A new Construction Directorate, announced by the Prime Minister in the wake of the latest death on a building site, is nothing more than a civil service department “that would guarantee continuity”, according to the Kamra tal-Periti.

Its president, Andre Pizzuto, had sought clarification on the nature and scope of the directorate after Prime Minister Robert Abela mentioned it in reaction to the fatal accident of an Albanian construction worker in Sliema nine days ago.

“A civil service department is all it is, falling under the permanent secretary, to ensure there is continuity when the minister changes,” Pizzuto said, when asked whether it could serve to solve the rampant occupational health and safety issues on construction sites.

The Jean Paul Sofia public inquiry report, which the Prime Minister had originally stalled, had recommended a single authority to regulate every aspect of the building and construction industry, because of failed self-regulation, as the chamber president had proposed.

It pointed out that the Building and Construction Authority, the Planning Authority, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority and JobsPlus should have effective channels of information to work better together, and suggested that Malta Enterprise and INDIS Malta should be merged again into one entity.

But the new directorate would not be merging all regulatory entities, Pizzuto was informed.

“It is just a directorate within the permanent secretary’s office,” he said.

Sofia report flagged lack of coordination

The report, published two months ago, looked at how the government should revamp construction-related rules and processes.

Compiled after the collapse of a building that killed Sofia, 20, the report highlighted issues of collaboration between the various related entities, including the BCA.

It also pointed out a lack of inspectors in all relevant authorities, and said they also needed more training to be more effective.

Asked whether he thought the directorate would serve to change anything, Pizzuto said he hoped it would help “not to have to start afresh whenever there is a cabinet reshuffle”.

The Construction Directorate should also help facilitate the monitoring of EU affairs and directives about the sector, he said.

Over half of workplace deaths in the last two years were in the construction industry, according to the National Statistics Office.

Following the Sliema accident, which killed 51-year-old Bari Balla when the roof of a property he was working on caved in, the Prime Minister urged firm and speedy action over his death.

“No one should avoid the course of justice because of technicalities,” Abela had insisted.

While enforcement was improving and resources were being added in the construction area, ultimate responsibility also rested on developers and contractors, Abela said.

A magisterial inquiry is under way, and Abela also said the committee tasked with implementing the Sofia inquiry recommendations was working to ensure they were adopted.

Things could have been different

But for newly appointed Din l-Art Ħelwa president Patrick Calleja, who gave up his architecture practice to take on the role, things could have been done differently.

Speaking in his personal capacity and not that of the national trust he heads, which deals with heritage preservation and the environment, Calleja said had there been a serious, independent and quick inquiry by the State and the Chamber of Architects into the cause of every construction site accident, and the architects and contractors identified and punished accordingly, the situation today would have been different.

More red tape meant property owners and developers had to wait too long and were more inclined to take risks- Architect Patrick Calleja

But the additional bureaucracy had simply caused confusion, Calleja continued, adding there could be as many as eight architects with different tasks on one site, complicating matters of responsibility.

More red tape meant property owners and developers had to wait too long and were more inclined to take risks, he believed.

The BCA has been turned into a “monster”, Calleja said, adding he thought it was “crazy” that it was responsible to give clearance for all projects.

While he did not know what the remit of the new Construction Directorate would be, Calleja said the way things are done today “does not help at all”.

Everyone was tarnished with the same brush, and it was unfair on architects who were prepared to take on their responsibilities.

All members of BCA board bar one were asked to resign last week. The news emerged as another construction incident, this time in Floriana, left two workers injured.