Architects and developers are pushing against Opposition calls to implement Sofia inquiry recommendations within six months.
“We firmly believe that each recommendation warrants a thorough and deliberate discussion,” the National Building Council said in a statement on Wednesday.
“While the NBC agrees with the spirit of the Inquiry’s recommendations, we insist on a more measured approach to reform that accounts for the intricacies of our sector and respects the expertise of its professionals.”
The council, established last month, is a collaboration between the Kamra tal-Periti and Malta Development Association.
Calls to implement the Sofia inquiry’s recommendations within six months form part of a parliamentary motion due to be debated on Thursday.
Presented by PN leader Bernard Grech and whip Robert Cutajar, the motion is centred on a no-confidence vote in three ministers linked to Sofia inquiry findings – Miriam Dalli, Silvio Schembri and Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi.
It follows the damning conclusions of a public inquiry into the construction site death of Jean Paul Sofia. That report, published earlier this month, found glaring loopholes in construction sector laws which led to the site which collapsed on Sofia being essentially unregulated.
In roughly 40 pages of detailed recommendations, the inquiry called for immediate laws to regulate free-standing buildings, the introduction of mandatory skills cards for all construction workers, geological reports to be made mandatory for excavation method statements, an increase in bank guarantees required of developers and many other changes.
The National Building Council said that it was important that the recommendations were carefully assessed and introduced as part of a “comprehensive, long-term strategic plan” that went beyond the inquiry’s immediate recommendations.
A failure to do so could have long-term implications on a sector that employs over 40,000 people, it said, arguing that “rushed reforms could inadvertently lead to complexity, bureaucracy and more incidents that impede rather than advance our collective objectives”.
It said it was keen to engage in a “constructive dialogue” with both the government and opposition to improve standards within the sector.
Established last month, the National Building Council seeks to lobby the government on construction reform and alter public perceptions of the often-criticised sector.