It will take time before the confusion over the new construction rules clears up and the industry picks up at full throttle again following the brief suspension of excavation and demolition works by the government. But people living next to building sites have yet to see to what extent the new rules will be followed and enforced in practice.
When non-enforcement of the rules has been so widespread over the years, and particularly so since the start of the building boom, it is hardly surprising that there is great deal of scepticism over whether enforcement will be strong enough to check errant architects and builders.
As stakeholders in the industry scrambled to clear their name or shift the blame onto others for irregularities, what stood out is the way the government and regulators were wriggling out of responsibility for the state in which the industry finds itself in the wake of the massive expansion.
When Prime Minister Joseph Muscat sensed the mounting national anger over the recent string of incidents, the government sought to free itself of the blame by rushing through a raft of new rules laying down clearer lines of responsibilities. But the government was hardly in a position to exculpate itself of a crisis that was partly of its own making. It had not been alert enough to plan ahead when the floodgates were opened for the issue of building permits.
When, at the time of the temporary suspension of works, Dr Muscat fronted the government’s defence, he made an admission of failure in his attempt to shift the blame. Errant architects and, even more so, builders, can hardly escape blame for the irregularities, but the government and its regulatory authorities share a big part of responsibility as well for carrying on seemingly unmindful of the need for urgent action to check an industry that was getting out of control.
Putting a brave face, the Prime Minister went on record saying that the construction industry had grown at a faster pace than its regulators. He was further quoted saying: “I think it’s a situation where the industry has grown at a much faster rate than the capacity of the institutions governing it, that is the truth.” There can hardly be a clearer admission of failure than this.
Dr Muscat has gone on record saying he does not believe in long-term planning. The crisis in the building industry is the price that he and the country are now paying for his lack of planning.
Will his government now persist in going down this road?
A wise and smart administration would have ensured that, as pointed out in this newspaper when it commented on the concrete batching plant being assembled in Gozo without a permit, all the regulatory arms supporting the government were adequately strengthened to cope with the evolving expansionary rhythm in the industry.
But in the face of what the builders’ chief described as the biggest boom the country has ever seen, the government just plodded on, leaving the industry to go its own way, making hay while the sun shines in absolute freedom.
Unless there is forward planning and effective enforcement, the situation is likely to get worse as developers and contractors are not likely to get overexcited about observing the rules.