Malta can already boast of the tragic toll of two deaths on a construction site in the first week of the new year. Where before one used to say that no steps are taken until a tragedy occurs, we now have the situation where scores of tragedies have taken place and still nothing has been done, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar said in a statement.

Construction projects are now being undertaken on a far more ambitious scale than they used to in the past, yet safety measures have not increased to reflect the increased dangers, with both construction-site workers as well as neighbours exposed to far greater dangers now.

Responsibility for this lies not with MEPA, but with the Construction and Building Industry Regulations Department in the Ministry of Infrastructure and Resources. One asks: what initiatives is Minister Ninu Zammit taking in this regard, as well as what action is being taken by the Building Industry Consultative Council (BICC) under the chairmanship of Architect Robert Musumeci?

A cursory look at most building sites shows workers still working at great heights without harnesses and hard hats. In many recent incidents, it was malfunctioning heavy machinery that caused the accident. The importation of second-hand plant and machinery is unregulated; equipment that is already potentially non-compliant with current EU safety standards is being imported with impunity into Malta. Such equipment is put to work on building sites without being subjected to the required risk assessment that should clearly show whether the machinery in question can be utilised in a manner that does not expose the user to any significant risk of injury.

Lack of adequate training, as well as the widespread use of foreign labour, is exposing both foreign workers and their local colleagues to extra dangers due to lack of familiarity with building practices, as well as problems of communication.

With the rate of town-centre re-development increasing dramatically, neighbours of building sites are being exposed to dangers that leave them in daily fear of life and limb in their own homes. While environmental problems have at last started to be addressed, there seems to be no attempt whatsoever to tackle the more pressing question of preventing accidents. How many more have to die before the relevant authorities are stirred from their lethargy on this issue?

In a second Santa Maria Estate case, more residents’ houses have been damaged and Triq ta’ Taht l-Irdum is in imminent danger of collapsing because of unregulated construction. Residents seeking help from the authorities have been sent from pillar to post as every government department and authority they turn to washes their hands for lack of clear legislation to deal with these situations, legislation that residents have been rightly demanding for years.

FAA appeals to the Church Commission on the Environment, NGOs working for immigrants’ rights, trade unions, environmental NGOs, residents’ associations, local councils and civilised society in general to come together and condemn this unchecked and senseless state of affairs where lives are lost through negligence without any steps being taken by those who under different circumstances may be found guilty of manslaughter or even murder.

There can be no mincing of words here since everyone knows of the dangers, accidents have happened and are happening and little or no action is being taken by those authorities which are legally and duty bound to take action. This is a national, repeated crime against individual lives and quality of life.

FAA feels that it is now time for the government to show who is managing the country: Is it those in the construction industry (be it unscrupulous property owners, speculators, developers, contractors or architects), or the Government of Malta duly elected to power by the Maltese electorate which expects its leaders to enact and enforce laws in its name?