For eleven years, since its inception, the Malta Developers Association had been synonymous with Sandro Chetcuti.
As newly appointed Association President, Michael Stivala has now taken the helm at the MDA and has big boots to fill.
Design & Build spoke to Mr Stivala about the way he sees the Association developing.
Michael Stivala hails from a family for whom dealing in property is in their gene pool. Not only is he well versed in the skills of construction, he is also very savvy in the financial side of the business. With these skills, the newly appointed MDA acting president brings to the table a planning ability which can set a new course for the association. “MDA has been very successful in the past 11 years and we believe that we need to continue building on the solid foundations which have been laid,” said Mr Stivala.
We are conscious that the association is asking to grow and can definitely grow further.
SPRUCING UP
“One of the main objectives of the association in the near future is to rebrand and restructure,” affirmed Mr Stivala. He said that the statute had been originally formulated for a few members who had come together. Testimony to its success, the MDA now provides a voice to over 600 developers, as well as to a vast number of members of sectors affiliated to development. And this, said Mr Stivala, requires modifications to the statute of the association.
The association is also organised on a sectorial basis. This needs to be restructured in order to be able to take advantage of further growth. “We are conscious that the association is asking to grow and can definitely grow further,” said Mr Stivala confidently, adding that in order for this to happen, the association needs to move with the times.
Besides re-branding, Michael Stivala said that the positions and sections within the association and its council need to be re-configured as well as the staff required to run it. He was very clear on this, since the prime importance of the Association it has rightfully become to the industry over the past decade must not be dissipated and should indeed be used as a strong foundation stone for greater achievements to Malta’s development needs and objectives.
Speaking to Mr Stivala, one immediately realises that this is not some prosaic wish to make a mark. “We need to make sure that the council members in their positions represent the sections even better. I think that as the MDA started out simply as a forum for developers, the structure was fine but now the structure needs to reflect the wider, more complex spectrum of it membership strata,” said Mr Stivala. The idea, as spelt out by Mr Stivala, is that the association will still have a head of section as well as a council member whose special area of interest and expertise rests upon a particular section. The council member will also be the liaison between the leadership of the Association and the members of the section and its section head as well as a council member whose special area of interest and expertise rests upon a particular section. The council member will also be the liaison between the leadership of the Association and the members of the section and its section head.
NATURAL EVOLUTION
Mr Stivala was clear: these developments have been in the pipeline for some time, and they have been discussed over the past months. “This is the continuation of a process which started months ago and we will make sure that we shall conclude it by reaching our targets,” said Mr Stivala. Indeed, Mr Stivala is uniquely placed to provide this element of continuity and change. Under the presidency of Mr Sandro Chetcuti, Mr Stivala was SecretaryGeneral of the association and the support Stivala gave was crucial to the making of the MDA as it is today.
A BALANCING ACT
Such input does not come easily. As Mr Stivala pointed out, Mr Chetcuti had also sacrificed much of his business endeavours to be able to serve the association well. So, asked Design & Build, how was Michael Stivala going to manage to juggle all his business reins and add those of the MDA to them?
“ My relationship with Sandro and all the executive was excellent and still is ”
“It will not be an easy task because the MDA is a huge association with a large membership base,” observed Mr Stivala. He said that he envisaged restructuring, so as to enable the association to be administrable in a more operationally efficient manner.
THE COVID FACTOR
The Covid pandemic has vehemently grafted its cruel quirks into Malta’s economy too. Traditionally one of the prime movers of the Maltese economy, the development industries have not been spared. Mr Stivala said that over the past year MDA successfully discussed with government the reduction of the final withholding tax and the stamp duty on property. Describing the effect of this reduction as “a huge success”, Mr Stivala added that in the past months, industry turnovers have increased to record levels, even surpassing pre-Covid levels. He said that this success helped to shore up the economy through the maintenance, and creation, of jobs and opportunities and at a time when other industries were collapsing or on their knees.
MDA will keep on pushing for an agenda which challenges the current status quo and push for more efficient buildings
Mr Stivala added with satisfaction that the construction industry itself showed remarkable resilience. This, he observed, has encouraged it, the MDA and the government to continue to work together so as to foster growth in the industry, and Malta’s economy at large. “We need to maintain the momentum as well as sharpen the interest of the investors who put their money in the industry,” said Mr Stivala. He added that the interest rates given by banks are still very low and the Maltese still can and do look at property as their major form of investment. He envisaged that this form of investment will continue to accrue profit.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
One of the main criticisms of the MDA comes from the environmental sector. Mr Stivala, indeed the MDA, is conscious of this. The acting President of the Association said that the MDA currently sits on various government boards where it is pushing for buildings to become more environmentally friendly.
Mr Stivala said that these innovations need to be introduced post-haste particularly in view of the decisions taken in the COP 26 summit held at the end of 2021 in Glasgow and to which Malta is signatory. These decisions commit all countries to significantly reduce their carbon emissions by 2030. One of the ways these emission-reduction targets will be achieved will be through the introduction of more energy efficient buildings which will lead to less wastage of energy use through, for example, better insulation; and other such means. “MDA will keep on pushing for an agenda which challenges the current status quo and push for more efficient buildings. This can be achieved through the incentivisation of developers and home owners to adopt measures which render buildings more energy efficient, thereby greatly assisting the country in reaching its targets,” said Mr Stivala.
A softly spoken man with an understated manner, Michael Stivala’s clarity of vision is set to provide this prime mover in the Maltese establishment with the impetus the MDA needs to continue being the catalyst of change in the property industry that it has been since its inception.
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