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PR 07/25 | KTP Council conducts site inspection as part of ongoing investigation into Paceville building collapse

This morning, the Council of the Kamra tal-Periti (KTP) continued its investigation into the building collapse in Paceville that occurred on Wednesday night.

Escorted by Deputy Director of the Civil Protection Department, Perit Graham Attard, Council members were shown the emergency stabilisation works carried out under his direction in the affected area. The Council then conducted a thorough inspection of the site, including the remains of Tania Flats, to help form a collective professional opinion on the cause of the collapse and determine whether professional negligence by a warrant holder was a contributing factor.

While the investigation into the circumstances leading to the collapse is ongoing, the Council noted that there was no evidence of excavation work having been conducted on-site at any point during the project. This was corroborated by the fact that the perit in charge of the project had not sought clearance for excavation works, nor had the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) granted any authorisation for such works. As a result, geological investigations were neither technically required under Eurocodes nor legally mandated.

The Kamra tal-Periti urges all stakeholders to exercise restraint and caution when making public statements about such incidents without first-hand knowledge of the facts.

 

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PR 06/25 | KTP commends the decisive action of periti that saved 32 lives

The Council of the Kamra tal-Periti has immediately initiated an investigation upon learning of the collapse of an apartment block in Paceville last night. While the investigation is still ongoing, a clear picture of what happened is beginning to emerge.

At the onset, the Council feels it is opportune to commend the two periti who raised the alarm with the authorities leading to the evacuation of the building. Without their timely action, at least 32 lives could have been lost.

The Council must also commend the public authorities, particularly the BCA, OHSA, Perit Nadia Curmi, and the police, for taking decisive action to avert what could have been a tragedy of proportions not witnessed in living memory.

Nevertheless, the role of a number of periti directly or indirectly involved in the incident is subject of an ongoing disciplinary investigation which will ascertain if there was any professional negligence or misconduct leading to the collapse of the building last night.

This incident, however, reinforces the Kamra tal-Periti’s considered opinion that the building and construction reform, which it was recently entrusted by the Government to lead, must not be solely limited to new buildings, but must also encompass all existing buildings.

This means that a review of the existing building stock and a strategy for retrofitting, maintenance, and repair must form part of the overall exercise that is currently being undertaken. The Kamra will indeed be putting such proposals to the stakeholders being consulted about the draft building and construction regulations.

 

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PR 05/25 | KTP demands IM be subject to the same laws and oversight as other developers

The Kamra tal-Periti has reviewed media reports and footage of the scaffolding collapse in Triq Mikiel Anton Vassalli, which occurred at a construction site managed by Infrastructure Malta (IM).

It is noted with grave concern that neither the Building and Construction Agency (BCA), the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA), nor Transport Malta (TM) have taken any action to safeguard the public or workers. Furthermore, none of these entities have issued any official statements regarding this serious incident.

It is pertinent to underscore that IM is merely an agency. Unlike the Planning Authority (PA), BCA, OHSA, or TM, IM does not possess any regulatory powers. Rather, it is an entity tasked by the government with implementing planned infrastructural projects. For all intents and purposes, IM acts as a developer and should therefore be subject to the same scrutiny and enforcement measures as any other developer under the aforementioned regulatory authorities.

If there are any laws, regulations, or policies that could be construed as granting IM exemptions from regulatory oversight, these must be urgently reviewed.

The health and safety of workers on IM’s construction sites, as well as the protection of neighbouring residents, third-parties, and the general public adjacent to or passing by its projects, are no less important than those on any other site and must be afforded equal protection under the law.

 

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PR 03/25 | KTP Council opens investigations into Sliema and Bulebel incidents

The Council of the Kamra tal-Periti wishes to inform the public that two days ago it opened investigations into the widely-reported incidents that occurred in Sliema and Bulebel constructions sites. This is standard procedure for the Council, which has decided to disclose the opening of these investigations due to the public interest that has arisen around these particular cases.

The purpose of the investigations is to establish whether there were any professional short-comings by warrant holders involved in the projects.

It is pertinent to underscore that the opening of an investigation should not be construed to constitute findings of malpractice.

 

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PR 02/25 | A historic achievement for the Kamra and the profession

Earlier today Minister Jonathan Attard formally appointed the Kamra tal-Periti as its lead consultant in the drafting of the National Building and Construction Codes of Malta.

This is a historic milestone for the Kamra, after having campaigning incessantly for the implementation of its A Modern Building and Construction Regulation Framework for Malta first published in draft form in 2019, during the rapid succession of building collapses in various towns of Malta.

Through today’s agreement, the public sector and the industry stakeholders will be brought together to work towards a shared objective – that of implementing the recommendations regarding the building and construction codes outlined in the Sofia public inquiry report and adopting European standards and best practices over a period of three years.

The formation of the National Building Council, which brought together the two principal industry stakeholders, KTP and MDA, brought with it a spirit of ambition and determination to turn a page as quickly as possible on the negative perception the industry carries and shoulder responsibility for driving the necessary change forward.

The Kamra is honoured to have earned the trust of the Government and the industry stakeholders in taking the lead on such an important and delicate task. It is committed to living up to the expectations that are being placed on it.

 

Read the KTP President’s speech during the signing ceremony

 

 

 

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PR 06/23 | Kamra tal-Periti finalises its investigation into GO Exchange incident

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Reference is made to the Kamra’s press release of 15th February 2023 wherein it was stated that it was opening an investigation into the incident that occurred in the site located in Psaila Street Birkirkara formerly housing the GO Exchange buildings to establish whether there any potential breaches by any of the periti involved in the project has occurred.

The Council had stated at the time that “[i]t is pertinent to underscore that the opening of an investigation does not imply any wrongdoing and consists in a fact-finding exercise to establish whether any professional malpractice did indeed occur. If the Council determines that there is a potential breach, the perit or periti involved will be afforded the right to exculpate themselves as provided for in the Periti Act.”

 

The Kamra tal-Periti is now in a position to announce the conclusions of its investigation:

  1. The demolition method statement did not instruct the contractor to execute the works as illustrated in the videos widely reported in the media;
  2. The contractor failed to follow the demolition method statement;
  3. The contractor failed to adhere with the instruction given on site by the STO on Thursday 9th February 2023 in agreement with the perit-in-charge to clear the site from demolition debris to allow the setting up of a mobile crane within the confines of the site before any further demolition works were carried out. This instruction was issued since discussions were underway between the perit-in-charge, the STO and the contractor on modifications to the method statement requiring the use of a mobile crane;
  4. The contractor appears to have decided to hastily proceed with the demolition works over the weekend as he sought fit in defiance of the instructions given by the STO instead of granting the time to the periti involved in the project to finalise the amended method statement;
  5. Moreover, the site manager failed to enforce the provisions of S.L.623.08.

 

The Council has thus determined that its investigation against the periti involved in this project would be closed since no breaches of the Periti Act were established. It is regretted that the Building and Construction Authority did not cooperate with the Kamra’s investigations.

 

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PR 01/23 | Kamra tal-Periti calls for real and effective deterrent for contractors

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On Saturday 11th February 2023, the Council of the Kamra tal-Periti opened an investigation to establish whether the incident that occurred in the site located in Psaila Street Birkirkara formerly housing the GO Exchange buildings gave rise to potential breaches by any of the periti involved in the project, including the perit in charge of the project and the site technical officer.

It is pertinent to underscore that the opening of an investigation does not imply any wrongdoing and consists in a fact-finding exercise to establish whether any professional malpractice did indeed occur. If the Council determines that there is a potential breach, the perit or periti involved will be afforded the right to exculpate themselves as provided for in the Periti Act.

 

Regardless of any professional shortcomings, no perit, whether acting as perit-in-charge or STO, can possibly control unscrupulous cowboys with questionable competence at the wheel of heavy machinery toppling over buildings into public spaces as witnessed in Psaila Street.

The fact is that the professional conduct of periti is heavily scrutinised, and rightly so. The Council of the Kamra takes its disciplinary role very seriously and will process this case employing the principles of fairness and due process to safeguard the periti being investigated as well as the public interest.

This contrasts sharply, however, with the scrutiny of contractors. Those involved will suffer no consequences for their actions as not only is there no comparable disciplinary procedure for contractors to that of the Kamra, but there is not even a licence to lose.

 

Without a deterrent of a real and effective punishment, the industry is overrun by anarchy, which is tempered solely by the goodwill of those periti, developers and contractors who feel a moral and ethical obligation to uphold standards against all odds.

 

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