Building and Construction Agency scheme turned into nepotism exercise

A government scheme aimed at helping residents cope with construction projects next door has been turned into the latest nepotism exercise.

Launched a few weeks ago by the Building and Construction Agency (BCA), which regulates the lucrative construction industry, the scheme, copied from a similar one launched by the Malta Developers Association a few years ago, provides legal and architectural assistance, free of charge, to third parties whose property may be affected by a neighbouring development.

A look at the list of lawyers selected by the BCA shows that all ten lawyers chosen happen to be connected to Labour or cabinet members in some way.

No lawyer out of the ten selected comes without strings attached. Also, since the remuneration to these lawyers is relatively low, most of those selected are couples, doubling their earnings.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, who insists that he has no say in the running of the BCA, has two of his former colleagues at his private legal office inserted on the list.

Axl Camilleri and Kimberly Galea, both in their 20s, worked for AGG Advocates, the lawyer’s firm set up by Minister Attard, Charlon Gouder, and Joe Gerada a few years ago. As soon as Attard became minister, Camilleri was also put on the payroll of the Office of the Justice Commissioner as a consultant.

Prime Minister Robert Abela’s brother-in-law, Albert Zerafa, was also selected for the extra €10,000-a-year pay from government coffers. This time, Valentina Lattughi, his wife, was also put on the list, amassing an extra €20,000 publicly funded retainer yearly for the Zerafa family.

Albert Zerafa has also been given various government retainers since his sister’s husband became prime minister.

Also on the list are Frank and Alessia Psaila, PN activists until 2022, when they resigned after making a public statement. The Labour government has since showered them with minor government appointments—the last being the BCA.

The other lawyers selected for the job are Adrian Sciberras, Roseanne Sant Cortis, an employee of Adrian Sciberras’s legal firm; Ryan Ellul, a Labour member of the Fgura local council in Minister Attard’s district; and Elaine Degiorgio, a ONE TV presenter, girlfriend of Labour’s former spokesperson and person of trust Nigel Vella.

All lawyers still need to gain experience in the construction sector and the laws regulating them.