Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit's into the Hamrun building collapse leading to Miriam Pace's death is a crushing indictment of the state of the Maltese construction industry over the last 20 years, Flimkien Ghal Albjent Ahjar has said.

"Since 2018, no less than 10 structures have collapsed during construction work, causing deaths and many injuries; clearly the authorities' failure to take action in spite of repeated calls from the public, institutions and NGOs, led to these fatalities."

"In the meantime, other accidents are waiting to happen. In Sliema an old house is at risk due to the neighbouring developer ignoring basic regulations, having excavated right up to the wall of the house. The house has been found to be resting on a huge old well, which is not mentioned in the demolition statement, no doubt due to the lack of geological studies. The eventual demolition of the well risks seriously destabilising the house."

FAA condemns that the elderly resident "trapped inside the house due to Covid-19 has been enduring a level of fear, bullying and stress that is as life-threatening as the actual works. Yet she is not alone, as residents are suffering all over Malta due to the authorities' reluctance to control construction abuse. "

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit's inquiry "clearly and unequivocally highlighted state authorities 'rubber-stamping' paperwork related to excavation works and a lack of qualified personnel at every stage," FAA said.

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar maintains that the critical lack of enforcement officials to ensure that demolition, excavation and construction work is done correctly has encouraged a widespread culture of abuse. 

Magistrate Stafrace Zammit called for construction workers to be qualified in order to work on building sites, "yet government has just downgraded the level of warranted engineers, meaning that a computer engineer or electrical engineer with no knowledge of structures can now be a Site Technical Officer."

FAA asks how long it will take before laws enforce residents' rights to live in their homes safely, without the intolerable noise, dust, vibrations and fear that can be avoided by the use of modern, readily-available technology which local developers refuse to use due to the extra costs involved.