The 55 founder members of the Malta Developers Association were given a memento in appreciation of their contribution in the setting up of the association, which celebrated its fifth anniversary on Saturday with a reception at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, Floriana. Among the guests were Cabinet Ministers, MPs from both sides of the House, sponsors, partners and the media.

MDA President Sandro Chetcuti paid tribute to the vision and commitment of “18 entrepreneurs” who originally gathered at his house in 2010 and drew up a statute that enabled the dream of a representative body for the construction industry to become a reality.

The fledgling association, which at first was not taken so seriously, was officially launched on 16 September, 2010, at Le Méridien St Julians Hotel & Spa, thanks to Mr Benny Camilleri and Mr Charles Polidano. The MDA’s first President, Perit Michael Falzon, was described by Mr Chetcuti as the “association’s compass, who set us on our direction and controlled my unbounded enthusiasm”.

The economic climate back in 2010 was far from rosy. “Let us not forget what a precarious situation our industry was in,” Mr Chetcuti said. “The world was in the depths of the financial crisis and we were being told to diversify because the construction industry and the property market were saturated and there was no room for further progress. But we were not discouraged.
“We decided that we were on a ship that was in the middle of that storm. The original 55 founder members of this association united, and continue to lend their support to this day, and we sensibly managed to bring it into port.”

After that rocky voyage with all the trouble that was faced, the situation today has changed completely. “Make hay while the sun shines,” he affirmed because “there is once again a boom in the property industry for whoever is working properly, developing sustainably and for whoever follows the rules and directives that are being imposed on us by the European Union.”

Yet Mr Chetcuti also had a word of warning: “Don’t take things for granted. Let us continue to keep our feet on the ground. Damage is repaired slowly and it can be suffered very quickly. Our association today enjoys the respect of both the main large political parties in the country that are instrumental in delivering the policy that directs the economy ahead. If our industry slows down, everything follows.”

The MDA President concluded with an appeal to the young members of the association – which now numbers over 300 members – to come forward and give their contribution to support the committee. He hinted that the time had come for him to make way for others: “I feel we have arrived and grown, and I feel that the time will soon come when I take a back seat.
“It is a marvellous thing when you are giving a contribution on a national scale. We have learned how to lobby and negotiate with the government. Without being partisan, I must admit that this administration understood clearly the need and the importance of the building industry.

“Sometimes we agreed, sometimes we disagreed, but many of the MDA’s proposals were taken on board in Budget after Budget, so that today thankfully business is healthy and we believe that in the next five years it is going to continue to be positive,” Mr Chetcuti concluded.