A government committee tasked with implementing recommendations made by a public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia held its first meeting on Friday, two days after it was set up.

Coordinated by the prime minister’s head of secretariat Glenn Micallef, the committee was set up by Prime Minister Robert Abela, with instructions to report to cabinet.

It comprises Micallef and four ministers: Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, Planning Minister Clint Camilleri, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri and Economy Minister Silvio Schembri.

The government announced the committee's first meeting in a statement on social media. The meeting involved the committee's five members as well as an official at the Office of the Prime Minister tasked with keeping minutes. 

When he announced the committee, Abela noted that the government had in the past used similar setups to successfully manage three distinct challenges:

  • Malta's COVID-19 pandemic response;
  • Implementation of Venice Commission reforms regarding the rule of law; and
  • Work to get off the FATF greylist. 

The Sofia inquiry report included recommendations that impact the portfolios of each of the ministers on the committee, from the Planning Authority to the Building and Construction Authority, Malta Enterprise and Jobsplus.

The latter was previously the responsibility of Finance Minister Clyde Caruana but was shifted to Byron Camilleri’s portfolio with the intention of improving coordination between it and Identità, the state agency that approves visas for non-EU workers.

Published on Wednesday, the Sofia inquiry listed more than 40 pages of recommendations to reform laws and policies concerning planning, construction, occupational health and safety as well as how government land is allocated for private investment.

The inquiry was appointed last August following pressure by the family of Jean Paul Sofia, who was just 20 years old when he died in a construction site collapse in Corradino.

The building he was in was being developed into a five-storey furniture factory by AllPlus Limited, with the land it was built on given to AllPlus by Malta Enterprise and INDIS.

Five people, including AllPlus’ two developers, the project architect and directors of the contracting firm building the factory, stand accused of having involuntarily killed Sofia.

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