Property developers favour making party donations public

Property developers are in favour of making donations to political parties public, according to the president of a recently-formed association to lobby on their behalf.

Malta Developers Association president Michael Falzon, a former Nationalist minister, said the lobby group wanted to change the negative perception associated with developers.

“While the issue of party funding has not yet been discussed by the association, the general view of the members is that they are in favour of having a system where donations are made public,” Mr Falzon said when asked about the perception that developers had the major parties in their pockets because of donations.

He said the perception that the parties were hostage to donations applied to all businesses and not just developers.

“In most cases, businesses give donations to both parties. I have personally gone on record arguing for a law to regulate party financing,” Mr Falzon said.

Addressing the media in the association’s first public engagement yesterday, Mr Falzon defended the appointment of Sandro Chetcuti – a former council member of the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU – as deputy president.

Mr Chetcuti is facing criminal proceedings over the attempted murder of GRTU director general Vince Farrugia.

Mr Falzon said it was the association’s members who wanted Mr Chetcuti to take up the post, a sign of trust in his ability to achieve things.

“Sandro (Chetcuti) refused three times before finally giving in to members’ pressure,” Mr Falzon said, insisting the developer was presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Mr Chetcuti’s position, he added, would be re-assessed once court proceedings were concluded.

Focusing on the aims of the association, Mr Falzon said it wanted to promote the interests of developers and liaise with the government, building regulators such as the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, the media and non-governmental organisations.

“Developers are facing difficult times and they felt that by coming together they could pass on a stronger message,” Mr Falzon, an architect by profession, said.

He complained that the media gave a lot of space to environment NGOs, some of which were dead set against any development. The other side of the argument, he said, also needed to be considered before people could form an opinion.

There would always be controversy, he said, but finding the right balance between preserving the environment and development was important.

Mr Falzon, who as minister had pioneered the planning authority in the early 1990s, said the Mepa reform that would come into place shortly would make it more difficult for developers and ordinary people to get a permit. The government consulted with Mepa officials and environment groups more than it did with developers, he added, insisting the reform was skewed against Mepa’s clients.

He criticised the higher planning fees introduced to make the authority self-sufficient, saying developers were being made to cover costs that had nothing to do with development applications.

The association, Mr Falzon said, would be monitoring how the reform would work in practice before making detailed observations.

An issue the organisation would be dealing with is taxation in the property market. Mr Falzon said experts would be commissioned to carry out a study before any proposals were made.

The association is drawing up a code of ethics for members that would outline among other things how they should deal with clients. “The code of ethics will also act as a sign of approval for good business practices. Members who flout the code of ethics despite repeated warnings will be kicked out of the organisation,” Mr Falzon said.

The association has about 90 members, which include heavyweights such as Polidano Brothers and Gap.