Holding an independent inquiry into a fatal Ħamrun building collapse would at least ensure the country would have learnt something from the tragic incident, Opposition leader Adrian Delia has argued.  

The Opposition has been calling for an inquiry to establish what went wrong after a family home came crashing down on Monday.

Police suspect neighbouring excavation works were to blame and have arrested six people involved in that project. Prime Minister Robert Abela has appointed a four-person panel to assess existing excavation laws, which were reviewed just six months ago following a spate of similar collapses. 

Speaking on the Nationalist Party’s Net FM on Saturday, Delia said such an inquiry would be carried out according to the provisions of the Inquiries Act and would be distinct from a magisterial inquiry, which is meant to establish criminal responsibility.  

“We need to know whether anything can be done to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” he said.  

“At the very least, we will have learnt something from the death of this innocent woman.”  

On Saturday morning, hundreds of protestors marched to the site of the building collapse, demanding changes to construction laws to curtail the power and influence of what they describe as “cowboy developers and contractors”.

Delia meanwhile said that a proposed reform to the way in which architects are regulated had been gathering dust for six months and had yet to be implemented.  

He said he had found it difficult to make political observations in the immediate aftermath of the fatal building collapse, as he felt for the family and their need to grieve.  

But the Opposition has a responsibility to weigh in on these matters, to hold the government to account, and to put minds at rest.  

Prime Minister Robert Abela, Delia said, had also done nothing but give his opinion on the situation.   

Coronavirus: No need to panic

Delia also weighed in on the news that coronavirus had been detected in Malta, saying there was no need to panic. 

Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Saturday confirmed that the first case of coronavirus in Malta has been confirmed. The patient is a 12-year-old Italian girl and was previously in self-quarantine. She has since been moved to an infectious diseases unit of Mater Dei Hospital. 

Delia said he was not informed enough to be able to assess how prepared the authorities are for the arrival of this epidemic.  

He had followed announcements by the government but said he felt in the dark over just how prepared the island was for this virus. 

Delia urged the public to follow the authorities’ instructions but said frenzy and panic were in noone's interest.