Government is proposing cosmetic changes to the construction law, and these will do very little to reduce the possibility of buildings collapsing, Partit Demokratiku said in a statement.

Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat has admitted that the enforcement of building regulations by the authorities is insufficient, but then made no commitment to increasing human resources to upgrade enforcement. 

What is the point of tweaking the law when excavation rules are not enforced?  The law already requires developers to submit method statements on how the excavation is to be carried out, PD said.  It also requires the appointment of a site manager and the carrying out of geological surveys of the site. 

These are required by the Avoidance of Damage to Third Party Regulations 2013.  The relevant building regulatory is required to investigate when complaints are made by people about excavation and/or construction works.  In most cases, these requirements are being ignored by the regulatory authorities and there is no indication that the government intends to enforce them.  

“The PM’s failure to commit the government to better enforcement sends the wrong signal that building contractors can continue to do as they please because the Government will not check on them,” stated interim leader Godfrey Farrugia.

The Building Regulations Act 2011 (Article 4) puts the onus on the Government to issue licences and registrations to contractors “to officially recognize their capacity to perform work for the building construction industry and to authorise them to perform such works”.  It is now eight years since the law was passed and the government has done nothing to create registers of building contractors.  This is essential to ensure competence in excavation and construction. 

Moreover, the government does not keep a proper list of certified masons so there is no way for developers and their architects to know if the people they engage are in fact certified to carry out construction works.