Green party ADPD has called for the resignation of three ministers for their failure to control the construction industry.
After a week which saw the death of one man and the serious injury of three more in two separate incidents, party chairperson Sandra Gauci insisted that political responsibility must be shouldered for the government’s continuous failure to control the construction industry.
Resignations of the Building and Construction Agency as well as its board are simply reactionary measures and do not demonstrate the will to execute reform in the sector, she said.
“It appears that the state is far from showing any remorse or the will to change things. The cowboys in the construction sector are still with us and the sense of impunity and zero-enforcement are still evident,” she said.
“Despite the resignations in the wake of the Sofia public inquiry, the problems are still there and those who have appointed these people in the first place are those that are truly responsible. Until Ministers Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, Silvio Schembri and Miriam Dalli resign, the resignations of these CEOs are only a public relations exercise to maintain a public image with no substance to back this up.”
Ministers, Gauci continued, would do well to remember they are not simply kept around for ribbon-cutting ceremonies but must be held accountable for their choices.
“There is a need for political maturity and for them to resign to show that they are equal to us and not above us,” she added.
Pieta local council candidate Janet Zahra Walker, who herself was forced out of her home due to construction activity, said that owners of derelict buildings should do their utmost to address damage on their property that may pose serious risk to neighbours and people in the vicinity.
“Such repairs must be performed immediately as delays may lead to people suffering the consequences of an incompetent construction industry,” she said.
Turning to areas in Pieta that need immediate attention, she highlighted that passageways from St Luke’s Hospital leading to the Pieta primary school should be upgraded and made safe for users, recommending the installation of barriers to prevent accidents.
Zahra Walker also called for more accessible pavements that allow people with mobility aids to move freely, while calling for open spaces to be better maintained.
“There is the need for Pietà to have a new council that urgently takes action on such needs, and I am ready to work for this,” she said.
MEP candidate Mina Jack Tolu said that it was also time for local councils to take greater responsibility for the safety of the buildings in their locality.
“Local councils should be given the necessary funds for buildings and properties to be surveyed, and owners of derelict and abandoned buildings posing health and safety hazards to passers-by should be required to keep such properties in good condition,” he said.
“Unfortunately, it is clear that we have learnt nothing from the Sofia public inquiry because not a week passes by without an incident in the construction industry, and one of the latest has resulted in a fatality. There is the need for urgent action in the construction sector and not a fake exercise pretending that something is being done.”