Andre Pizzuto has been re-elected president of the Kamra tal-Periti, obtaining 95 per cent of the vote at an annual general meeting held by the professional organisation.
Pizzuto was first elected KTP chair in 2020, having previously served as its deputy president and treasurer.
The KTP regulates and represents architects and civil engineers.
During Monday’s AGM, KTP members also elected Matias Camilleri de Marco as the chamber’s vice president and honorary Secretary, with Ivynne Grixti elected honorary treasurer.
During his address, Pizzuto revealed that the government has finished drafting regulations that would require all contractors to be licensed. The KTP received a draft copy of those regulations this week, he told his audience.
First promised in 2019, the licensing regime has remained in limbo in the ensuing years, despite a steady flow of construction-related incidents and deaths.
Pizzuto commended Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi for having pressed for the licensing regime and for having consulted with the KTP throughout.
The reelected KTP president told his audience that “dark forces of resistance” had stalled the progress of the architectural profession and construction industry in Malta.
“The result of this resistance, as we have witnessed too many times this year already, is death. A quality of life that ranks among the lowest in the industrialised parts of the world. A built environment that has been wrecked by individualism and profit. Younger generations who cannot wait to leave the country. Exploitation of foreign workers. Traffic congestion, flooding, noise and air pollution, and excessive waste generation. A profession that has been humiliated and hollowed out,” Pizzuto said.
However, he argued that some positive change had been registered. He cited the passing of the Periti Act and the BCA Act as cases in point.
He announced that in 2021 the KTP closed 29 prima-facie investigations and 3 formal conduct cases, while in 2022 it closed 15 prima-facie investigations and 17 formal conduct cases. On its current agenda, the KTP has 7 ongoing prima-facie investigations, five ongoing formal conduct cases and nine appeals being heard before the court of appeals.
In relation to the issue of quality in architecture, Pizzuto explained the work that is about to start on the drawing up of an Architecture Framework which will establish processes and criteria to ensure quality in design underpinned by the UN Sustainability Goals, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Employment. As a second phase, the KTP and Minister Clyde Caruana have agreed to establish Design Review Panels to further improve the critical review of architectural projects to ensure better design outcomes.
Pizzuto concluded by stating that “there is still a lot of work to be done to modernise the industry to meet the qualitative standards that our European counterparts are accustomed to.” He augured that the next Council will reinstate the Premju Emanuele Luigi Galizia to ensure that the profession truly recognises those who, against all odds, succeed in producing a beautiful and well-built legacy for the future.