Developers’ boss prescribes ‘motivation’ for people left behind by economic boom

Malta Developers Association president Sandro Chetcuti insisted on Wednesday, that Malta needed to do all it could to maintain its current rate of economic growth, which he said could not be held back because of a few.

“Whining should be left to the cats,” Chetcuti said at the start of a meeting between the MDA and the Nationalist Party. “If we are scared to move forward because a few will be left behind, the whole country will be left behind.”

He said that while some cases were genuine and deserved due attention, others needed to do more to improve their situation

MDA president Sandro Chetcuti said the country could not be held back because of the needs of the few

“It wouldn’t be in Malta’s best interest for the country’s economic development to stop as there are many people who rely on this sector. We need to keep the momentum going,” Chetcuti said.

“It doesn’t mean we want everything to go through, it just means we need to come up with a plan in order to keep it going in a sustainable manner.”

The MDA presented Delia with a list of proposals ahead of the upcoming budget, including that of having €400-€500 incentives for private landlords to provide properties at affordable rents for five years.

The MDA also suggested that the minimum wage in the country should be increased by 20%.

“For things to be affordable in Malta, the Maltese need to be able to prosper and continue to grow. Common assets should be evenly distributed enough that any deals are invested in the best interest of Malta,” Chetcuti added.

On his part, Delia stressed that while economic development was important, one also needed to discuss the future and the effects development has on others”.

He went on to say “the criticism the Opposition has of the government is that our future direction and strategies on handling economic growth need to be stronger when the industry is doing well”.

“It can easily shift in any direction, we can’t take anything for granted,” Delia said.

“We need to find a way for the environment to longer be a hurdle, it should be the opposite, the development sector to find ways to be pioneers, such as using renewable materials along with other practices.”