Licensing of building contractors

It has taken us years to arrive at this point, and in the meantime buildings have crumbled, people have died, workers have fallen to their death and there is a general feeling that there is little, if any, enforcement on construction sites.

But we have finally arrived, or at least we are nearly there. The government last week published what will be a system to licence building contractors. Anyone who wants to work in the industry must apply for a licence by the end of October this year, and all those who will not do so will not be allowed to operate in the business.

After 1 November the contractors who applied will be given provisional clearance so that they can operate, however, after 1 June 2024, they will need to be in possession of a full licence to operate.

“The purpose of this reform is to ensure better regulation for the construction sector, better quality and more enforcement,” Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi said when he launched the new framework.

In an interview carried out with The Malta Independent last Sunday, the minister said that the implementation of the system is a preventive measure that aims to build a compliance culture. “The fact that you have a licence to lose is in itself an important deterrent,” he said.

A public consultation exercise on the government’s proposal comes to an end in April, but constituted bodies have already expressed themselves in favour of the idea. So-called “cowboys” should not be allowed to operate in the sector. The regularisation of the system is a much needed commitment for an industry that has grown exponentially in the last decade, with no signs that it will see a decline in the next few years.

We can argue that the system is being introduced quite late in the day. We can also argue that the system should not have taken 15 months – between now and June 2024 – to be fully operational.

The licensing of contractors should have happened a long time ago – and perhaps a faster way should have been identified between the launch of the system and the deadline by which applications will need to be filed and for the licence to be approved.

Having said this, at least we have come to the point when the government has now made a commitment which has a deadline.

Zrinzo Azzopardi has arrived where his predecessors, those who had the responsibility that he has now, had never reached. So he must be given some credit.

We must also wait and see how the system will be enforced. Too often, governments have responded to public outrage on any given subject by appointing authorities and drawing up a list of regulations. But, then, when it comes to enforcing such regulations, there are always shortcomings.

These come in the form of lack of resources, which always seems to be a problem in Malta. Added to this, if someone is caught in some wrongdoing, the punishments handed down are too weak.

But at least we have arrived somewhere. Or at least we’re nearly there.