Former Labour minister Charles Buhagiar has been appointed chairman of the new Building and Construction Consultative Council (BCCC), according to a notice in the Malta Government Gazette published this week.

The new council was established through the introduction of a legal notice last month, replacing the previous Building Industry Consultative Council (BICC). The deputy chairperson is engineer Winston Pirotta. The appointments were made by Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi.

Buhagiar, who owns one of the leading architectural firms, previously led the BICC, a post he occupied since after the 2013 general election.

According to the legal notice establishing the BCCC, the chairman and his deputy are “independent members chosen from amongst persons of known integrity and with knowledge of and experience in matters related to the building and construction industry”. 

Charles Buhagiar (third from right) seated at a Labour Party event in 2017. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

The minister also appointed council members. These are:

• Kamra tal-Periti president Andre Pizzuto
• Chamber of Engineers representative Jonathan Cauchi
• Philip Fenech from the Malta Chamber of SMEs
• Jesmond Chetcuti from the Malta Chamber of Construction Management
• Mark Bajada as representative of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry
• Professor Alex Torpiano from the university’s Faculty of the Built Environment
• Engineer Stephen Sammut as representative of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology
• Malta Development Association president Michael Stivala
• General Workers’ Union representative Jesmond Marshall
• UĦM Voice of the Workers representative Kenneth Abela
• Chris Attard representing the Forum of Maltese Unions.

The secretary is Salvina Gelfo.

Buhagiar was first elected to parliament in 1987 and served in seven subsequent legislatures. He was appointed Minister for Public Works in 1996 and served in that role for just under two years, until the 1998 snap election.

He was embroiled in controversy in 2018 after Malta Today revealed that he had given his official vehicle to his wife for her personal use and leased another car for himself at the council’s expense. An audit confirmed that Buhagiar’s wife had been making use of the car for close to five years. Buhagiar refused to resign.