Law proposing DSSOPT to have power to suspend water, electricity supply pass

The government has been given the right to suspend the supply of water and electricity to illicitly built properties or properties with illegal engineering work under specific conditions.
Yesterday, the Legislative Assembly (AL) passed the regime concerning urban construction. The approval is a general pass for the law, meaning that the AL will have another session to vote on the law, article by article.
The law mainly proposes three new policies on illicit construction and engineering work, which have been prolonged and unsolved issues in Macau.
The law gives the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) authorization to suspend water and electricity supply. When illicit constructions or engineering pose safety and sanitation issues, DSSOPT will have the right to cooperate with other authorities to suspend water and electricity at the concerned property.
However, this suspension measure is only a “last resort.” According to the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo Arrais do Rosário, when the person responsible for the illicit construction or engineering refuses to obey government orders to demolish, DSSOPT is allowed to suspend water and electricity for safety and sanitation.
The law also contains a measure to protect potential buyers of problematic properties. According to Rosário, the new law proposes that if the concerned individuals disobey DSSOPT orders to demolish the construct, DSSOPT is entitled to notify the city’s registration bureau, which will make a note about the work so that future buyers will know the property has defects.
Another one of the new provisions attempts to tackle the negligence of government notifications concerning a construction problem.
“The problem now is that intended mail receivers do not sign the letter, which means they can’t be [officially] informed” said the official. “Now, we propose that you don’t have to sign the [receipt] of the mail. We will leave the letter at your gate or to the property management. It is a more practical measure.”
Once the government leaves the letter at the gate or the building property management, the targeted person will be considered as having received the letter.
Aside from the abovementioned new measures, the Secretary also acknowledged that the Macau SAR government is not considering a mandatory house inspection measure at this time.
“Mandatory house inspections cannot be solved by just one or two law prescriptives. Mandatory house inspections are easy to talk about but difficult to handle,” said the Secretary.
“Mandatory house inspections mean that we [the government] have to let the person know that if he or she does not inspect the property, the government will do it for them. If we have mandatory house inspections, we will need mandatory maintenance. If the building does not carry out maintenance, then the government will have to do it. After the maintenance, there need to be other measures to retrieve the payment,” the official explained.
The Secretary remarked that there must be a specific individual law to regulate mandatory house inspections.
Lawmaker Song Pek Kei proposed that the constructors of property be held accountable for construction defects.

Lawmakers express queries overhousing issues
Lawmakers Sulu Sou, Agnes Lam and Mak Soi Kun raised other questions regarding housing problems.
Responding to the lawmakers, Rosário explained that from DSSOPT’s perspective, once the properties are sold by the real estate developer to individual owners, the bureau will then handle problems with the owners since the transaction is already completed.
“It’s like when I buy a phone. If the care period is expired, then I will be responsible for the phone’s maintenance. For houses, I think the same way. Once the big owner [developer] sold the house to the small owner [property buyers], the big owner [developer] does not have ownership of the house anymore. The transaction is already concluded.” Rosário said.
However, the official acknowledged that the government could discuss with the lawmakers how to protect “small buyers” during the detailed discussion.
The Secretary also expressed willingness to discuss penalties and other matters during future AL committee meetings.
Overall, Wong sees the law as an improvement in the handling of the city’s illegal engineering and construction problems.

lawmakers’ agenda

Plastic reduction: Lawmakers, including Ho Ion Sang, have advocated for the local government to further reduce plastic waste. They want to ban more styrofoam products and are calling for the recycling of large styrofoam items. Ho hopes that the government will do some research on how to reduce excessive packaging, an issue which plagues society. Chan Hong is urging the government to ban the consumption of single-use plastics, as well as calling for enhancements to education on reducing plastic use for local residents in order to change individuals’ perspectives and habits to protect the environment.

Third round of e-vouchers: Lawmaker Song Pek Kei has asked the government to consider a third-round of e-vouchers. Song is concerned that Covid-19 still poses a threat to local employment and the survival of SMEs. The lawmaker pointed out that, as of today, the government has not proposed any new economic support measures in its 2021 budget. Song wants the government to issue 5,000 patacas in the next e-voucher to every qualified resident. Contradicting Song, Chui Sai Peng says that the second round of e-vouchers has been less effective at helping the local economy. He wants the government to choose other measures to boost the economy, including giving financial support to SMEs.

Increased sports events: Lawmaker Ma Chi Seng recommended that the local government consider organizing more regional sports activities, specifically targeting participants from cities which currently have a low risk of Covid-19 infection. Ma says that these events should be organized regularly once every month. In addition, he proposed that the local government hold activities such as exhibitions, seminars, carnivals in order to build Macau’s image as an international tourism and leisure center.