The Planning Ministry sees no potential conflict of interest in an architect’s role as chairman of a work safety watchdog.
Architect David Xuereb has been chairman of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) since 2021, taking over from ex-Labour MP Manuel Mallia. Ensuring safety on construction sites is one of the major areas of responsibility for the OHSA.
Building and Construction chairperson Maria Schembri Grima stepped down last week amid outrage over footage showing a dangerous demolition at a project she was leading.
Schembri Grima continued to practice as an architect, while chairing the body responsible for overseeing and enforcing construction standards and safe building practices.
Her resignation comes on the same day that an alarming video showed how demolition works carried out in Triq Psaila, Birkirkara caused large stones to fall a height of at least three storeys, crashing down beyond supposedly protective hoarding. Schembri Grima is the project architect.
Despite the potential for conflicts of interest being starkly highlighted by Schembri Grima’s case, the Planning Ministry – which is responsible for both the BCA and OHSA – dismissed any concerns about Xuereb.
“It is the ministry’s opinion that there are no circumstances that suggest that there is a conflict of interest or incompatibility between the public role of Perit David Xuereb and his consultancy work in the private sector,” the ministry spokesperson said.
Apart form chairing the OHSA, Xuereb is also a member of the BCA’s board, a Trade Malta director and MCESD chairman.
Xuereb: I quit practice in December 2019
Xuereb said he resigned all his professional practice activities in December 2019, dedicating all his time to ethical change management, ESG, decarbonisation and climate change action.
"I hope that my professional experience of over 30 years in the building industry in Malta and in numerous countries around the world helps me bring perspective and an objective, researched and honest interpretation of what needs to be done to uplift the Maltese building industry and bring about the changes we all yearn for.
"I am really not interested in any of the roles I have been offered if I feel that this will not help bring collaborations that can drive the changes we all expect and deserve," he said.
Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi joins a long list of ministers who have failed to deliver on meaningful reforms to the construction industry to ensure better safety and standards.
A pledge to introduce a licensing regime for contractors in response to a spate of building collapses in 2019 has yet to be effectively implemented.