Sandro Chetcuti new developers association president

Three and a half years after the Malta Developers Association was established to be the highest body and voice of private Real Estate developers in Malta, the association has elected Sandro Chetcuti as its new President.

Outgoing president Michael Falzon decided not to stand for re-election for personal reasons and vice-president Sandro Chetcuti was elected president at the MDA Annual General Meeting on Thursday.

After the meeting, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat addressed the MDA members present and attended a reception.

In his address at the end of the meeting, Falzon thanked all the committee members, including those co-opted, for their contribution during the year, especially Chetcuti, one of the MDA's founders, who always did his utmost and dedicated a lot of time to the Association.

Looking back at the past year, Falzon underlined the association's activity. "In a year where a general election was held, the MDA managed to influence the policies of the two main political parties in last year's Budget, which was adopted by the new administration that was elected in March, as well as their electoral manifestos and this year's Budget.

He added that MDA can "boast with satisfaction that the authorities adopted many of the measures which you members asked us to strive to obtain. It was also a year in which the MDA became a member of the European Union of Developers and House Builders (UEPC) and therefore today it is recognised on a European level."

Falzon also referred to statistics that were published in the latest Central Bank report: "One notices that in the past 12 months the construction sector has not continued to regress and is practically stabilised on levels which, although low compared to what they were before, are not showing signs of continued weakening.

"The contribution of the Construction sector to GDP and bank lending to the construction and Real Estate sectors have not declined in a significant manner. A positive indicator is that bank lending to home buyers has increased. We can state with confidence that the sector today is not continuing to regress and we hope it will begin to recover."

In his speech Falzon recommended that the new MDA committee employ a person to take over the Association's administration and to locate a place that can be used as its headquarters.

After Falzon's speech it was the turn of the new president, Sandro Chetcuti, to also address the meeting.

He stressed the positive results achieved by the MDA in the first three and a half years since it was established: "We are being effective each time we press our arguments to ensure that the building industry will be sound and sustainable.

"We are working together and putting our full commitment to ensure we mature even more so that we can understand also what is to the benefit of the country as a whole. In one of the first initiatives we drafted a Code of Ethics that many members are respecting. There is still, however, more to be done so that everyone will conform.

"The more time passes the more we appreciate not only when things go in our favour but also when the whole country benefits because only in this way can Malta become a European model where you feel proud to invest in this rock which we treasure so much."

Chetcuti continued by stating that in his new position he wished the MDA to continue to work to earn the respect of the politicians, professionals and society in general.

He also noted his desire to find a balance with environmentalists so that the investment made in property will continue to appreciate so that everyone can benefit.

"My primary ambition is to eliminate a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy that is stifling. I believe that the MDA can be a key player so that it will assist the government in achieving this. If we are practical and eliminate a lot of time wasting, we can make miracles with this country," he concluded.