Gżira scaffolding collapse prompts fresh calls for construction safety authority

Momentum has again called for the creation of a single authority responsible for enforcing safety at construction sites and dangerous structures, arguing that Friday's scaffolding collapse onto a busy Gżira road exposed the failures of Malta's fragmented regulatory system.

The party said the incident on Reggie Miller Street, where scaffolding collapsed onto the carriageway after apparently being struck by a digger, showed that responsibility for site safety is currently spread across multiple authorities, allowing accountability to fall through the cracks.

No one was injured in the Friday morning incident, with one car passing beneath the structure moments before it fell and another stopping just in time.

The Building and Construction Authority ordered a stop to works at the Gzira site, where an apartment block is being rebuilt. The Occupational Health and Safety Authority said it was investigating but did not provide further detail. 

In a statement on Saturday, Momentum said a dedicated, properly resourced enforcement authority should replace the current system, which it described as one where different bodies "look the other way and nobody is held to account".

The party included the proposal in its manifesto for the May 2026 general election. 

It also reiterated its call for a Planning Authority staffed by independent experts free from conflicts of interest with the construction industry, as well as tougher penalties when construction works endanger the public.

Committee member Matthew Agius said the motorists involved had escaped injury "because a driver was fast enough to stop, not because anyone protected them".

"That is not a safety system, it is a lottery, and Maltese residents should not have to gamble with their lives every time they walk past a construction site," he said.