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3 NEWS 16.2.2023 FROM PAGE 1 A €2,000 fine was also imposed against site technical officer David Muscat but none were imposed against project architect Maria Schembri Gri- ma, who on Tuesday resigned from her post as BCA Chairman due to a con- flict of interest. According to current law the project architect - in this case Maria Schembri Grima - is designated as the "warrant- ed professional assuming the responsi- bility for the execution of the project approved in the development permit". e Contractor is the "individual/ entity engaged by the Developer to execute the works" and the site tech- nical officer (STO) - in this case, David Muscat - "is the individual nominated by the contractor and is responsible for the implementation of the meth- od statement which is prepared by the Perit". Moreover "where breaches by the Contractor occur, the STO has to "im- mediately stop any ongoing works and inform the Perit in charge together with the BCA". When an STO is served with an Enforcement Notice, he/she shall immediately inform the Contrac- tor and the Perit and see that it is com- plied with. Contacted by sister newspaper Mal- taToday, Kamra tal-Periti President Andre Pizzuto made it clear that its in- vestigation on the case is not limited to the role of former BCA chairman Ma- ria Schembri Grima but also aimed at establishing the role of the other play- ers in the case including the site tech- nical officer and the contractor. While pointing out that the Chamber never approved of having a practising architect at the helm of the BCA due to a potential or perceived conflict of interest, he explained that in earlier comments to the Times he was not even aware who was the STO in the case as this information was not even available. Moreover, he said, the case exposes the limitations of the current regulato- ry system which the investigation will also look in to. "e system is broken and is aimed at minimising costs for the developers while putting all responsibilities on ar- chitects but not on contractors," Pizzu- to said. He also insisted that the system can only work if a register for contractors is introduced in a way that contractors who flagrantly break the rules would be struck off from the register. According to Pizzuto this is the only way to ensure that contractors start respecting the rules, fearing financial repercussions. He also reprimanded government for still procrastinating on enacting this register, despite widespread agreement among stake holders in the sector, in- cluding the Malta Developers Associ- ation. Back in November, Minister for Pub- lic Works and Planning Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi had announced that the publication of draft regulations on li- censing of contractors for public con- sultation was imminent. "e indecency in this case is in everyone's face," Pizzuto said. "e fact that a public road was con- sidered as an extension of the site speaks volumes and is symptomatic of the culture prevailing in this sector es- pecially among some contractors." Polidano blames Portelli Polidano Brothers contended that, when carrying out the works, they fol- lowed the method statement by erect- ing a boundary hoarding wall to se- clude the site from the adjacent areas, while the adjacent road was closed to serve as an "exclusion zone" due to the nature of the works being carried out. The company also claimed it al- ways "acted in accordance with the instructions of the developer (Portel- li) as well as their architect and site technical officer who were appointed to supervise and monitor all aspects of the project". "Polidano will not accept a situation whereby the developer seeks to shirk their legal and moral responsibilities and shift blame onto a sub-contrac- tor when they themselves were du- ty-bound to oversee the project and intervene if any actions were not being carried out according to their instruc- tion," Polidano General Manager Ian Napier said. Napier also announced that the Pol- idano Group will also be "reviewing" its relationship with Portelli while de- scribing a €5,000 fine imposed on it by the Building Construction Authority as "both unjustified and unwarranted". 'The system is broken' Kamra tal-Periti President Andre Pizzuto THE Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) today launched a new Horizon support scheme aimed at supporting and increasing the participation of Mal- tese entities in the European Inno- vation Programme (EIC) under the Horizon Europe banner, the Euro- pean Union's main funding instru- ment for research and innovation. e Support Scheme will allow participants applying for grants un- der the €10 billion Horizon Europe scheme to receive proposal devel- opment support from specialised proposal writers, and business- or pitch-coaching from experienced service providers. is support is intended to help innovative SMEs, or other coordi- nating entities such as universities, to increase their chances of success. e EIC is the largest European SME innovation funding instru- ment, having a €10 billion budget. Its programmes – Pathfinder, Tran- sition and Accelerator - cover all technology development stages, from conception to scale-up. To support Maltese applicants' success in applying for these pro- grammes, MCST has reviewed its EIC Accelerator Support Scheme, widening its scope to cover appli- cants who wish to apply for Path- finder and Transition opportunities in earlier technology development levels. Primarily aimed at SMEs, but also open to other types of entities like universities or research centres, EIC provides grants of up to €3 mil- lion, the possibility of accessing up to €15 million equity investment, as well as a range of other business support services. Being a highly competitive fund, MCST's timely reform of this sup- port scheme will give more Maltese businesses and researchers a better chance in their endeavours to ac- quire EU funding. MCST support scheme for applicants seeking European Innovation Council funding for breakthrough ideas

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