Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1217481
4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 MARCH 2020 NEWS Hamrun house collapse KARL AZZOPARDI THE developers association has called for responsibility to be shouldered following Mon- day's building collapse. "The MDA calls upon all those responsible to make sure that, without any fur- ther delay, all those responsi- ble for the tragic accident are held accountable and face the consequences," the statement read. "This was another tragedy which could have been avoid- ed if all those responsible had made sure that all existing regulations, professional eth- ics and enforcement were fol- lowed." In its statement, the MDA clarified that it is a voluntary organisation, which repre- sents investors in the indus- try, "not the regulator." "The MDA does not have any role in overseeing or en- forcing the roles of architects, site technical officers and con- tractors on development sites during ongoing construction works," the statement read. For any further accidents to be avoided, the MDA said that real reforms with "tangi- ble enforcement" need to be introduced. The MDA also made ref- erence to last year's similar building collapses, declaring that "as the rest of the popu- lation", it still does not know who was responsible for the incidents, stating that inquir- ies were never-ending. "We need accountability in acceptable time frames," the statement read. The MDA also expressed its disappointment at how archi- tects who are responsible for overseeing projects, are also investors. "This is not on and real ac- tion is required," the MDA said. Developers' lobby says responsibility must be shouldered over Hamrun building collapse KARL AZZOPARDI POLITICAL leaders have expressed anguish at Monday's building collapse that killed a 54-year-old woman with Robert Abela in- sisting that justice should be served swiftly. Parliament held a spe- cial session on Tuesday with brief speeches by the Prime Minis- ter and Opposition leader Adrian Delia, before adjourning as a sign of respect to the victim, Miriam Pace. Abela said it was unac- ceptable for a person to be denied peace of mind in their own house. "No words can console Miriam's relatives and like her husband told me yesterday, half of his life, if not all, had vanished… This is not on! This is not on!" Abela said, insisting that justice should be served swiftly. The Prime Minister said that while a magis- terial inquiry and police investigation kicked off in Monday's incident, he insisted that such investigations should not be taking months to complete. "While I understand the investigative pro- cedures, I cannot tolerate a situation where families have to wait for months before they can get an answer. I am promising you this will stop," he said. Abela said the new rules introduced last year were good bit government will be revis- ing the guidelines once again, especially when it comes to enforcement. But Abela also turned to industry stakehold- ers – architects, developers and construction companies – calling on them to up their game. He said it was unacceptable for a profes- sional architect, who should be overseeing the project to also have a direct commercial interest in it. Industry should shoulder its responsibilities, warning that enforcement measures will be strengthened, Abela said. "The weight of the industry will not be shouldered by the small, we shouldn't be placing people in a situation where they don't feel safe in their own home," he said. The Prime Minister said the judiciary should also shoulder its own responsibility by giving judgments that deter people from repeating the same mistakes. "Don't give weak sentences. The message should be simple – this doesn't happen in our country," he said. 'Miriam's death was a betrayal by the sys- tem,' Adrian Delia says Opposition leader Adrian Delia said Miriam Pace's death should not be in vain. "Her death should serve as a way to stop this broken system," he said, adding that people are now living in fear within their own home because of unsupervised works next to them. He also hit out at what he described as "a broken system" which he says led to Pace's death. "We have a system that has made it easy for people to blame each other. We have a system that has made money the bottom line for our politicians. People have become numbers. This has to stop," he said. Delia said the country's governance has been corroded, claiming that while politicians are in a position to make legislation, the laws don't seem to apply to everyone. "Her death was a betrayal," he said, adding that the state funding of political parties was necessary to cut all links between politics and big business. Delia said that together with industry ex- perts, the government and Opposition had the opportunity to change legislation, so that no more incidents like that in Hamrun will happen again. 'Justice should be served swiftly,' PM tells Parliament Prime Minister Robert Abela visited the scene of the tragedy twice on Monday We have a system that has made money the bottom line for our politicians - Adrian Delia