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PR 07/20 | Earth Day is every day, and anywhere you are

Verżjoni bil-Malti

Today, the entire planet is marking Earth Day 2020, which this year is focussed on climate action.

Climate change is currently the biggest challenge being faced by humanity, as it also struggles with the severe impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Any challenge, however, is also an opportunity for positive change in ensuring a more sustainable future.

At the end of 2020, Malta, along with all other signatory nations, is expected to increase its national commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Just two days ago, Minister Aaron Farrugia announced that Malta had joined 16 other EU countries in backing a call to put the “European Green Deal” at the heart of a post-coronavirus recovery. The respective ministers are urging Europe to remember the challenges of climate change when putting forward long-term strategies for a resilient recovery from the current crisis, and stated that while all efforts should be focussed on fighting the pandemic, we must “begin to prepare ourselves to rebuild our economy and to introduce the necessary recovery plans to bring renewed, sustainable progress and prosperity back to Europe and its citizens. While doing so, we must not lose sight of the persisting climate and ecological crisis. Building momentum to fight this battle has to stay high on the political agenda.”

This is indeed a very welcome step. Malta has, for many years, failed to meet its obligations on various matters ranging from waste management to emissions, and from over extraction of resources to uncontrolled energy use. We simply cannot afford to carry on with our past attitude to these matters – the Kamra tal-Periti therefore fully backs Malta’s renewed commitment to ensure that things will change, and remains hopeful that this is not just an exercise in paying lip service to these ideals.

On its part, the Kamra tal-Periti is committed to collaborate with Government in achieving these goals. For many years it has been lobbying for significant changes in the building and construction industry, which is known to be one of the biggest contributors to climate change. In May 2019, it published a comprehensive proposal for an overhaul of the building and construction regulation framework, which proposal has the support of all the main players in the industry, and which is aimed at ensuring that our building stock is more safe and efficient, and that it is focussed on quality rather than on quantity. These proposals were recently presented to the Committee established by Prime Minister Robert Abela, and the Kamra looks forward to the outcome of the consultation process being undertaken by said Committee.

Last October, the Kamra tal-Periti took the important step of signing up to the Davos Declaration titled “Towards a high-quality Baukultur for Europe”, and to date remains the only Maltese organisation to have done so. The Declaration, which was endorsed by the European Ministers for Culture in January 2018, calls for quality, joint responsibility and cultural sustainability to be at the core of our policies relating to the built environment, and stated that “We urgently need a new, adaptive approach to shaping our built environment; one that is rooted in culture, actively builds social cohesion, ensures environmental sustainability, and contributes to the health and well-being of all.” They also acknowledged the importance of adding “economic value by creating higher-quality and more durable assets and favourable conditions for economic prosperity within society (by using) resourced sustainably, thus ensuring that future generations will also be able to benefit from positive social and economic development.”

The Kamra tal-Periti will continue to strive to ensure that its members place sustainability at the core of their practices and professional responsibilities, to promote and improve standards with the aim of ensuring better quality buildings and open spaces, and to acknowledge the important role that we play in ensuring a better quality of life for our citizens. However we cannot do this alone. Government must become the champion for a better built environment, not only by investing in good design but also by being acutely aware of the consequences of its policy making and decision-taking in all fields.

The challenges faced by our built environment will not be easy to overcome but they can be with concerted action, shared responsibility and commitment to the development of a vision which catalyses all stakeholders to work for better quality places that bring dignity, pride and real delight to their users. Earth Day 2020 can be an important moment for our citizens to rise up, with millions of people around the world, to demand the “creativity, innovation, ambition, and bravery that we need to meet our climate crisis and seize the enormous opportunities of a zero-carbon future.”

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PR 06/20 | Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility

Verżjoni bil-Malti

The 18th April marks the International Day for Monuments and Sites. The theme chosen for this year’s celebration is “Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility”, recognising that heritage – whether places, landscapes, practices, or collections – are frequently connected with and valued by multiple and diverse groups and communities. This year, as the world goes through the current crisis caused by COVID-19, we are called to celebrate and think about the relationships between cultures or cultural groups and their collective responsibility for the care and safeguarding of the significant attributes, meanings, and values of heritage.

It was, in fact, exactly two years ago that 22 organisations active in the field of cultural heritiage came together to express their shared concern for the manner in which the indiscriminate demolition of our built and other cultural assets was resulting in a general impoverishment of our urban areas.

These entities jointly signed a Declaration titled “Our Legacy – Wirtna”, which had one fundamental message: that the way we treat our heritage is the legacy we leave for future generations.

Two years ago we reminded Government of the Declaration of Principles of the Constitution of Malta which stipulates that “the State shall safeguard the landscape and the historical and artistic patrimony of the Nation”, and put forward 11 demands for Government to implement. To date, none of these demands have been met.

Last September, hundreds of people crowded the streets of Valletta chanting “Enough is Enough!” Enough to planning policies that do not respect citizens. Enough to authorities that do not plan properly and do not respect the environment. Enough to large-scale construction projects, road construction works and lack of transportation planning. Enough to low air quality and lack of preservation of biodiversity. Enough to a construction industry which is allowed to operate in an unregulated manner.

These calls were not dissimilar to those made by the 22 organisations two years ago. The concern is, in fact, a shared concern – that our culture and our heritage are being disregarded, and that economic interests are far too often given the upper hand.

We have a shared responsibility to safeguard our culture and our heritage. The Kamra tal-Periti and its fellow signatories of “Our Legacy – Wirtna” are fully committed to make sure this happens. Is Government equally committed?

Declaration

Read the Declaration signed by 22 organisations

 

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PR 05/20 | Arraignments indicative of confused and overlapping responsibilities

Verżjoni bil-Malti

Last month’s incident, which claimed the life of Miriam Pace, was a stark reminder that the crisis faced by the building industry is far from over, and has not been resolved through the hastily drafted regulations that were brought into force in July 2019. While commending the swift manner in which the authorities have proceeded in this case, the Kamra tal-Periti cannot but reiterate its position, which has consistently remained strongly opposed to the afore-mentioned regulations because they do not guarantee public safety, as clearly evidenced by the Hamrun tragedy. All these regulations were designed to do is apportion blame after an accident takes place, while concurrently shifting it away from developers and contractors, who remain unregulated to this day. Instead they should have been focused on preventing such accidents from happening in the first place.

Yesterday’s arraignments are a clear demonstration of how increasingly complicated and confused the lines of responsibility have become with the coming into force of the new regulations. Indeed, the Court will now have to establish the responsibilities of four different roles, including the STO role which did not exist before. Inevitably, defence lawyers will thrive in this weak regulatory framework.

The Kamra tal-Periti is perplexed by the statement issued yesterday by the Malta Developers’ Association that the new regulations introduced last summer provided “clear parameters to determine who was responsible for such incidents”. It appears that this was the primary focus of the MDA, rather than ensuring public safety, which has always been the paramount concern of the Kamra.

Indeed, the Kamra fully agrees with the statement which Marthese Portelli, now director-general of MDA, had made at the time the regulations were published, wherein she characterised them as “rushed decision-making [which] has set nobody’s mind at ease”.

The Kamra looks forward to the implementation of its building and construction regulation framework which Government had committed to start implementing as from October 2019. This framework was meanwhile endorsed by all the relevant stakeholders and presented to the Committee of Experts appointed recently by the Prime Minister. Its implementation will ensure that the construction industry will finally modernise itself and be brought in line with practices adopted in developed countries.

The Kamra tal-Periti is fully committed to make sure this happens without further delay. Delays in introducing the appropriate legislation will only prolong the public’s exposure to health and safety risks.

Letter of Commitment - August 2019

 

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CIR 10/20 | COVID-19 – We are not Immune // Update 5

This Circular is being issued to update you on a number of actions taken by the Kamra tal-Periti in the past couple of weeks, namely:

 

  1. Survey of the profession
  2. Submission of proposals for a National Strategy for economic measures
  3. Economic measures currently applicable for periti
  4. Safety on construction sites in view of COVID-19

 

Further details on each of these points are outlined below.

 

1. Survey of the profession

 

The outcome of the first two surveys of the profession carried out last month were instrumental in our discussions with Government on the difficulties being experience by periti, as further outlined below. The results of those surveys have been published in our COVID-19 Impact on Periti Bulletin 01 and Bulletin 02.

 

The third round of the survey is now open until Friday 10th April 2020 at noon. Before commencing the survey you will need to have the following information at hand:

  • Number of staff you employ, split by provenance (Maltese, EU, and non-EU) and gender
  • Number of open sites under your direction split by predominant activity (demolition and site clearance, excavation, construction and finishes/services, and the number of those which pose risks of danger and/or damage to third parties if the works are stopped suddenly in the eventuality of a lockdown.
  • Average monthly turnover for 2019, and turnover for January, February and March to date (questions in this section request details in % terms but you will need the raw data to work these out)

Your response is highly important, even if you have already participated in previous rounds, since it will enable us to report trends in the profession to Government. I urge you to dedicate some time to this exercise to ensure that our data will be as representative of the profession as possible.

 

Participate in Survey

 

 

2. Submission of proposals for a National Strategy for economic measures

 

Over the past three weeks, the Kamra tal-Periti met with four other professional bodies, practically on a daily basis, to discuss how the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their professional activities and those of the significant number of persons working within those professional practices.

 

The Kamra tal-Periti, the Chamber of Advocates, the Dental Association of Malta, the Kunsill Notarili ta’ Malta and the Malta Institute of Accountants share the firm belief that our professions form an integral part of the community we live and practice in, and that we have a duty to contribute our experience and expertise towards a balanced solution to the economic issues being faced by the country as a whole.

 

On Wednesday 1st April 2020, representatives of each of the professional bodies met with Minister Silvio Schembri and presented our proposals for:

  • a National Strategy for economic measures to be considered by Government in addressing the severe economic and social difficulties that have been brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak; and
  • a set of measures aimed at assisting our professions within the context of the national strategy proposed.

 

 

It is evident from the surveys carried out by the professional bodies among their members that, whilst the full extent of the impact going forward is as yet unknown, the immediate impact has been severe and the outlook bleak. If this situation were to be prolonged, it will place self-employed professionals under significant pressure to meet their payment obligations and will place firms under severe pressure with under-utilised human resources to meet their significant salary bills.

In our proposals to Government, we acknowledged that there are economic sectors in the country that can be considered as “higher impact” and that any economic measures of state intervention are to prioritise those sectors; indeed we concurred with the strategy of Government to do so, however cautioned that the professions are not immune to this environment.

 

The six measures proposed to Government specifically for the professions can be found in this presentation.

 

Minister Schembri was receptive to the proposals and indeed he expressed agreement in principle with the submissions made. The issue of debate is really how and when would be the right time to implement them, given that Government had to prioritise other sectors with urgency since the difficulties in those were more pronounced. The Minister also stated that in any event these measures cannot be adopted across the board within professions, and that even within the same profession one would have to make the case that assistance was necessary.

Any scheme that will be in place would need to have sufficient flexibility to enable it to be applied on a case by case basis, taking into account, within each profession, who required the assistance most. Not all periti are in the same boat, and some would require assistance more than others, or indeed before others. In this context he reiterated his agreement in principle with the proposals and directed the professions to make further representations with the Ministers responsible for their respective professions.

In fact, we have written to the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, under whose remit the profession falls, requesting a meeting wherein we shall be stressing the importance of the introduction of these measures to give assurance to our profession that assistance will be available at the right time and in the right measure.

 

 

3. Economic measures currently applicable for periti

 

On Monday 6th April 2020, Minister Schembri confirmed that, as a first step, Government will be extending the possibility of postponement of taxes to those professionals who can genuinely show that they are in difficulty of paying such dues. This was the first of the six proposals submitted by the professional bodies. Further details on this scheme can be accessed below.

Tax Deferral Scheme

The impacts on the construction industry are evident, and a slowdown is clearly taking place. Loss of revenue, and a reduction in new projects coming on line are already being reported, and the situation is expected to decline further in the coming weeks. In other cases, periti who fall within the vulnerable groups as defined by Legal Notice 111 of 2020 will also experience a decline in revenue, and consequently difficulty with paying their employees and expenses.

Accordingly, those periti who have suffered a significant drop in revenue, and who are unable to meet the salary costs of their office, have an arguable case to make, even now, without having to wait for any particular scheme or measure to be announced, to qualify for certain assistance packages that have already been announced. This was made clear during the meeting with Minister Schembri, and any periti in such situations should therefore make their case to Malta Enterprise and apply for support.

We understand that where a reasonable case can be made, Malta Enterprise will give such cases due consideration.  Evidently, each case will be evaluated on its own merits and the relief granted will be a function of proportionality to the difficulties faced by the professional concerned. Various measures may be considered, including reduced working hours, however these would need to be assessed on a case by case basis with Malta Enterprise.

 

Those who apply for relief and assistance are urged to inform the Kamra tal-Periti that they have done so, in order that such cases may be followed up from our end.

 

Meanwhile, kindly note that we shall be communicating with you shortly regarding a Q&A session being planned to address any queries you may have on the above.

 

 

4. Safety on construction sites in view of COVID-19

 

Another major concern at this time is the safety of workers and professionals on construction sites in terms of potential exposure to the virus, as well as the safety of third parties. The recent increase in case numbers is surely not to be ignored. We are scheduled to meet the Authorities later this week, and will inform you accordingly on any measures to be implemented in this respect.

 

 

I cannot emphasise enough how important it is for you to keep in touch with us via email on info@kamratalperiti.org, the Periti Discussion Group on Facebook, and Facebook Messenger, and to participate in the regular surveys being carried out.

 

Meanwhile, we will continue focussing all of our attention on ensuring that we pull through the current crisis together.

 

Yours sincerely,

Simone Vella Lenicker
President

 

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DIR 09/20 | COVID-19 Pandemic: Third parties considered as vulnerable Individuals & social distancing

Directive Repealed

See DIR 11/20

 

The Kamra tal-Periti is hereby giving notice to all members of the profession of a Directive that has been approved by the Council with regard to third parties considered as vulnerable individuals, as well as recommendations regarding social distancing on construction sites.

 

Third parties considered as vulnerable Individuals

Reference is made to Legal Notice 111 of 2020, which prohibits vulnerable individuals, as defined therein, from leaving their place of residence. In view of such restrictions, which are intended to safeguard the health of the persons concerned, the Kamra tal-Periti is hereby issuing the following Directives:

 

  1. Prior to carrying out any inspections for the purposes of preparing condition reports before the commencent of works or property valuations or any other reason which requires access to any property, periti are to ask their client to obtain a declaration from the owner of the property to be inspected as to whether or not the property is occupied by any person in the categories stated in the Legal Notice.

 

  1. No inspections for the purposes outlined above are to be undertaken under any circumstances if the property in question is occupied by persons in the categories listed in the Legal Notice.

 

  1. In the case of inspections that are required for the purposes of assessing potentially dangerous structures, either as a result of lack of maintenance or as a result of works underway on adjacent sites or any other reason whereby damage to the structure has been reported to the perit by the affected party, the perit is to request dispensation from the Superintendent of Public Health to carry out such inspection using the template Request for dispensation COVID-19 KTP 04_(Vulnerable persons)_inspections of property. The request is to be submitted to the Superintendent of Public Health, the Commissioner of Police, the Kamra tal-Periti, your Client and your Professional Indemnity Insurance provider, as well as others as you may deem appropriate. Contact details are inside template.

 

No inspections are to be carried out until the relevant clearance is issued by the Superintendent of Public Health.

 

Social distancing

Once clearance is received from the Superintendent of Public Health in terms of point 3 above,  it is recommended that periti follow these recommendations, which are also applicable for any inspections to be carried out in third party property:

 

  • Request that not more than one person is present in the property during the inspection, whenever possible
  • Request that all windows and doors (internal and external) are kept open to avoid having to touch surfaces
  • Request that you are allowed to inspect the damaged area without interruptions to limit your presence within the property, and that a distance of 2m is maintained between you and the person showing you around
  • Carry your own sanitiser spray or gel, and use it before entering and after leaving the property

 

The COVID-19 Bulletin 15 states that the Police “have the right to intervene on groups of more than 5 people, and disperse them in such a way as to leave 2 metres between each one of them.” It is recommended that this measure is implemented on construction sites, and that you forward the link to all concerned so as to be observed at all times.

 

Perit Simone Vella Lenicker

President

Request for dispensation COVID-19 KTP 04_(Vulnerable persons)_inspections of property

 

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DIR 08/20 | COVID-19 Pandemic: Periti within vulnerable groups // UPDATED

Directive Repealed

See DIR 11/20

 

UPDATED: 28/03/2020

On Thursday 26th March 2020, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Mr Chris Fearne gave notice of new restrictions that will be brought into force on Saturday 28th March 2020.

These measures were brought into force through Legal Notice 111 of 2020, and prohibit vulnerable individuals from leaving their place of residence, as outline therein.

These measures include an order prohibiting vulnerable individuals from leaving their place of residence. The list of vulnerable groups published in the COVID Bulletin Issue No 15 includes:

 

  • Are over 65 years old
  • Are pregnant
  • Suffer from chronic illness
  • Are insulin dependent diabetics
  • Are on biological medication
  • Had chemotherapy in the last six months
  • Are undergoing immunosuppression (eg. had a transplant or HIV treatment)
  • Are on renal dialysis
  • Have respiratory problems and needed treatment in the last year
  • Had cardiac problems in the last six months
  • Are on oral steroids

 

In addition, those who live with people in this category will have to observe the lockdown or find alternative accommodation.

In view of such restrictions, and until further notice, periti in the above categories, or who live with people in such categories, are to immediately notify their clients of the restrictions imposed on them. In addition periti affected by these restrictions, and who are not in a position to delegate their responsibilities, are to follow the procedures outlined below:

  1. For all works where the closure of the construction site[1] does not pose any risk of danger or damage to the site itself or adjacent third parties[2], immediately submit a Notification COVID-19 KTP-01 (Vulnerable persons)_no risk using the template provided.

 

  1. For all works where the closure of the construction site poses a risk of minor damage to the site and/or adjacent third parties, immediately submit a Notification COVID-19 KTP-02 using the template provided. In this case, the Developer[3] is to be notified to forward such Notification to all affected third parties. It is recommended that you advise the Developer and their appointed Contractor/s to also submit to their respective insurance providers.

 

  1. For works where the closure of the construction site poses a risk of significant damage to, and/or a risk to the structural stability of, the site and/or adjacent third parties, immediately submit a Request for dispensation COVID-19 KTP 03_(Vulnerable persons)_risk to structural stability or significant damage using the template provided. In this case, no works that require the direction of the perit are to proceed until the dispensation is issued from the Superintendent of Public Health, and thereafter works are to proceed strictly in accordance with the content of the request for dispensation. In this case, the Developer is to be notified to inform any affected third parties. Once the works for which dispensation has been granted are complete, the perit is to proceed in accordance with points 1 or 2 accordingly.

 

  1. For works outlined in point 3 above, and where the perit is minded to not request dispensation from the Superintendent in view of the overriding reasons of public health, the perit is to immediately contact the Kamra tal-Periti for further guidance, outlining the sites which pose concern and the proposed way forward accordingly. Reference is also made to Directive 07/20 in this regard.

 

With respect to the cases outlined in point 3 above, periti are also encouraged to contact the Kamra tal-Periti if they require any specific guidance depending on the nature of the works under way.

 

In all cases, the relevant Notices are to be submitted to the following:

 

Superintendent of Public Health:

sph.health@gov.mt

 

Building and Construction Agency:

Upload to eApps under the Avoidance of Damage to Third Parties tab

 

Planning Authority:

Upload to eApps under Correspondence

 

Commissioner of Police:

Via email to pulizija@gov.mt​

 

Local Council of the Locality:

Via email – refer to https://localgovernment.gov.mt/en/lc/Pages/Local-Councils-Landing-Page.aspx/

 

Kamra tal-Periti:

buildingregs@kamratalperiti.org

 

Your Professional Indemnity Insurance provider:

As applicable

 

Additionally to (as applicable):

Client and/or site owner/s; Mason; Contractor/s; Project Supervisor in terms of LN 88 of 2018; any appointed Consultants

 

The relevant notices are to be issued on your letterhead and may be amended accordingly depending on the specific situation.

 

In addition, in all cases, the Project Supervisor is to be specifically instructed to ensure that the site is sealed off to prevent access by unauthorised persons.

 

 

As at the time of issuance of this Directive, the relevant Legal Notice had not as yet been published by Government. In view of this, periti are requested to follow further notifications from the Kamra that may slightly alter or affect this Directive once the Legal Notice is published.

With respect to periti who live with people in these vulnerable groups, while there is currently no restriction on their gong out to work, it is advisable to prepare yourselves for such eventuality.

 

Perit Simone Vella Lenicker

President

Notification COVID-19 KTP 01 (Vulnerable persons)_no risk
Notification COVID-19 KTP 02_(Vulnerable persons)_risk of minor damage
Request for dispensation COVID-19 KTP 03_(Vulnerable persons)_risk to structural stability or significant damage

[1] For the purposes of this Directive a “construction site” means any open site where ongoing works involve demolition, site clearance, excavation, construction, finishes and/or services, and which are being carried out under your direction;

[2] For the purposes of this Directive “adjacent third parties” means any third party and/or their property and includes private and/or public third parties as well as the general public;

[3] For the purposes of this Directive “developer” has the same meaning ascribed to it in Legal Notice 136 of 2019.

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DIR 07/20 | Change of Perit in cases of compliance with Orders and Guidance issued by the Superintendent of Public Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Kamra tal-Periti is hereby giving notice to all members of the profession of a Directive that has been approved by the Council.

 

Periti are hereby authorised to refuse to sign a Change of Architect Form or to handover a project or assignment to another Perit in cases where they are following orders or guidance issued by the Superintendent of Public Health as part of the efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Maltese Islands and as a result of which the former Perit is in any way reasonably prevented, restricted, limited or delayed from fulfilling his/her professional obligations in part or in full.

The Council of the Kamra tal-Periti will consider any actions by another Perit to take over a project or assignment in such circumstances as constituting “supplanting” in terms of Provision 4 of the Code of Professional Conduct.

Periti are reminded that the Council of the Kamra tal-Periti is empowered to take appropriate action in terms of the Periti Act in case of breach of this Directive.

 

Perit Simone Vella Lenicker
President

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