Urban planner points to insufficient oversight in construction industry

 

Dr. Carol Archer, Urban Planner and Professor in Urban Planning and Public Policy at the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of Technology, has said there is a shortage of inspectors leading to insufficient oversight in the construction industry.

 

Dr. Archer said building codes as well as approved practices and standards change over time but there is a shortage of personnel to ensure enforcement. 

 

"I can say categorically that it is not being done to the extent to which it needs to be done for mitigation. We do not have enough personnel within the local authorities or even those authorities that provide national oversight. We do not have enough persons," she insisted. 

 

Dr. Archer said another challenge relates to the different interpretations of the building codes and policies among the various oversight agencies and the confusion that causes. 

 

"So, even with the same hillside policy, which should be used to guide development - I mean, we're a hilly country, the geography suggests that we ought not to be building in certain areas - but when you leave the interpretation to the various regulatory agencies, then there is cause for confusion. So between the limited personnel and the interpretations of the laws and the regulations, [those] put us in a very precarious position," she argued. 

 

Dr. Archer was a guest Monday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106.