Nominations to occupy the influential role of chief of the Malta Developers’ Association closed last Friday, with nobody throwing their name into the hat.

With no prospect of a leader in sight, the MDA is heading into discussions to decide on the future of the lobby group.

“Worst case scenario, if nobody takes on the challenge, we’ll have to dissolve the organisation, but we are determined not to go there,” general secretary Michael Stivala said.

Last month, MDA founder and president Sandro Chetcuti announced he is stepping down after eight years at the helm.

The announcement was met with disappointment from association members, who resigned from their posts and issued nominations for every position within the organisation.

Several members submitted their names for every position, but not for that of president, Stivala said.

The developers’ lobby will hold an extraordinary general meeting in the coming days to discuss the situation, but it is still unclear what will happen if a leader is not found.

“The association has contributed greatly to unite developers and was instrumental to the country’s economic growth. We believe the MDA is essential in helping the government draw policies which would benefit everyone, including people who are not in our business.”

Vice president Denise Xuereb said most people have the wrong impression of business people within the MDA.

“Some people think that our members use their position at MDA to cosy up to government to get whatever they want. If this were true, hundreds of members would want to be president. That none of them wish to bear this responsibility goes to show that being president of MDA does not provide the perks that people think it does.”

Both Stivala and Xuereb confirmed they met with several members and encouraged them to contest for the role, but none wanted to because the role is time-consuming and requires them to give up their careers.

“They know that being president would mean they have to renounce their personal projects and the position puts them under more scrutiny from the authorities and their own companies.”

However, they said there was another significant discouraging factor.

“None of them want to go through what Sandro Chetcuti had to go through,” they said.

“They saw him being unfairly criticised for every wrongdoing in the industry and unjustly blamed for crimes he never committed, and they do not want to put themselves and their families through that.”

They insisted the MDA does more good than people believe.

“We lobby for our members’ interests, yes, but over the years we have continuously influenced the government to adopt measures that would benefit middle- and working-class people as well, such as the first-time buyers’ scheme,” Stivala said.

“We prevented government from selling public land to business people, but many people don’t seem to realise that.”

The MDA is one of the country’s most controversial lobby groups and has been frequently criticised for the excessive construction in Malta, together with the environmental destruction.

In 2019, Chetcuti had expressed his intention to step down, but he remained in the post after members signed a petition urging him to stay on.

Times of Malta is aware of repeated attempts to persuade him to stay on in recent days.

When contacted, Chetcuti said he is determined to move on with his life.

“We met this week, and they explained the situation, but I made my decision. For 11 years I dedicated my career to the association and I still love it dearly.

“I will remain a member, and I promised them I will do my utmost to help them find the right person to move this association in the right direction. I have no doubt they will find that person.”

Chetcuti founded the association together with former minister Michael Falzon 11 years ago.