Last Saturday, Moviment Graffitti held an activity on the doorstep of the Planning Ministry, during which it commemorated workers who died on construction sites and others who lost their life when the buildings they were in collapsed – most notably, the group mentioned Miriam Pace who died in 2020 when her house, situated adjacent to a construction site, collapsed, and Jean Paul Sofia, who died when a building under construction also caved in last December in Kordin.

One important call that was made during the activity was the need for contractors to be licensed. So far, they needn’t be. But they should be. Last December, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that we cannot tolerate a situation where anyone can decide to buy equipment and become a contractor overnight.

He is right.

We know that the government is working on it. We know that the government has plans to regularise the sector. We know that discussions are taking place with all the stakeholders involved so as to prepare legislation which attempts to put everything in order.

What we need now is a final push for this matter to be seen to. We hope it will be in the shortest time possible, and Moviment Graffitti did the right thing in bringing the matter up, once again.

The construction industry is an important pillar of our economy, but too often it is in the news for the wrong reasons.

It happens when tragedy occurs, with families losing their loved ones and others who are permanently disabled because of an accident.

It happens when some new project is planned, as developers aim to go higher, wider and deeper, which means that more of our countryside is being eaten up, more eyesores are created and more pressure is made on the infrastructure.

It happens when the noise of jackhammers becomes unbearable, when dust fills the air and enters our throats, when roads are blocked for bricks to be unloaded and for a million other inconveniences that are created when some sort of building project is taking place.

It is a well-known fact that the construction industry has boomed in the last decade, and many have made their hay. But the country’s legislation and rules have failed to keep up with the industry’s growth. Some interventions were made here and there – and after accidents took place – but it is certainly not enough.

The licensing of contractors would be one big step forward in this regard. It should have been done ages ago, but it is useless crying over the lost time. It should however be close to the top in the list of priorities that the government has on its agenda.

“We need intelligent laws, harsh penalties for those who do not respect the rules, effective inspections during various stages of construction and better security standards,” a relative of Jean Paul Sofia said at last Saturday’s activity.

We would like this to materialise too.