Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday that the fact that the magisterial inquiry into Jean Paul Sofia’s death is now concluded means that the public inquiry into the same case will not cause any interference.

Abela said that the next step is now seeing what will happen in court in the coming hours and days after five people were arrested in connection to the case.

Developers Kurt Buhagiar and Matthew Schembri, architect Adriana Zammit and contractor Miromir Milosovic and an individual believed to be the latter’s relative were those reportedly arrested – although police are yet to formally give the names of those in custody.

During an interview on the Labour party’s radio station, Abela said that the whole scope of a magisterial inquiry is “to gather evidence without disturbance,” adding that the end result of any court case is dependent on the amount of evidence it managed to accumulate.

Abela also said that the PN used this case specifically for political reasons, taking advantage of people’s “emotions when they realised that the Government took a tough stance.”

He said that now that the magisterial inquiry has ended, any other administrative inquiry can take place without hindering justice from being served. Abela said that any administrative inquiry taking place following the magisterial inquiry can address the issues which a magisterial inquiry could not conclude.

Abela and the rest of the government bench had initially blocked a public inquiry on Sofia’s death from taking place through a parliamentary vote, but five days later – an hour before thousands were to attend a vigil in Sofia’s honour – he announced a u-turn and the appointment of a public inquiry.

He cited what he called another request for an extension from inquiring magistrate Marseann Farrugia as the reason for this.  Farrugia however concluded her inquiry on Friday – the same week as Abela’s u-turn – leading to the arrests taking place on that same evening.

Jumping to the construction sector, Abela said that its needed reform does not stop with its regulation, as the success of the reform is also dependent on enforcement.

"The construction sector will continue to increase its standards. In recent years we set up the Building and Construction Authority. We created a tool that did not exist. Now we have to reinforce it so that every citizen feels that the work being done is done with respect to them.”

He continued by saying that by forming the BCA, although not giving a guarantee of total elimination of future accidents, the government is helping to prevent accidents.

In this regard, Abela also said that a culture of responsibility should also be endorsed more. When applying this theme to the construction sector, the Prime Minister said that respect would result in better relationships between contractors and parties living near the construction site.

Abela also spoke about the traffic management on the islands. He said that the government is working to reinforce transport by sea, which complements measures such as free public transport.

On the recurring power cuts in the country, the Prime Minister said that “Malta has enough supply.”

He said that in the last few days, despite reaching a record demand of 628MW, Malta’s 800MW’s cabling system was prepared for it. However, he said that the country needs to strongly invest in alternative renewable energy sources such as wind and energy.

On the reported power cuts over the last few days, Abela said that these were caused by the penetrating heat in the tarmac, which was going down and reaching the cables, which for starters were already hot from the energy that was passing through. He said that similar problems are being faced by other foreign countries such as the UK and Italy.

Fixing the problem is the main priority of the government right now, Abela said before adding that following this, the government will start working on compensation for those affected.

Apart from the already in place system for the reimbursement of fixed assets by Enemalta, the Prime minister gave his word that the government will be compensating the nation for the throwing away of perishables following power cuts.

Jumping to parliament, Abela said that before its closing for the summer, discussions had started for legal amendments to create exclusive economic zones.

An example is what was done with ST Micro Electronics where Malta managed to enter in a project of European interest to bring quality investment to the microchips sector.

"Above all, we want to do what we haven't done so far”, he said adding that the government wants to bring to life new ideas and projects; “This is our vision: To direct investments, both public and even of the private sector, towards these areas.”

He said that such areas are renewable and will help in the transition towards a greener economy.

Abela did not address the two political surveys published on Sunday, one of which showed that he had continued to lose political support from voters and another of which showed that the Nationalist Party was, for the first time in 15 years, polling ahead of the Labour Party.