Uffiċjali ta’ ADPD-The Green Party f’konferenza tal-aħbarijiet f’Paceville tkellmu dwar żewġ proposti fil-manifest elettorali: il-ħtieġa ta’ servizz ġeoloġiku nazzjonali u proposta dwar il-ħolqien ta’ passaport għal kull binja.

Carmel Cacopardo, Deputat Chairperson u kandidat fuq is-7 u l-11-il Distrett tkellem dwar iż-żieda fil-frekwenza tal-inċidenti fuq is-siti ta’ kostruzzjoni.  Weġġgħu n-nies. Uħud gravi. Kellna ukoll l-imwiet.

Il-kollass tal-bini f’Paceville madwar sena ilu, u l-inċident ta’ din il-ġimgħa n-Naxxar kienu tnejn minn dawn il-każijiet, fejn fortunatament, minkejja l-gravità tas-sitwazzjoni la weġġa’u l-anqas miet ħadd.

Riflessjoni fuq dawn l-inċidenti, qal Cacopardo, hu l-fatt li sa issa f’Malta għad ma hawnx servizz geoloġiku nazzjonali. Malta hi l-uniku pajjiż fl-Ewropa b’dan in-nuqqas. Dan ifisser li f’Malta għad m’għandniex għarfien dettaljat tal-ġeoloġija tal-gżejjer.

Jeħtieġ li nkunu nafu aħjar fhiex tikkonsisti l-ġeoloġija ta’ dawn il-gżejjer. Il-ftit informazzjoni li ħallew warajhom il-militar Ingliż mhiex aġġornata.

Malta hija l-uniku pajjiz fl-Ewropa mingħajr awtorità ġeoloġika ċentralizzata. Dan qed iħalli l-industrija tal-kostruzzjoni, l-ippjanar urban, u l-ħarsien tal-ambjent b’nuqqasijiet professjonali. Qed nipproponu li jitwaqqaf Servizz Ġeoloġiku Nazzjonali li għandu jservi bħala l-awtorità ġeoloġika definittiva tal-pajjiż. Dan għandu mhux biss jiġbor u jaġġorna l-informazzjoni ġeoloġika dwar il-gżejjer Maltin imma għandu ukoll jissorvelja l-valutazzjoni ġeoloġika meħtieġa u jassigura li din issir skond l-għola prattika rikonoxxuta fuq livell internazzjonali.

Biex dan ikun jista’ jsir sewwa għandna bżonn ġeoloġi imħarrġin u rispettati mill-awtoritajiet regolatorji. Il-ġeologu imħarreġ għandu jingħata l-għarfien b’warrant.

Sandra Gauci, Chairperson u kandidat fuq is-6 u t-12-il Distrett tkellmet dwar is-sigurtà tal-bini li hi meħtieġa f’kull ħin waqt li l-bini ikun qed jintuża. Dan il-fatt ma nagħtux kaz tiegħu biżżejjed. L-awtoritajiet pubbliċi donnhom jistenbħu biss meta jinqala’ inċident. Huwa meħtieġ li nipprevjenu u dan billi regolarment isiru verifiki li kull bini eżistenti hu fi stat tajjeb.

Għodda importanti biex jintlaħaq dan l-iskop ikun il-ħolqien ta’ passaport għal kull binja, li għandu jkun f’idejn u amministrat mill-Awtorità tal-Bini u l-Kostruzzjoni (BCA) u jkun jiġbor fih d-dokumenti kollha dwar kull binja. Ibda mill-pjanti approvati biex ikun żviluppat, żid miegħu ir-rapporti kollha li jitħejjew dwaru in konnessjoni mal-proċess biex jinħareġ il-permess u biex eventwalment jinbena. Għandek imbagħad iċ-Ċertifikat tar-Rendiment tal-Bini fl-Użu tal-Enerġija (l-Energy Performance Certificate) li dwaru hemm obbligu legali u li jkun imġeddded kull għaxar snin.

Din l-informazzjoni kollha, illum il-ġurnata diġa teżisti. Kull ma hu meħtieġ hu li din tinġabar kollha f’post wieħed, għand l-Awtorità tal-Bini u l-Kostruzzjoni (BCA). Perjodikament ma’ din l-informazzjoni wieħed għandu jżid informazzjoni addizzjonali dwar l-istat tal-binja biex b’hekk ikun assigurat li din tkun f’kundizzjoni tajba dejjem.

Dan hu process li jieħu ż-żmien. Imma jista’ jsir mingħajr diffikultà għax l-informazzjoni kollha dwaru hi diġa  f’idejn l-awtoritajiet. Nistgħu nagħmlu użu minnha ħafna aħjar milli qegħdin nagħmlu illum. Nibdew bil-bini l-ġdid u bil-mod il-mod ninkludu l-bini kollu.

Hekk nistgħu fuq perjodu ta’ żmien nassiguraw li kull binja f’Malta u Għawdex qegħda fi stat tajjeb kontinwament.

Hekk ikun servizz tajjeb. X’qed nistennew? Kemm il-mewt irridu niffaċċjaw fis-settur tal-kostruzzjoni biex nibdew naġixxu?

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The construction industry – the industry the other treat with kids’ gloves

Officials for ADPD-The Green Party in a press conference in Paceville spoke about two proposals in its electoral manifesto: the need for a national geological service and the proposal for the creation of a passport for each building. 

Carmel Cacopardo, Deputy Chairperson and candidate for the seventh and eleventh district, spoke about the increase in work accidents on construction sites.  People have been hurt, some seriously.  We have had deaths as well. 

The total collapse of a building in Paceville around a year ago, and another incident this week in Naxxar are two of these cases; fortunately, no one was hurt or killed in these very serious cases.

Reflecting on these incidents makes one think that, in Malta, so far, there is no national geological service, said Cacopardo.  Malta is the only country in Europe without such a service.  This means that in Malta there is no in-depth knowledge about the geology of the islands.

We need to know more about the geology of our islands.  It is of utmost importance that we know more about our geology.  The little information that the British military left has not been updated.   

Malta is the only country in Europe without a centralised geological authority.   This means that there are professional shortcomings in the construction industry, urban planning, and environmental protection. We are proposing the establishment of a National Geological Service that should serve as the definitive geological service for the country.  This should not only be responsible for collecting and updating geological data about the Maltese islands but should also conduct the necessary geological valuations according to the highest international standards.  For this to happen, we need geologists who are trained and respected by the regulatory authorities.  The trained geologist should be given warrants acknowledging this. 

Sandra Gauci, Chairperson and candidate for the sixth and twelfth districts, spoke about the need for buildings to be secure at all times.  We are not giving this enough attention.  The public authorities seem to wake up from their slumber only when an accident has happened.  It is important to prevent these incidents and to prevent this from happening, frequent assessments should be carried out to ensure that buildings are in a good state. 

One important tool for this is the creation of a building passport which should be administered by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and which should include all documentation for every building, starting from the approval of plans for development, the reports that were prepared for permits to be issued, and eventual construction.  You then have the Energy Performance Certificate as a legal obligation, which is reviewed every ten years.

This information is already in existence.  What is needed is that this information is available in one place – the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).  Periodically, additional information about the building should be added so as to assure the condition of the building. 

This process takes time.  But it can be done without any difficulty because the authorities have all the information necessary.  We can make better use of the information.  We can start with the new buildings and slowly include the older ones.  In doing so, we can assure that every single building in Malta and Gozo is being monitored

That is what we call good service.  What are we waiting for?  How many more deaths do we need to face for the construction sector to up its game?