It is almost beyond belief that Sandro Chetcuti, the boss of the building contractors’ lobby that goes by the name of Malta Developers’ Association, wants his association to manage a register of developers, which, he says, is in the process of being finalised.
If, by “managing” the register, he also means taking over the ways and means of ensuring that developers and contractors go by the book, he should be told to back off straightaway. The last thing the country needs right now is for the building developers and contractors to be allowed to self-regulate themselves.
If they have not been able to bring wayward developers and contractors to order since the coming into force of their code of ethics seven years ago, there is no earthly reason why they should be trusted with managing the register.
Mr Chetcuti may have all the good intentions in the world but in light of experience, which, in the most, has been far from favourable, few if any today would think it advisable for the industry to regulate itself. It would seem the register Mr Chetcuti is talking about is part of a plan that will see a new regulator amalgamating the work of a string of bodies operating in the industry, such as the Building Regulations Board, the Building Industry Consultative Council and the Masons Board.
It may sound a bit too much to have yet another regulator to the long list that has bloated the administrative and regulatory set-up. But this is one case where one is badly needed to bring about the kind of discipline and operational standards contemplated in the ethics code.
Mr Chetcuti said the idea of having the register is to ensure that all those who want to work in the industry should be registered to avoid what he called “cowboys” giving everyone else a bad name. But Mr Chetcuti and his association have been around long enough to have a pretty good idea of the type of contractors that give the industry a bad name. If, at times, contractors dare to defy even the authorities, how can their own association be expected to do so by itself?
What can only tame the “cowboys” is a truly independent inspectorate legally empowered to do its job without fear of any possible direct or indirect retribution from the industry itself and, equally important, from the government of the day, and keeping away from the influences of politicians from all parties.
Key to having an effective inspectorate is the appointment to it of no-nonsense executives that are up to the job. There lies the biggest problem.
A puppet inspectorate will have no hope of ever ridding the industry of the long list of abuses that have plagued it for so long. Added to the traditional set of abuses about safety and non-observance of other regulations, there is today the painful scourge of contractors shamelessly exploiting migrant workers, paying them a fraction of what their Maltese counterparts get. These should be named and shamed.
Since controlling errant contractors is easier said than done, any new attempt aimed at doing so is likely to hit a brick wall unless it is well grounded. Whatever way is ultimately chosen, self-regulation ought to be dismissed out of hand.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial