Former planning chair denounced by NGOs appointed to Building and Construction Authority

The Building and Construction Authority was reappointed by the justice ministry in the wake of its resignation en bloc after the latest construction sector accident reopened a wound on the state of enforcement in the industry.

The new board will be chaired by Architect Simon Saliba, a former PA planning commission chair, and assisted by Dr Ian Borg as vice-chair.

Saliba had been accused by NGOs of “siding with developers” during commission hearings that decided on applications within development zones. The NGOs said Saliba showed disrespect for residents and other objectors during planning authority sittings and “has often openly and aggressively sided with the developers instead of fulfilling his role as an impartial arbitrator.”

The board members will be Dr Marouska Debono, Arch. Herman Bonnici, Ing. Ray Pellicano, Arch. Ivan Piccinino, Kurt Farrugia, Ing. Chris Borg, Arch. Krista Xuereb, Dr David Bonello, and Ing. Robert Schembri.

“These new appointments strengthen the board with skills, new perspectives and experiences, that will strengthen the reforms for the construction sector,” said justice minister Jonathan Attard.

“We’re cognisant of what the sector has yet to accomplish in terms of reforms, but we are determined more than ever to implement what we have pledged in our electoral manifesto as well as the recommendations of the Sofia public inquiry, and to go beyond and raise standards in the sector.”

Public outrage at the state of the Maltese construction industry had increased in recent weeks, following yet another death of a worker in a construction site after a damning public inquiry report  dug into the lax enforcement and regulations governing the sector. Maltese prime minister Robert Abela has admitted that authorities that regulate the construction industry still do not have the necessary resources needed for such a task.

In the Sofia inquiry, former CEO Jesmond Muscat had testified that after the Kordin construction site collapse that killed Jean Paul Sofia, the authority he chaired did not draft a report on the accident because the BCA did not feel the need to do so. 

He had told the public inquiry board that the project in question did not fall under the BCA's remit, as he even noted the lax enforcement surrounding the construction industry. The board expressed disbelief when informed by Muscat that since recruitment opened again in March 2023, only four additional inspectors are expected to be added to the staff complement.