Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1516790
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MARCH 2024 NEWS THE public inquiry into the 2022 construction col- lapse that killed Jean Paul Sofia exposed regulatory loopholes and shortcomings among several author- ities. The inquiry board criticised construction authori- ties heavily, from the OHSA and BCA to Malta En- terprise and INDIS. No one assumed responsibility for what happened, and a legal anomaly meant no regulatory authority was overseeing the construction site before its collapse. With the inquiry finalised and recommendations put forward, MaltaToday asked experts and activists in the field for their post-mortem of the inquiry find- ings, and the state of the construction sector today. Andre Callus, activist Moviment Graffitti: 'Political responsibility must be shouldered' The report of the public inquiry on the Kordin inci- dent gives an impressive list of failures that have led to the killing of Jean Paul Sofia by the construction industry. It is important to underline that, like Jean Paul, dozens of workers and residents have fallen vic- tim to this industry ruled by greed and arrogance. From the inquiry it clearly transpires that such un- forgivable failures were the result of actions or omis- sions intended to appease and satisfy construction and business bosses. The inquiry denounces how the construction sector had been allowed to grow unbri- dled and in a free-for-all environment. From the careless processing of permits for Third Country National workers and the gifting of public land in Kordin, to blatant conflict of interests and the failure to regulate construction and enforce ex- isting regulations, everything points to a government beholden to powerful capitalists' interests, starting from its highest level and permeating all its policies and institutions. It's painful to see that most of the findings and rec- ommendations in the public inquiry report had been, in essence, put forward and advocated for by com- munities and activists many years ago. The deadly problems with the government-sponsored and un- regulated construction boom have been clear for everyone to see since a very long time. But government failed to act. It prioritised the max- imisation of quick profits by developers and accept- ed their demands for 'self-regulation'; a model which the inquiry denounces in no uncertain terms. Jean Paul Sofia and many workers before him were sacrificed on the altar of capitalist greed. In this con- text, the resignation of CEOs and government func- tionaries is wholly insufficient. Political responsibility must be shouldered by acknowledging that the root of this tragedy is a political one: A political class that serves the interests of big business rather than those of workers and residents. Political direction must change so that our country starts prioritising the com- mon good over the interests of the developers' lobby. Wayne Flask, activist: 'Inquiry suffered from selec- tive myopia' There is nothing particularly shocking in the 484-page inquiry, at least, not to those who have an idea of how the construction sector is operating. While the inquiry delved deep in the operations of some of the authorities directly responsible for So- fia's death, it misses the wider context needed to un- derstand how to reform the sector. If an inquiry that should cause a political earth- quake in a normal country only led to the resignation of a handful of political appointees – who will be re- cycled to other posts within a few months – some- thing's wrong. For one, I don't understand how people like former BRO chief Michael Ferry was hailed a hero, based on the testimony of Martin Debono, a PA official whose share of controversies - like Ferry's - went by un- noticed. All the inquiry had to do was speak to the victims of the 2019 tragedies for a clearer picture of Ferry's tenure. Similarly, the minister who legislated for the con- struction of five-storey buildings in industrial zones, and for their approval via a DNO procedure (Aar- on Farrugia) was not interviewed. Silvio Schembri, responsible for INDIS, Lands and Malta Enterprise, was not questioned either. The author of the 2019 reform and of the law es- tablishing the BCA (without laws to enforce), Robert After Jean Paul Sofia inquiry, Experts and activists share their thoughts with NICOLE MEILAK on the Jean Paul Sofia inquiry, and what should come next. Andre Callus Wayne Flask