Periti Warranting Board Elections being held today

The Warranting Board is today holding elections for representatives of the profession’s membership. The nominees are:

Mifsud James348980M32, Triq Carmelo Dimech, Mosta
Pace David383646M18, Vedette, Triq il-Habb tal-Qamh, Swieqi
Zammit Ivan120475M81, Rivendell, Triq San Mikiel, Zurrieq

The elections, which are managed by the Electoral Commission, are being held today between 9am and 4pm without interruption at the following polling stations:

Malta

Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure & Capital Projects, Project House, Floriana

 

Gozo

Electoral Office, 28A St Francis Square, Victoria

 

Warrant holders are requested to present their ID card, or any other official identification document bearing a passport photograph, at the polling station. You must select only one of the three candidates on the voting document by marking an [X] in the box next to the chosen candidate’s name.

 

The composition of the Warranting Board is regulated by Art 6 of the Periti Act, Cap. 390, as follows:

  • A chairman to be appointed by the Minister from among persons who are or have been qualified to be appointed judges in Malta;
  • Two members appointed by the Minister from among warrant holders, who have held their warrant for at least eight years;
  • Two members appointed by the Kamra from among warrant holders who have held their warrant for at least eight years; and
  • Two members who shall be elected by secret ballot by warrant holders from among themselves.
 The term of the board members expires after two years, except for the chairman whose term ends after three years.
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KTP removes fees for graduates and students

The Kamra tal-Periti has revised its membership fees following the approval of a motion presented by the Council during last December’s AGM. The motion, which was unanimously approved, provided for the consolidation of the various graduate membership tiers, into one single graduate membership level which is free of charge for the first two years. Graduate members will be requested to pay the full membership fee from the third year onward if they still have not been conferred their warrant.

The AGM also approved an agreement reached by the Council and the Society of Architecture & Civil Engineers Students of Malta (SACES), to accept SACES members as automatic KTP student members.

The objective of the motion was that of providing greater exposure to graduates and students to the current issues and challenges faced by the profession, as well as access to resources and courses so they may be better prepared to contribute to the profession and wider society in the future. It is also envisaged that these changes will encourage young architects and civil engineers to actively participate in this professional community.

The agreement reached between KTP and SACES bodes well for the strengthening of ties between the two bodies, and widens the scope for future collaboration.

The benefits of graduate and student membership include:

 

 

How to join

Graduate members are requested to sign up on https://kamratalperiti.org/members by filling in their details. Following the necessary verifications by the Kamra to confirm that they are indeed architecture or civil engineering graduates, their membership application will be approved and they may immediately begin to enjoy the benefits of graduate membership.

Warrant holders are not eligible for graduate membership and must register for full membership.

 

 

Students who enroll as members of SACES will automatically become KTP student members. SACES will be regularly updating the Kamra on the list of its members so the benefits of KTP student membership can also be extended to them.

For more information on how to join SACES, please contact them here.

 

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KTP writes to Minister Bonnici re SCH

The Kamra tal-Periti has written to Minister Owen Bonnici regarding his parliamentary speech on the budget estimates of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. In its letter, the Kamra has acknowledged that the statistics indicating an increase in the volume of planning applications processed by the SCH has increased from 1,099 in 2015 to 5,412 in 2016.

The Kamra pointed out, however, that the statement was “misleading in that the increase is a result of the new legislation which requires the SCH to assess each and every application for development permission, irrespective of its  impact on cultural heritage matters. Prior to the demerger, the SCH only had to deal with those applications that posed a clear and direct threat to our heritage, whereas now it has to assess even the most trivial of applications, thus impacting heavily on its workload.”

The letter states that while the Kamra agrees that in a country as small as ours, many types of development may impact on our village cores and architectural and cultural heritage, we are now in a situation where the SCH is overloaded with applications to assess, to the extent that it is failing to keep up even with those applications that should fall within its direct remit.

The Kamra insisted that the SCH should be given sufficient resources to fulfill its remit and deal with “the immense workload it is faced with on a daily basis”, pointing out that the MEPA demerger has effectively weakened the SCH rather than strengthen it.

KTP offered to meet with Minister Bonnici to discuss the matter in greater depth so that the problems afflicting the SCH may be urgently addressed.

 

Read the full letter to Owen Bonnici
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PA to digitise PC applications through eApps

The Planning Authority has announced this morning, in a welcome move, that the planning control applications (zoning and alignments) will be included on the eApps electronic application system.

This follows on the inclusion of DNOs, compliance certificate, regularisation and dangerous structure applications in recent months.

The new facility will come into force on 2nd January 2018. Applications which would have not been validated by 22nd December 2017 will need to be uploaded electronically as from the 2nd January 2018.

To read the full circular, including the new procedure click on button below.

PA CIR 3/17
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KTP writes to PS Chris Agius about outstanding matters related to the PA

The Kamra tal-Periti has written to Chris Agius, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Planning, regarding several outstanding issues related to the Planning Authority that are still not satisfactorily addressed. They include:

  • Lack of adequate consultation with KTP regarding amendments to the Development Notification Order, despite the Planning Authority’s legal obligation;
  • The addition of permit conditions that are completely unrelated to planning, which are placing Periti in an impossible position to certify legality of buildings, and shifting the responsibility of Government enforcement onto Periti;
  • The grave concerns surrounding the status of CTB concessions;
  • The extensive delays in processing of planning applications caused by the lack of adequate resources granted to the SCH;
  • Circular 2/17 which makes it impossible for property buyers to appoint a Perit of their choice;
  • The need to correct the discrepancy between Inland Revenue’s UCA tax incentive schemes and the issuance of UCA certificates by the PA;
  • The failure of the Users’ Committee, of which the KTP is a member, to meet;
  • KTP’s concerns on the functioning and composition of the DAC.

 

Read the full letter
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