After Jean Paul Sofia inquiry, what comes next?

The public inquiry into the 2022 construction collapse that killed Jean Paul Sofia exposed regulatory loopholes and shortcomings among several authorities.

The inquiry board criticised construction authorities heavily, from the OHSA and BCA to Malta Enterprise 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 findings, and the state of the construction sector today.

Andre Callus

Andre Callus, activist Moviment Graffitti: ‘Political responsibility must be shouldered’

The report of the public inquiry on the Kordin incident 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 victim to this industry ruled by greed and arrogance.

From the inquiry it clearly transpires that such unforgivable failures were the result of actions or omissions intended to appease and satisfy construction and business bosses. The inquiry denounces how the construction sector had been allowed to grow unbridled 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 existing 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 recommendations in the public inquiry report had been, in essence, put forward and advocated for by communities and activists many years ago. The deadly problems with the government-sponsored and unregulated construction boom have been clear for everyone to see since a very long time.

But government failed to act. It prioritised the maximisation of quick profits by developers and accepted 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 context, the resignation of CEOs and government functionaries 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 common good over the interests of the developers’ lobby.

Wayne Flask (Photo: James Bianchi/Media Today)

Wayne Flask, activist: ‘Inquiry suffered from selective 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 Sofia’s death, it misses the wider context needed to understand how to reform the sector.

If an inquiry that should cause a political earthquake in a normal country only led to the resignation of a handful of political appointees – who will be recycled to other posts within a few months – something’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 unnoticed. 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 construction of five-storey buildings in industrial zones, and for their approval via a DNO procedure (Aaron 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 establishing the BCA (without laws to enforce), Robert Musumeci, features nowhere in the report; the spirit in which these laws were written are crucial to understand why deaths in construction increased since then.

Nobody was questioned about the failure of the contractors’ registry first launched in 2019, and the conflict of interest that led to it – and to so many construction deaths.

What is most worrying is that there is very little in terms of protection for residents and workers; the biggest victims of this sector. There’s a note on the poor reporting system employed by the BCA, but nothing about the role of the police and the judiciary, in a system where, despite the amount and violence of the tragedies, no major developer has ever been arrested.

To date, the people responsible for Miriam Pace’s death are winning government works tenders; construction victims fight a lonely battle for justice.

Despite the voluminous report, I feel the inquiry suffered from selective myopia, and had no intention of rocking the boat too much: a few sacrificial lambs will do, nobody will shoulder political responsibility.

The flow of money into the construction sector, and how it corrodes the authorities, remains a dark elephant in the room.

Claire Bonello

Claire Bonello, lawyer: ‘Soundbites, photo ops and pathetic greenwash’

The conclusions of the inquiry confirm what we felt - that in this country there is no right to life, no right to safety, no right to health and wellbeing. All these rights have been cast away as the government and the various authorities it sets up bow down before the only right, they recognise - the right to develop.

The State is complicit in diluting rules and regulations and refusing to enforce laws in a meaningful manner with the result that Jean Paul Sofia has died. This deliberately laissez-faire attitude and fragmented regulatory environment is replicated in other sectors - such as that related to development planning and the environment.

The crisis which we see in the construction sector is the same one which we are facing on the Environmental front. Last year a young boy died under the rubble in a construction incident because of a badly regulated industry, in the coming years there will be more deaths and health issues resulting from the state’s disastrous lack of regulation of the environment.

The government’s claim that it is working towards sustainable development is a sham. Even while the greenwashing claims are being made, government is changing planning policies to allow higher and denser development. This is grossly irresponsible in a country where we have development on steroids, traffic congestion and deteriorating air quality.

However, there is no evidence of any political will to address these issues in a genuine manner - all we get are soundbites, photo ops and pathetic greenwash.

Peter Gatt

Peter Gatt, president Chamber of Geologists: ‘Those responsible should now resign’

The Jean Paul Sofia Public Inquiry has highlighted the indispensable role of the geologist in the construction industry and has recommended that every rock excavation should be preceded by a report written by a geologist to assess ground conditions. This recommendation implies that the state must now recognise the profession of the geologist so that only warranted geologists will be allowed to make such geological reports and fill in the description of ground conditions of the Method Statement, which presently is done by other professionals who may not understand or misinterpret the site geology, as revealed in several cases.

Two months ago, [I asked] for a meeting with the Jonathan Attard to discuss this unacceptable situation, but the minister has not yet issued an invitation. The Chamber remains willing to offer its professional advice to the government and public entities, but the response has been one of indifference, despite the geologist’s important role in matters of public safety.

The Public Inquiry Report also revealed that the geological map of Malta produced by the Continental Shelf Department within the Ministry of Finance, is inaccurate. The law requires that the geological map is consulted ahead of rock excavation.

The Chamber of Geologists has identified serious omissions and tampering of this map especially since its 2022 ‘update’. Instead of making the necessary corrections, the Director General at the Continental Shelf Department continues to challenge the professional advice given by the Chamber of Geologists and refuses to make the necessary corrections, effectively undermining public safety, which can cost lives. Part of the tampered geological map includes the area around the site of the tragic collapse of Miriam Pace’s former home in 2020.

Although responsible for making Malta’s geological map, the public inquiry report confirms that the Continental Shelf Department does not employ any geologists. The same Department was also responsible for the absolute failure of Malta’s oil and gas exploration over the years. Several of the Chamber’s members had approached the Director General to offer their help in the national interest, but they were ignored.

The Chamber agrees with the Prime Minister that those responsible should now resign and believes that the position of the Director General at the Continental Shelf Department is no longer tenable. The Chamber urges the government to set up a national Geological Service as found in every other European country. The Geological Service would employ geologists to update Malta’s geological map, advise the public on geological hazards, and assess Malta’s natural resources on land and in its vast exclusive economic zone, for the benefit of all Maltese.