Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1491702
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 FEBRUARY 2023 NEWS places, but it is not involved in magisterial inquiries. "If the bill is passed, we will see speed- ier conclusions, justice acting faster and a stronger deterrent effect," Gauci said. Graffiti call out rotten system Exactly two months ago, the lifeless body of 20-year-old Jean Paul Sofia was found under the rubble of a collapsed build- ing in Corradino. Five other workers were seriously injured in the incident, three of them critically. Only three years ago, on 2 March 2020, Miriam Pace was killed in her home after the whole building collapsed as a result of construction works on an adjacent site. "The workplace death of con- struction workers has also be- come a monthly occurrence and thousands are injured on construction sites every year," Graffitti spokesperson Chris- tine Cassar said yesterday. "These are not tragic acci- dents but the inevitable conse- quence of a rotten system de- signed to satisfy the insatiable hunger for the profit of devel- opers and other businesses in the construction sector. The deaths of Jean Paul Sofia, Mir- iam Pace, and all construction workers who perished at their workplaces were preventable. Their lives have been sacrificed at the altar of greed." No one has been yet charged in connection with Sofia's death. "Real justice for all the victims of the construction in- dustry will only be served when the systemic factors that have allowed this rot to fester are addressed," Cassar said. Relatives of fatality victims and Graffitti yesterday called for a public inquiry into the death of Sofia in a bid to go beyond identifying individual responsibility and uncover sys- temic failures. "Tragically, the reform promised in the wake of Miriam Pace's death has failed to materialize beyond a few cosmetic changes," Cassar said. Graffitti said that four crucial factors underlined the system- ic failures that were leading to construction deaths. The licensing of contractors, "bitterly opposed from behind the scenes by the developers", which would ensure that oper- ators in the construction sector are trustworthy and adequately trained; with a mechanism by which licenses can be revoked when operators engage in mal- practices. There are currently no laws that regulate basic aspects of the construction process such as what construction machin- ery and material can be used, where and how. The NGO also said the Build- ing and Construction Authori- ty (BCA) established two years ago had become "another dys- functional authority seized by developers' interests", chaired by architect Maria Schembri Grima, one of the main archi- tects of some of Malta's most ruthless developers, such as Joseph Portelli and Michael Stivala. "The BCA has very lit- tle to show for its work. The reforms it should have been spearheading have stalled and enforcement in the construc- tion industry remains far from sufficient." Additionally, the lack of plan- ning reforms was evident by the fact that the four-storey build- ing which collapsed in Corrad- ino that killed Sofia had been given the go-ahead by means of two Development Notification Orders (DNOs), low-level per- mits that allow applicants to bypass the planning system and build entire structures on the strength of a mere notification, without any serious evaluation of the building project. "The failure to reform the deadly construction industry lies in the power of develop- ers to veto any serious meas- ure that can safeguard people's safety and quality of life. It is truly shameful and worrying that Government is willing to accede to this lobby's demands instead of protecting the work- ers and residents in Malta and Gozo," Cassar said. mcalleja@mediatoday.com.mt "Real justice for all the victims of the construction industry will only be served when the systemic factors that have allowed this rot to fester are addressed"