The collaboration between the Kamra tal-Periti and the Malta Developers Association to establish a national building council appears to centre on advocating for self-regulation built on in situ collaboration between architects and contractors, a principle I firmly endorse. 

I’m unsure of the precise modus operandi of this council. However, at this juncture, I’d like to propose seven principles that should guide its purpose when advocating for legislative changes to the government. The seven points are as follows:

  • The perit’s responsibility should be confined to providing precise specifications according to acknowledged standards for the permanent works (“permanent works” means all works to be executed by the contractor intended to form a continuing function after the completion of the works).
  • Just as the state ensures that periti cannot practice without a professional warrant obtained after a rigorous six-year university course, it must equally guarantee that only licensed contractors, well-versed in comprehending load paths and adept at executing complex technical instructions, are authorized to undertake construction work.
  • Contractors should bear exclusive responsibility for safely executing the temporary works (“temporary works” means all temporary works of every kind required on site for the execution and completion of the permanent works and the remedying of any defects).
  • Contractors are authorized to carry out work only when provided with clear specifications endorsed by a perit (or another engineer, depending on the nature of the works).
  • Contractors must have the ability to determine whether the work ordered in the specifications can be executed safely for third parties and workers on site. In cases of doubt, due to unclear specifications or emerging concerns about safety, work must be halted immediately.
  • Contractors must appoint a technical representative or, themselves be present on-site throughout the entire course of operations to ensure the final product aligns with the perit’s specifications until handover.
  • Upon handover, contractors commit to signifying that the permanent work complies with the specifications provided to them by the perit (or engineer as the case may be).

Without consensus on these fundamental principles, the pursuit of ‘self-regulation’ loses its meaning, leading to potential blame games between periti and contractors when issues arise, with periti blaming the government for permitting incompetent contractors, while contractors point fingers at periti for allegedly providing incorrect verbal instructions.

As a final remark, I stress that these points should be retracted if they are found to be out of sync with the forthcoming Sofia Inquiry findings.