Agency CEO eyeing second district run opposes plans for Żabbar ODZ care home
Rodrick Zerafa says town needs such a home, but not on ODZ land
A Labour insider preparing a second district electoral run has come out against plans to build a home for the elderly on ODZ land in Żabbar.
Rodrick Zerafa said that while he wanted the town to have such a care home, it should only be developed on land inside the development zone.
“ODZ should only be touched in exceptional circumstances and I don’t believe this is one,” Zerafa wrote on Facebook. “I will be backing Żabbar residents and the local council on this issue.”
Zerafa made his position known on Facebook.Zerafa, who is himself from Żabbar, leads stage agency Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta as its CEO. He previously served as an aide to minister Ian Borg and is also close to MEP Alex Agius Saliba.
The Planning Authority is currently assessing plans to build a four-storey home for the elderly on a 4,300 square metre plot of Outside Development Zone (ODZ) land in Żabbar. There is currently no such home in the town.
Planning laws allow homes for the elderly to be built on ODZ land, provided the developer convinces the Planning Authority that no other options exist.
Żabbar's local council is objecting to the project, though councillors are split on the plan. The issue was discussed at a council meeting held in April and a vote on the council’s position ended with three votes in favour, three against and one abstention.
Mayor Jorge Grech, who like Zerafa believes no ODZ land should be allocated to developing a care home, used his casting vote to sway the split vote.
Times of Malta revealed in June that Zerafa is preparing to contest the next general election as a Labour candidate and will be doing so on the second district, which includes Żabbar, the Cottonera area, Kalkara, Xgħajra and parts of Fgura and Marsascala.
The district leans staunchly Labour but Zerafa could face tough competition there, given it is also the hometown of four current cabinet members – Byron Camilleri, Clyde Caruana, Alison Zerafa Civelli and Glenn Bedingfield – and two former ones, Chris Agius and Joe Mizzi.
Correction August 20, 2025: A previous version misstated district boundaries.