation, but against the way these regulations are introduced, catching people unawares,” the developers’ association added.

The MDA statement boasted a membership of 60 among Malta’s top developers, including construction magnate Charles Polidano, better known as “Iċ-Ċaqnu”.