Prime Minister Robert Abela said that "contractors need to take responsibility" while the government will continue to do what is needed, in reaction to the Kordin building collapse which resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man, Jean Paul Sofia.

A building in Kordin Industrial Estate collapsed on Saturday morning which left five workers injured, of which three went to ITU and two others suffered grievous injuries. One man was unaccounted for at the time. Then, on Sunday at 1.30 am the body of Sofia was retrieved from the collapsed building.

Abela said that after this tragedy took place "we need to let the investigations take their course."

A magisterial inquiry led by Marseanne Farrugia, on a fact-finding mission to understand what caused the building to collapse, is ongoing. Abela said that it is up to the magistrate to declare who is at fault.

When asked by media about the formal licensing scheme for developers that never materialised, Abela responded by saying that the government has conducted many reforms in this sector and it plans on conducting more reforms which are being worked on by Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi.

When replying to questions, he also said that a distinction needs to be made between this case and the case of Miriam Pace, who died in Santa Venera in 2020 after her house collapsed whilst there were nearby excavations.

"The country cannot tolerate a situation where anyone can decide to buy equipment, and from one day to the next become a contractor," Abela said. He clarified that he was not necessarily referring to the building collapse in Kordin, as the magistrate still needs to determine what happened.

Moving forward, he said that there needs more emphasis on the reforms that they have passed and more focus on enforcement.