Jean Paul Sofia: Government protects its ministers with motion amendments

Parliament has approved the Labour Party’s amendments to an Opposition motion that originally called for the resignation of three government ministers.

It was a game of ping-pong in parliament on Thursday, as parliament discussed the Nationalist Party’s no-confidence motion against ministers Silvio Schembri, Miriam Dalli and Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi.

The amended motion was passed with 41 votes in favour and 32 votes against.

Labour whip Naomi Cachia presented a set of amendments to the motions, particularly the removal of clauses calling for ministers’ resignations. Other amendments include a clause to commemorate all construction victims, increased importance on the implementation of the recommendations, and a future debate on the recommendations in the future.

However, the Nationalist Party made counter-amendments of its own. Instead, the Nationalist Party wants the text to focus on the inquiry report itself, and the government shortcomings that led to the death of Jean Paul Sofia.  

It also proposed the addition of an apology for voting against a public inquiry, a clause commemorating all construction victims, and the taking on of all inquiry recommendations. They also again called for the resignations of the same ministers.

The debate, slated for a day dedicated to Opposition affairs, was restricted to a single sitting.

Reading out the original motion in the parliamentary chamber, Robert Cutajar argued that the three ministers must shoulder responsibility for the entities singled out by the inquiry.

The motion stems from the damning findings of the public inquiry into the tragic construction site fatality of Jean-Paul Sofia, and will call for a vote of no-confidence in ministers Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, Miriam Dalli, and Silvio Schembri.

The debate can be watched online on Parlament.mt at 4pm

All three ministers had under their purview state entities which carried some responsibility in the circumstances that predated or led to the irregular construction of the building that collapsed and led to the death of the young Jean Paul Sofia, 20. Sofia was not a construction worker but had been on the site temporarily, while delivering workers some supplies.

READ ALSO: Sofia inquiry report exposes regulatory failures across the board

Stanley Zammit was the first speaker of the day. The Opposition MP said this is an opportunity for the Chamber to come together, shoulder responsibility, and ensure the construction sector is reformed for the better.

Speaking against Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, who was planning minister at the time of Sofia’s death, Zammit said the minister failed to address certain loopholes in the construction sector.

“The problem isn’t to write laws. The challenge is enforcing those laws,” Zammit said, quoting the inquiry report. “The inquiry condemned the lack of motivation from the minister to enforce laws by granting entities the means and human resources to do this.”

In response, Prime Minister Robert Abela insisted that, on the day of the inquiry report’s publication, he presented to the Parliament a road-plan to get the construction sector in shape.

Abela described the Nationalist Party’s motion as partisan and populist. “I wonder if the motion we’re discussing today gives any added value to the implementation of the inquiry report? The answer is no, evidently.”

He said the motion is symbolic of an Opposition that is “trying to capitalise on a tragedy, a death”, as opposed to focused on bettering the situation.

Abela pointed out that the inquiry report does not single out any of the ministers mentioned in the parliamentary motion. “Today’s motion reveals why the Opposition wanted a public inquiry,” he said.

The prime minister defended Zrinzo Azzopardi for taking the first steps to reform the construction sector, and remarked that Miriam Dalli was not even an MP, let alone a minister, in 2019 when Malta Enterprise approved the construction project which took the life of Jean Paul Sofia.

On Silvio Schembri, Abela added that he was appointed minister responsible for INDIS during the last phase of the allocation of government land to this construction project. “The inquiry said clearly that there was no relation between the allocation of the land and the construction collapse,” he claimed.

Abela listed several tragic moments under previous Nationalist Party administrations, and insisted that no remedies were offered to these victims – particularly not a public inquiry. He mentioned an incident involving the death of three works, and remarked that 2004 was one of the deadliest years for workers.

Rebekah Cilia remarked that the only reason Parliament convened on Thursday was because of the government’s own shortcomings. “This is the difference between the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party. We believe in justice, for them it’s a game.”

She said it’s not normal for construction collapses to happen, particularly without any political resignations. “We’re talking about a person’s death here, and no one wants to take political responsibility.”

Cilia took aim towards Miriam Dalli, questioning what was done by her to address shortcomings at Malta Enterprise over the years. She also remarked on recent revelations at Wasteserv, whereby a magisterial inquiry recommended that six officials be taken to court on criminal charges over

Nationalist MP Jerome Caruana Cilia insisted that the calls for resignation is not a political game. He described Jean Paul Sofia as a victim of incompetence and grave mistakes.

“This is a basic thing in a democratic country. It’s not personal, it’s about carrying political responsibility.”

Caruana Cilia also said that the government has forced ministers to resign over various things over the years, mentioning the likes of Godfrey Farrugia, Justyne Caruana and Manuel Mallia.

“You can’t have a report as detailed as this and have no one shoulder political responsibility over it.”

Justice minister Jonathan Attard said Thursday’s discussion degenerated into a partisan debate aimed at “inflicting as much harm as possible onto the government”.  He said the Labour Party in government will carry out all the changes that others “never had the courage to do”.

Labour MP Alex Muscat said the inquiry report shows that there can be improvement in the construction sector, particularly among technical protocols in state entities. However, no amount of procedure in the approval and allocaiton of government land could have prevented Sofia’s death, Muscat said, quoting from the inquiry report.

Parliamentary secretary Andy Ellul described Sofia’s mother Isabelle as a woman of steel, and wondered why the Opposition was painting the Labour government as insensitive to her plight.

Opposition leader Bernard Grech presented several news articles in Parliament quoting the prime minister as saying that he will not appoint a public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia.

He also mentioned that President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, who he described as a real socialist, signed a petition calling for a public inquiry into Sofia’s death.

Grech also questioned whether the Labour Party had carried out any meaningful reforms to the construction sector.

He pulled out a picture of the all-male cabinet team that will be working on the inquiry recommendations. However, Grech pointed out that one of the people on the board – Silvio Schembri – was implicated in the inquiry report as having contributed to the shortcomings.

“The inquiry conclusion says it found the government responsible for what is happening, this comedy of errors that resulted in national tragedies in construction worksites and homes,” Grech said. “Prime minister, as the person responsible for the cabinet found guilty in this public inquiry, what responsibility will you shoulder?”

Grech added that it was insensitive for the prime minister to use tragedies from the past ro score political points in the present. “The more you dig into the past, the more you show yourselves to be backs against the wall.”

“Time for discussion is over. Now is the time for responsibility and action,” Grech said.

The no-confidence motion

The motion calls on the Parliament to apologise to the parents of Jean Paul Sofia for voting against a public inquiry into his death.

It also asks to adopt in its entirety the inquiry report into his death, and to take on all the recommendations made by the inquiry board and implement them within six months.

The Nationalist Party calls on the government to present a report to Parliament, within four weeks, on the progress made so far in the implementation of the inquiry board’s proposals. This report would be debated on in Parliament during a dedicated session.

It also called on the Parliament to condemn the behaviour of the three ministers, and declare no confidence in them.

The motion goes on to ask the Prime Minister to ask for the resignation of the ministers, or dismiss them outright.

The public inquiry highlighted the unregulated state of the construction site at the time, asserting that the government should shoulder responsibility for the state of affairs.

The ministers identified in the motion held roles overseeing the construction industry and state agencies responsible for the Kordin building’s site handover and project approval.

After Jean Paul Sofia inquiry, what comes next?