Developers’ association say Chetcuti has no conflict of interest

The Malta Developers Association has issued a statement expressing its confidence in its president Sandro Chetcuti, who is assisting the Labour Party as a party volunteer.

In the past, Chetcuti had said he had donated sums of money to both Labour and the Nationalist Party, apart from having assisted Labour during its election campaign.

He was recently revealed to have been meeting building contractors and other traders at the Labour Party headquarters, but Chetcuti has denied soliciting donations from them or that he was occupying an office for this purpose.

In a statement, the MDA referred to reports of Chetcuti's "personal voluntary work in the political field" and said that he had "always worked wholeheartedly and with integrity in the interests of its members, both with this administration as well as with the previous government."

"The MDA grew at a fast pace because the committee always put partisan politics aside, as the MDA's statute requires, and always focused on the need for the building industry to progress, irrespective of who is in government.

"Apart from the absolute confidence of its members, Sandro Chetcuti also enjoys the respect of the Chamber of Architects, as well as the Real Estate Federation, which both recognised the valuable work he is doing, as indicated in their statements in this regard.

"The MDA requests the political parties not to use the association for partisan purposes in any way."

Chetcuti collected donations for the Labour Party prior to the 2013 general elections, one point having entertained the prospect of standing for election on the Labour ticket.

The revelation that Chetcuti met developers and other traders at the Labour headquarters has also raised serious questions Labour's unrelenting infatuation with big business.

PL chief executive officer Gino Cauchi defended Chetcuti from reports that he was meeting building contractors at the Mile End headquarters and accepting donations on behalf of the party. "Sandro Chetcuti is a volunteer and holds no specific role within the party. He chose to militate within the PL, as is every individual's right to do. He helps the party on a voluntary basis, such as helping organise certain activities," Cauchi told MaltaToday.

Asked whether Chetcuti had donated money to Labour in the recent past, Cauchi said he didn't exclude that Chetcuti might have helped during fund-raising events "but not the thousands one might think".

Confronted with the same question as to whether he was collecting monies from contractors or others he was meeting, Chetcuti said: "I help whoever I want in any way I like."

He insisted that he occupied no specific role or office at the Labour HQ, adding that the way he chose to spend his free time was his own business.

"What I do in my free time is no one's business... and what I do is not illegal or illicit," he said, adding that the matter had nothing to do with his role in the MDA.

Asked about his role within the party, Chetcuti said what he did was "private".

Chetcuti is a member on the government's Building Regulation Board.

Chetcuti's relationship with Labour goes back years: an SMS to then Opposition leader Joseph Muscat which he erroneously texted to Vince Farrugia, was the cause of the altercation inside the GRTU offices that later led to attempted murder charges against Chetcuti.

The charges were later downgraded to GBH, but Chetcuti was only found guilty of causing Farrugia slight injuries and harassing him. He was sentenced to one month's imprisonment, suspended for one year.