Building and Construction Agency (Establishment) Order, 2019

L.N. 192 of 2019

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ACT

(CAP. 595)

Building and Construction Agency (Establishment) Order, 2019

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 36 of the

Public Administration Act, the Prime Minister has made the following

order:-

The title of this order is the Building and Construction

Agency (Establishment) Order, 2019.

In this order, unless the context otherwise requires

"the Act" means the Public Administration Act;

"Agency" means the Building and Construction Agency

established by article 3;

"Authority" means the Building and Construction Authority that

shall be set up by an Act, which will take over all the functions of the

Agency once the Authority is set up;

"Minister" means Minister responsible for infrastructure; and

"Permanent Secretary" means the Permanent Secretary in the

Ministry responsible for Infrastructure.

(1) There shall be established an Agency, to be known as

the Building and Construction Agency, hereinafter referred to as "the

Agency".

(2) The Agency shall be a body corporate having a distinct

legal personality and capable of entering into contracts, of acquiring

and disposing of property of any kind for the purposes of its functions

under this order and any other law, of suing and of being sued, and of

doing all such things and entering into all transactions as are incidental

to or conducive to the exercise or performance of its functions

hereunder.

(3) The Agency shall achieve its objective through the

performance, amongst others, of the following functions

(a)

the initiation of the design, implementation and

dissemination of policies together with the consolidation and

review of laws and regulations, in the form of a national building

code which aim to better management of the building and the

construction sectors in the Maltese Islands and shall carry out all

the necessary preparations to set up the Building and

Construction Authority;

(b) all change management issues in relation to the

employees engaged with the Building Regulation Office, the

Building Industry Consultative Council, the Building

Regulations Board, and the Masons Board; and

(c) the Agency shall be responsible for all processes

related to the change in management required in the enforcement

of national building code.

(4) The Agency shall have the power to formulate its own

rules, schedules and administrative procedures.

(5) The Agency shall exercise any other function that may be

assigned by the Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

(6)

In fulfilling its functions, the Agency shall have the power

(a) collaborate with other agencies, corporations,

authorities, government and non government entities and other

persons for the carrying out of its functions;

(b) enter into arrangements with public bodies, public

authorities, government departments, public corporations, and

local councils in fulfilling its functions;

(c)

manage its own finances; and

(d) with the consent of the Minister, enter into joint

ventures or partnerships or other agreements for the purpose of

fulfilling any of its functions.

The Minister responsible for infrastructure shall be the Minister

responsible for

Minister responsible for the Agency.

the Agency.

(1) The Agency shall be composed of a Chairperson Composition of

appointed under article 8(3) and of the Board established under article the Agency.

8(4), and any other unit necessary for the fulfilment of the powers and

functions as outlined in this order.

(2) The Agency shall be governed by the provisions of Title II

of Part III of the Act and shall be regulated thereby.

(1) The Agency shall be governed by the provisions of

the Financial Administration and Audit Act unless otherwise stated in

the Agreement between the Permanent Secretary and the Agency, in

which case the provisions of the Agreement shall prevail.

(2) Without prejudice to the following provisions of this order,

the Agency shall so conduct its affairs that so much of the expenditure

required for the proper performance of its functions shall, as far as

practicable, be met out of its revenue.

(3) For such purpose the Agency shall levy all fees, rates and

other payments prescribed or deemed to be prescribed by or under this

order or any other law related to the powers and functions of the

Agency.

(4)

The Agency shall also be paid by the Government out of

the Consolidated Fund such sums as the House, may from time to time

authorise to be appropriated to meet any of its expenditure that cannot

be met out of its revenue and the costs of specified works to be

continued or otherwise carried out by the Agency.

(1) The Agency shall, in consultation with the Minister,

establish and re-organise units, divisions and sections as appropriate in

order to exercise its functions.

(2)

The operations of the Agency shall follow an Agreement

which is to be agreed upon between the Minister and the Agency.

(1) The Agency shall be directed by a Board composed

of seven (7) members.

(2)

All the Directors shall be non-Executive Directors, each

having one (1) vote.

(3) One (1) of the seven (7) Directors shall be a non-Executive

Chairperson.

(4)

The Minister shall appoint the Board of Directors which

shall consist as follows

(a) the Chairperson, who shall be appointed by the

Minister for responsible infrastructure;

(b) one (1) member who shall be representing the

Building Regulation Office;

(c) one (1) member who shall be representing the

Building Regulations Board;

(d) one (1) member who shall be representing the

Building Industry Consultative Council;

(e)

one (1) member who shall representing the Masons

Board;

(f) two (2) members shall be appointed by the Minister,

one (1) of which shall be a person of a recognised standing in the

auditing profession and another shall be a warranted advocate

with experience of practicing in the field

(5)

The members of the Board shall hold office for a period

not exceeding two (2) years.

(6) The Minister may designate any one (1) other member of

the Board as Deputy Chairperson and the member so designated shall

have all the powers and perform all the functions of the Chairperson

during the Chairperson’s temporary absence or inability to act as

Chairperson, or while the Chairperson is on vacation, or during any

vacancy in the office of Chairperson.

(7) The Chairperson or any other member of the Board may be

removed from office by the Minister prior to the expiry of his term of

office where, in the opinion of the Minister, he has

(a)

been guilty of misconduct; or

(b) on ground of inability to continue to perform the

functions of office, due to infirmity of mind or of body; or

(c)

of misbehaviour; or

(d)

any other reasonable cause.

(8) (a) The Board may act notwithstanding any vacancy

among its members

Provided that a quorum is present at each meeting;

(b) (i) the quorum at all meetings of the Board shall

not be less than half of the voting members plus one (1);

(ii)

in the absence of the Chairperson at any

meeting of the Board, the Deputy Chairperson shall act as

Chairperson; in the absence of both the Chairperson and the

Deputy Chairperson, the members present may select from

amongst themselves a person to act as chairperson at the

meeting;

(c)

the decisions of the Board shall be taken by a

majority of the votes of the members present and voting. The

Chairperson presiding at the meeting shall have a second or

casting vote;

(d) the Board shall hold such number of meetings as may

be necessary for the performance of its functions, and shall meet

not less than once a month. The Chairperson of his own motion

or any two (2) of the voting members may at any time convene a

meeting of the Board.

(9) The Minister shall appoint a person to act as secretary of

the Board.

(10) The remuneration paid to the members of the Board shall

be in accordance with the Framework for the Categorisation,

Classification and Remuneration Structure for Government Appointed

Boards and Committees or any other document superseding the same.

(11) The Board may regulate its own procedure generally, and,

in particular, regarding the holding of meetings of the Board, the

notice to be given of such meetings, the proceedings thereat, the

keeping of minutes, the custody, production and inspection of such

minutes, and the opening, keeping, closing and audit of accounts.

(12) Any member of the Board shall abide by the Code of

Ethics for Board members in the Public Sector issued by the Office of

the Prime Minister. Any member of the Board, shall also sign an

understanding outlining his duties as Board member, including the

duty of confidentiality and regulating conflicts of interest.

(1) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister,

appoint a Chief Executive Officer after a call for applications is issued

by the Agency to this effect or, in the case where no such call is issued,

the provisions of the Public Administration Act shall apply insofar as

the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer is concerned.

(2)

The Chief Executive Officer shall be invited to the

meetings of the Board but shall not have a vote at such meetings

Provided that the Chief Executive Officer shall not be

present during meetings of the board or any part thereof in cases of

potential and actual conflict of interest.

(1) The legal and judicial representation of the Agency

shall vest in the Chief Executive Officer

Provided that the Agency may appoint by means of a

written board resolution any one (1) or more of its members or officers

or employees to appear in the name and on behalf of the Agency in any

judicial proceedings and in any act, contract, instrument or other

document whatsoever.

(1) Subject to the provisions of the Constitution, any Staff

other enactment applicable thereto, and without prejudice to the other appointment.

provisions of this order, the appointment of employees of the Agency

shall be made by the Agency itself. The terms and conditions of

employment shall be established by the Agency with the concurrence

of the Minister

Provided that when the Building and Construction

Authority is set up, such workers shall be automatically considered to

be as employees of the Authority.

(2)

The Agency shall appoint and employ, at such

remuneration and upon such terms and conditions as it may determine,

such officers and employees of the Agency as may from time to time

be necessary for the due and effective discharge of its functions, in

accordance with directives issued under the Public Administration Cap. 595.

Act.

(3)

In accordance with the provisions of the Public Cap. 595.

Administration Act or with the approval of the Prime Minister, the

Agency may request, after consultation with the Minister, from time to

time, that any public employee shall be detailed for duty with the

Agency in such capacity and with effect from such date as may be

specified in the direction.

(4) Where a public officer is detailed for duty with the Agency

such officer shall, during the time in which such direction is in force,

be under the administrative direction and control of the Agency but

shall otherwise remain and retain all rights and duties as a public

officer, and for the purpose of any law relating to government service

pensions, service with the Agency shall be deemed to be service with

the Government

Without prejudice to any other law, where on the date of the

coming into force of this order, arrangements which should have been

made with respect to public officers that have been detailed in terms of

any applicable law have not been finalised, the Prime Minister may

issue regulations with the purpose of resolving any administrative

difficulties that may arise in the interim, between the time that a public

officer has been detailed until the aforementioned arrangements are

finalised.

The functions of the Agency shall be transferred to the

Functions to be

transferred to

Authority once it is set up and consequently the Agency will cease to

the Authority.

operate.

In the Fourth Schedule of the Act, immediately after

Amends the

Fourth Schedule

"Aġenzija Żgħażagħ" there shall be added the following

of the Act.

"Building and

Responsible for all processes related to

Construction Agency

the change in management required in the

enforcement of national building code".

€0.63