The Opposition will this afternoon move a no-confidence motion in parliament against three government ministers following the findings of a public inquiry into the construction site death of Jean-Paul Sofia.
The PN is calling for the resignation of ministers Silvio Schembri, Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi and Miriam Dalli. It is using a day reserved for opposition business, which comes twice a year, to move the motion.
It is unlikely, however, that the PN motion will be accepted by the government, which can propose amendments to it at any point during the debate.
The PN used its last opposition day, in July, to call for the appointment of a public inquiry into the death of Sofia. The government, which opposed a public inquiry, amended that motion, removing references to a public inquiry and instead called for a speedy conclusion to a magisterial inquiry into the case.
The opposition then proposed a counter-amendment that again called for a public inquiry, which was consequently defeated. The government’s motion was then approved.
A similar scenario may take place this evening.
The government, however, soon performed a U-turn on a Sofia public inquiry and after public pressure agreed to hold a such an inquiry into his death.
The findings of the Sofia public inquiry, published two weeks ago, found that the State was to blame for having allowed a legislative mess to develop over the years.
What it described as a “comedy of errors” in construction site legislation meant that the Corradino building, which collapsed on the 20-year-old Sofia and five others in December 2022, essentially fell through regulatory cracks.
The inquiry also specifically singled out several officials who have since resigned. The PN, however, is insisting that political and not just administrative responsibility must be shouldered for the tragedy.
Zrinzo Azzopardi was responsible for planning and the construction sector at the time of the incident. Dalli and Schembri were responsible for state agencies INDIS and Malta Enterprise. Both agencies were found to have committed serious shortcomings in how they allocated the public site and approved the project in 2019.
The PN motion also demands monthly reports on the progress of implementing the Sofia inquiry’s recommendations. MPs should be given the chance to ask questions on each monthly progress report one week after the reports are tabled in parliament, the motion reads.
All the public inquiry’s findings should also be implemented within six months, the motion says.
It also calls on the house to apologise to Jean Paul Sofia’s parents, John Sofia and Isabelle Bonnici, for having voted against holding a public inquiry into the 20-year-old’s construction site death last July.
In a statement yesterday, architects and developers pushed against opposition calls to implement the Sofia inquiry recommendations within six months.
“We firmly believe that each recommendation warrants a thorough and deliberate discussion,” the National Building Council said in a statement.
“While the NBC agrees with the spirit of the inquiry’s recommendations, we insist on a more measured approach to reform that accounts for the intricacies of our sector and respects the expertise of its professionals.”
The council, established last month, is a collaboration between the Chamber of Architects and the Malta Development Association.