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PR 04/25 | KTP Council suspends periti involved in the Miriam Pace tragedy
The Council of the Kamra tal-Periti, given the national public interest surrounding this case, is hereby publishing its professional conduct decisions on Perit Roderick Camilleri and Perit Anthony Mangion pursuant to investigations that were opened following the collapse of a building in Triq Joseph Abela Scolaro in Ħamrun on 2nd March 2020 which led to the passing of nearby resident, Miriam Pace.
The Council’s findings are summarised below:
- Perit Roderick Camilleri was found (i) to be in breach of Directive DIR 01/18, (ii) to be in breach of the Second Provision of the Code of Professional Conduct, (iii) to have failed to uphold professional standards and practices, and has decided to suspend his warrant for a period of twenty-eight months from the date of the publication of the decision in the Government Gazette.
- Perit Anthony Mangion was found to have failed to comply with regulations with respect to professional standards and practices, and has decided to suspend his warrant for a period of fourteen months from the date of the publication of the decision in the Government Gazette.
Both decisions are subject to appeal and can only be brought into effect if and when they become res judicata.
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.
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.
CIR 06/24 | Dangerous structures approvals
In the past few months, there were a number of very serious partial or near collapses that never became public. Periti had reported the situations to us in confidence to seek our assistance and advice, as well as moral support for the personal predicament they were facing through no fault of their own.
The failings were manifestly bureaucratic ones, with both the Planning Authority and the Building and Construction Authority unable to react and accommodate the urgency and speed that was required. Thankfully, the responsible ministers and the CEOs of both entities were receptive to our insistence that the discretionary powers granted to them in the law should be exercised and that the power vested in the responsible periti through the Code of Police Laws to direct the works unfettered by the said authorities should be upheld.
Thankfully, in all these cases, the speed and decisiveness shown by all involved ensured that the cases remained unreported by the press, as loss of life was prevented, and further structural failures were averted.
These experiences served also to sensitise those in authority to the need to eliminate unnecessary processes that prevent periti from upholding their main responsibility of safeguarding public safety.
Discussions were held with both the Planning Authority and the Building and Construction Authority in recent months to curtail the unnecessary paperwork and retain only what is strictly necessary to safeguard the public interest.
Planning Authority process
As a result of these discussions, in July the Planning Authority agreed to recognise that as per S.L.552.05, dangerous structure authorisations are NOT development permits and that therefore, they:
- Do not have an expiry date;
- Do not require a commencement notice to be filed.
A PA circular confirming the above is expected imminently.
Building and Construction Authority process
Similarly, the BCA has agreed, pursuant to S.L.623.06 regulation 25, to waive certain documentation from being filed by Periti on behalf of their clients. This was confirmed in a press release published by the BCA yesterday.
Through this streamlined procedure, periti are being empowered to recognise the urgency of repair works and to merely notify the BCA via a dedicated email address through which only the responsibility forms and insurance policy need to be filed. An automatic authorisation will be transmitted immediately to the perit, allowing works to commence immediately.
It is recommended that in such emergencies, only contractors in possession of annual CAR are engaged for emergency works, since the local insurance companies are still insisting on method statements to be filed for smaller or less experienced contractors.
Over the subsequent twelve hours, the perit should upload the authorisation, the responsibility form, and the insurance on eApps. While some may find this frustrating, unfortunately the IT system does not allow BCA’s mail servers to communicate directly with PA’s eApps. Nevertheless, such uploads should cause negligible inconvenience, particularly considering the significant efficiency improvements the current system is bringing about.
This is of course only a small step forward in the greater scheme of things. However, we have witnessed a marked change in the PA and BCA’s approach towards periti which augurs well for future reforms that are in the pipeline.
Perit André Pizzuto
President
CIR 03/24 | BCA Forms Resolution
Following Directive DIR 02/2024, a series of meetings were held with the Ministry of Justice and Construction Reform and the Building and Construction Authority to discuss the need to reduce bureaucracy and eliminate unnecessary forms, so periti can focus on what is truly important for their professional role: high quality design and general site supervision.
Following our final meeting held yesterday afternoon, on behalf of the Council I am pleased to inform you that the form “Declaration to the BCA regarding Third Party Property Condition Reports and Excavation Affected Complexes” has been repealed, and that the situation that existed prior to the introduction of the form has been reinstated. Needless to say, the obligations of developers and periti with respect to condition reports as laid out in S.L.623.06 still apply.
Regarding the other form “Certificate of Insurance”, it has been clarified that this will be replacing the insurance policy document and statutory statement. Thus, going forward periti will only be required to file this certificate declaration, which will be automatically prepared and supplied by the insurers to policy holders.
BCA has also informed us that they are in the final stages of reaching an agreement with local insurers to provide insurance policy renewal notifications directly to the BCA.
Finally, the BCA has accepted to shortly reinstate an exemption form for dangerous structures similar to Form 25c, which had been unexplainedly withdrawn by previous BCA management in 2021/2022. The purpose of such a form is to ensure that in emergency situations related to collapse or imminent danger of collapse, the BCA clearance will be expedited. Updates on a new Form 25c are expected to be announced soon.
We thank the Ministry and BCA for their sensitivity on this issue, and trust that the relationship that has been built in recent weeks will result in further positive improvements in the industry, in the interest of public safety and that of the profession.
As a result of this agreement, the Council hereby notifies all members of the profession that DIR 02/2024 is hereby repealed.
DIR 02/24 | New BCA Forms
The Council has noted that two new forms were introduced by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in recent days. These are the “Declaration to the BCA regarding Third Party Property Condition Reports and Excavation Affected Complexes” and “Certificate of Insurance”.
Members of the profession are being hereby informed that these two forms were not discussed and agreed upon by the Kamra tal-Periti. Many of you will recall that the BCA forms were a major sticking point back in 2019, and the repeal of directives by the Kamra was in part conditional to its review of and agreement with such forms. Indeed, several circulars had been issued regarding the BCA forms at the time*. The matter eventually also formed part of the Letter of Commitment signed by the minister and permanent secretary responsible for sector at the time.
It is pertinent to reiterate the fact that S.L.623.06 does not specify the use of forms, and thus their imposition by the BCA is considered ultra-vires at law. All BCA forms, besides the above two, are only in place because of the agreement reached with the Kamra back in October 2019.
As a result of the BCA’s failure to consult with the Kamra tal-Periti on the two aforementioned forms, the Council is hereby directing all members of the profession not to file them.
Members of the profession are kindly requested to keep an eye out for further communication from the Council in the coming days.
*
https://kamratalperiti.org/cir-11-19-building-the-future-towards-a-renewed-profession/
CIR 07/22 | BCA Clearances
Following the EGM held on Thursday 26th May 2022, the Minister for Public Works and Planning was informed of the approved motion and has agreed to instruct the BCA to suspend the coming into force of the Guidelines it had circulated at the Informative Session last Monday.
Periti are thus required to follow the procedures outlined in the BCA Guidance Note dated 17th March 2022, namely:
- To not file anything to the BCA when there are no works;
- To submit regulation 4 declarations when works fall outside the scope of S.L. 623.06
(LN 136 of 2019, as amended); i.e., no third-party structures are affected. - To submit regulation 26 declarations when works are of a minor scale and/or the potential risk of the works is limited to minor, superficial damages;
- To submit written requests for regulation 25 waivers signed by the beneficiaries of such waivers when appropriate, namely:
- Contractors:
- Appointing an STO
- Partial or full method statement
- Developers:
- Condition Reports
- Contractors:
Perit André Pizzuto
President
CIR 06/22 | BCA guidelines for the processing of applications
Further to the BCA “Informative Session” (sic) held yesterday, the Council of the Kamra tal-Periti hereby notifies members of the profession that contrary to statements made by BCA management, the Council was never consulted about the Guidelines published and circulated on the day, even less so agreed to their contents.
Indeed, the Council disagrees with the processes contained within this new document, which it read for the first time yesterday evening, on several grounds. In particular, the Council notes the fact that the guideline further exacerbates the BCA’s misinterpretation of the provisions of S.L.623.06 (L.N. 136 of 2019, as amended).
Perit André Pizzuto
President
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