Ingenieur Vol 78 ingenieur 2019 apr (2) | Page 76

INGENIEUR Engineers. Every CCC submission is scrutinised for its correctness and validity. There is no room for a biased decision. If the PSP has favoured the Developer and issued the CCC before all works were completed and all health and safety requirements complied with, then the affected parties could complain to the Board about the unprofessional conduct of the Engineer. If a prima facie case is established, an investigating committee will be formed to investigate the complaint. If there are grounds for the Engineer to be disciplined, he has to go for a hearing before the Disciplinary Committee (DC). The DC shall determine whether he is guilty or not and mete out any punishment deemed appropriate. The guilty party has the right to appeal to the Appeal Board. contracted parties are aligned to the common objective in achieving the CCC. In fact he should be the driver behind to ensure the CCC is issued early in his best interests. c. PSP liable to other Interested Parties Other parties such as purchasers are mainly interested in the quality, non-defective and timely deliverance of vacant possession of building. These issues are the reflection on how the contractor performed according to the contractual requirements and it has very little bearing on the role of the PSP in CCC matters from the perspective of interested third parties. These are contractual issues and should not to be confused with CCC issues. Complaints are mainly on defects or defective design. Complaints on the premature issuance of a CCC can be considered the main contentious issue especially for turnkey projects. d. The PSP has no immunity The argument that the PSP in the CCC regime or the SP in CFO regime has never had immunity from the law is not valid ground to repudiate the CCC regime. 3. INADEQUACIES OF THE CCC PROCEDURE a. Lack of checks and balances 6 74 DPSR’s statement that the PSP enjoys the total freedom to design, produce plans and documents without having to obtain prior approval from the LA demonstrated his total lack of knowledge of the building approval process. Though these precede the CCC process, does he not know about the need for Planning Approval (Development Order) and Building Plan Approval to be obtained first before construction work can proceed at site? BEM obviously provides the checks and balances in the CCC issuance by the VOL 2019 VOL 78 55 APRIL-JUNE JUNE 2013 b. Lack of transparency and accountability DPSR seems to advocate that a developer with good connections with the LA and with the ability to lubricate the issuance process under the CFO regime is the better option than paying the supposedly higher fees of the PSP who are the architects in housing schemes, under the CCC regime. What DPSR advocated could also be the contributing factor why some projects that have not been similarly conceived, experienced delays due to such practices in the CFO regime. The PSP has certainly no such clout to be equated as an authority to demand higher fees, but being a professional he may be the one frustrating a developer desiring premature CCC issuance to maximise his profits. A PSP succumbing or colluding to the demands of a developer for premature CCC issuance will be severely disciplined by the Board. Hence DPSR’s logic of better transparency, accountability, liability, neutrality and fairness of the CFO process does not hold any water at all, bearing in mind it was the Government’s intention to weed out corrupt practices in the LA when the CCC regime was first mooted. PSPs regulated by the Boards are deemed more trustworthy to do a proper professional job. The question