The fallout from the findings of the Sciberras inquiry report into the weak concrete mix used at Mater Dei should serve as a wake-up call.

For far too long, in this weird and wonderful country of ours, we have allowed things to be brushed under the carpet. The “ejja ha mmorru” and “nifrankwa lira” attitudes were rampant. We actually have a hospital where some unscrupulous contactors supplied concrete mix which was half the standard that it should have been. The very place where people need to feel secure and safe was built with substandard materials which could very well have caved in or collapsed in the future.

The report, which still needs plenty of digesting, shows that the authorities were made aware of the shortcomings on more than one occasion, yet they remained passive. On architect went as far as telling the Foundation of Medical service of his severe pre-occupation that the building was substandard and would turn into a maintenance nightmare. And still, no one batted an eyelid. This happened under successive governments and it was also pointed out that even the way the concrete samples were taken shows that there was a clear and concerted effort to save a buck or two by watering down concrete to make it spread further.

We have come a long way since 1995, but the findings of this report is making people wonder just how many corners have been cut in every aspect of everything that is Maltese. It makes us now wonder, what about the quality of the Oncology Centre? What about the quality of some of our ‘state of the art’ roads? Pavements, balconies, houses, apartment blocks... in short, the quality of everything is now being called into question. We certainly hope that this is not the case, but when the quality of such a project has been exposed to be what it is, worry and doubts do set in. It is a natural human reaction.

And it takes us on to ask further questions. If contractors can simply water down cement to save money, what do our tradesmen do? Are we all being taken for a collective ride on a daily basis? The Muscat government has been accused of committing a few blunders, but there is no doubt that this government is living up to its promise to weed out corruption and to leave no stone unturned to bring perpetrators to justice. Let us hope that this will also be the case with Skanska and the sub-contractors who supplied the materials in question.

The revelations of the inquiry should also prompt the government to investigate other potential cases of shoddy building practices. And perhaps, the first place the authorities ought to start is in examining the quality and standards of apartment blocks that are springing up left, right and centre.

The whole Skanska affair is now being investigated by the police in an attempt to pin criminal responsibility on those who committed fraud. We hope that it will be a thorough probe and that all those involved – even those who are responsible at a political level – are indentified and brought to justice. Mater Dei was built out of taxpayers’ money. The general public paid for that hospital and it is now the government’s duty to push this all the way to the finish line.