Political heads must roll after the damning conclusions of the Sofia public inquiry, the Green Party said on Saturday.

“The resignations of a few is insufficient,” ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci. “Political accountability must be upheld.”

Gauci was flanked by deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo during a press conference the party held on Saturday morning in Castille Square, outside the office of the prime minister.

“The Prime Minister and his cabinet are responsible for this state of affairs, which despite empty promises is still leading to accidents on construction sites,” Gauci said.

A public inquiry into the construction site death of Jean Paul Sofia concluded this week that the state must bear responsibility for the way in which the building that collapsed with Sofia in it was totally unregulated and never inspected.

Gauci led an ADPD press conference outside Castille on Saturday. Photo: ADPD

The inquiry also found a raft of problems with the way multiple state entities managed and enforced the allocation of public land for industry and construction sites more generally.

It however found no evidence to suggest the allocation of land in Corradino for the project was corrupt, or that the allocation had led to Sofia’s death.

A number of state-appointed officials resigned in wake of the report conclusions, and one Malta Enterprise employee was sacked. A number of those who resigned said they took issue with the inquiry’s conclusions.

No politician resigned following the report, however.

The Opposition has said ministers Silvio Schembri, Miriam Dalli and Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi should all step down. Each of the three are politically responsible for entities singled out for blame in the inquiry report.

In a statement on Saturday, the PN reiterated those calls. 

"Robert Abela is acting like Pontius Pilate and washing his hands of responsibility," the PN said. "More than 72 hours have passed since the inquiry was published and neither Abela nor the responsible ministers have assumed responsibility for their failings."

Speaking on Saturday, ADPD deputy chair Cacopardo said that the resignations we saw this week were “certainly nowhere near enough”.

Those individuals should never occupy public positions again, he said, as their judgement cannot be trusted.

But those who appointed them to those roles also had to carry the can, he said.

“They were state-appointed to ensure the proper regulation of the industry. Therefore, undoubtedly, political responsibility must also be shouldered.”

ADPD leader Gauci said it was no wonder that Robert Abela did not want the inquiry to be held, as it exposed the poor governance and lack of regulation within the construction sector.

“It is concerning that the Prime Minister himself has expressed lack of confidence in being able to curb these incidents,” she said. “This begs the question, how seriously is the government engaged in adopting the report’s recommendations? Due to proximity between the developers and parties in Parliament, the construction industry has always been treated with kid gloves.”