Updated 7pm
OHSA chair David Xuereb has resigned after the Jean Paul Sofia inquiry named him as among state entity officials who should consider their positions.
The three-person board described him as being "completely detatched" from the day-to-day realities of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, which investigates construction site incidents.
Xuereb, an architect by profession, has been chairman of the OHSA since 2021 and is also chairman of Malta Council for Economic and Social Development and on the board of the Building and Construction Authority.
In a news conference shortly after the report's publication, prime minister Robert Abela said one chairperson, two CEOs and one employee were singled out for criticism by the board of inquiry but stopped short of naming names.
He said he expected the resignation of those individuals mentioned in the report by 4.30 pm on Wednesday.
Contacted for a response Xuereb told Times of Malta: "My non-executive role was that of working to transform and uplift OHSA to where it should be. I respect the authors and am duty bound to respect the recommendations of said report irrespective of my opinion."
Asked to clarify if that meant he was drafting his resignation letter, Xuereb said: "Absolutely".
Jonathan Attard, minister for justice and reform of the construction sector, confirmed in parliament that he had received Xuereb's resignation letter.
Economy minister Silvio Schembri, who oversees Malta Enterprise, also indicated that he has already received resignations. He said he would provide more details in a parlimentary sitting, which began at 4.30pm.
The report criticised Malta Enterprise and INDIS, for their roles in approving a project by two developers to build a five-storey furniture factory at Corradino Industrial Estate.
It had scathing criticism of the leadership of both Malta Enterprise and INDIS in 2019 as well as the Investment Committee, which it described as "incompetent".
The proposal should never have made it past the assessment stage. But instead it was passed on to Malta Enterprise’s investment committee, which approved it in a “superficial” manner, and then “rubber stamped” by INDIS.
Kevin Camilleri, head of the micro-enterprise unit at Malta Enterprise, was also found to have "totally failed in his responsibilities".
The inquiry into the death of the 20-year-old was published on Wednesday, seven months after its announcement and over a year since Sofia was killed at the Corradino construction site.
The 484-page report found that the state should "assume responsibility" after a "comedy of errors" within construction site legislation meant the Corradino site, which collapsed on Sofia and five other workers in December 2022, fell through regulatory cracks.