Three PN Shadow Ministers gathered outside the official PL HQ on Wednesday and each insisted on “immediate” shouldering of responsibility by ministers in the wake of the publication of the Jean Paul Sofia public inquiry report.
The State was found to be to blame for the death of Jean Paul Sofia, a 20-year-old who died as a building under construction collapsed in Corradino on 3 December 2022.
Ministers Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, Miriam Dalli and Silvio Schembri must shoulder their political responsibility and resign, the PN spokespersons said.
A week has passed since the public inquiry was published and still no one has taken the political blame, economy spokesman Jerome Caruana Cilia said. He added that other PL ministers had resigned for far less serious offences, mentioning for example Godfrey Farrugia, Emmanuel Mallia and Anglu Farrugia.
He said that the PN was supporting a public inquiry from day one, despite the PM’s reluctance, and finally Isabelle Bonnici (Jean Paul Sofia's mother) and the PN were proved right.
Caruana Cilia went on to say that PN and Isabelle Bonnici’s lobbying as well as pressure from the public should not have been necessary for a public inquiry to be carried out. He added that initially those who tried to honour the memory of Jean Paul Sofia by photos and banners had the mementos removed or faced legal action. Caruana Cilia claimed it was “dictatorial”.
Zrinzo Azzopardi’s actions are proof of the culture of selective interest in government, issues only mattering if they affected them, planning spokesman Stanley Zammit. The public inquiry only served to confirm the systemic failures of this government. The three ministers not only allowed a system liable to abuse to carry on but also dragged their feet in tackling the problems they caused. Zammit said that Zrinzo Azzopardi, in particular failed to bring order to disorder; he ignored the new building codes. Ultimately, said Zammit, these problems have been a long time coming.
It was noted by employment spokesman Ivan Castillo that there has been not only an increase in injuries on the workplace but also in their severity. He also said that it is no surprise that people are getting hurt on the workplace if they lack the skills for it. He noted that skills cards are yet to be made mandatory.
Castillo said that it does not make sense that there has been an upsurge in the job market since 2013 yet certain “authorities have more people on their boards than inspectors”.
PL statement
In a statement, the Labour Party said that the PN continues to ignore the reforms that the government made and is making in the construction sector.
"The BCA that it mentions so much, didn't even exist before it was set up by this government. The licensing of contractors was also introduced by this government. These changes are introducing new standards that no PN government had the courage to do, and are the basis on which a number of recommendations from the Jean Paul Sofie Public inquiry will be implemented," the PL said.
The PL said that the PN spokespersons, to try and justify their unwarranted request for three ministers to resign, continue repeating something that the public inquiry did not say, and don't speak about the proposals the inquiry made, which it said the government is talking about and will implement. It said that for the PN Leader, the public inquiry is a source of political gimmicks.