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Karl Schembri
On paper, Malta has adopted all of Europe’s standards and guidelines for safe children’s playing fields. Everything is covered, from goal posts to swings and roundabouts in the dozens of standards transposed here, only that, in the typical Maltese definition of accountability, nobody is responsible to enforce them, and the playing fields are unsafe.
The revelation comes from none other than the Malta Standards Authority, which insists that all of the European Union’s standards have been transposed here, but admits at the same time that they are voluntary guidelines which nobody is responsible for.
Reacting to last Sunday’s report about the unsafe playing fields, authority Chairman Francis E. Farrugia said the “MSA as the national standard body has transposed all European standards in this category as national standards” but “these are voluntary standards and it is up to those responsible for playing fields to ensure through third parties that they are being followed”.
In reality, there are no “third parties” that are legally responsible for the implementation of the safety standards. So far the role of the standards authority is “to make available these standards for interested parties to use” even though nobody seems interested in using them, especially local councils which are responsible for playing fields.
Even worse, Farrugia says that the authorities themselves are unaware of these standards, as nobody is consulting the authority about them.
“As is usually the case in Malta, authorities concerned do not know to whom to turn,” Farrugia said. “The standards authority is the only Maltese certification body with competent personnel to carry out risk assessment based on these standards.”
Farrugia said that as a solution, the government can legislate that all playing fields have to meet the standard authority’s guidelines, making them mandatory.
Only two months ago, a toddler was seriously injured at the San Gwann playing field when he fell off an unsafe roundabout, with his head mangled between heavy iron rods in a potentially fatal accident, exposing the utterly unsafe swings installed there.
Meanwhile concerned parents report that the swings at Rabat near the entrance to Mdina present a safety hazard, as well as a broken see-saw at the Paola playing field, and another tragedy is waiting to happen on the Wied il-Ghajn merry go round.
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt
Links:
www.maltatoday.com.mt/2006/08/20/t12.html
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