While we are still potentially a couple of months away from the publication of the full report from the public inquiry which looked into Jean Paul Sofia’s tragic death, with the testimony of witnesses now concluded we can already discern that there are a number of lessons which must be learnt.

The testimonies from the various witnesses who came before the board indicate a number of things, but also point to one major theme: that the construction industry was so loosely regulated that the stakeholders within it felt the need to regulate themselves.

It should be obvious to everyone that an industry of such scale, and which carries with it such a high risk of danger, can never be allowed to come to a point where it is regulating itself.  This is not a principle which has only been realised now, mind you: some of the main stakeholders such as the Chamber of SMEs – which represents most small contractors – and even the oft criticised Malta Developers Association have long been advocating for more regulation within the sector.

That has now started to come through the enactment of a legal notice which introduces the concept of the licensing of construction contractors who work in demolition, excavation, and construction.  This is no doubt a step forward, even if the cut-off date for the industry to be regulated is at the start of 2025.

But there needs to be more work when it comes to things such as skills cards for the workers within the industry: the inquiry heard and observed itself that, despite the fact that the skills card was launched in 2016, the percentage of workers with this card is exceedingly low.

Retired Judge Joseph Zammit McKeon, who chaired the board said that the skills card situation is “dramatic” today, court expert and board member Mario Cassar said that there are around 2,200 people with skills cards on the register and pointed out that when skimming the list it doesn’t look like more than 3% of those people are foreign, even though Third Country Nationals make up 25 to 30% of the industry.

Also worrying – and contributing to this lack of regulation – was testimony that a set of new building codes had been left on the shelf by the Building & Construction Authority for some four years because the government seemingly felt that it did not want to burden the industry with more regulation.

Then there is the point on in whose hands enforcement and regulation of the industry is.  Throughout the inquiry, those following heard from chairpersons and CEOs of more abbreviations than you can shake a stick at.

The inquiry heard from the BCA, the OHSA, the PA, the BICC, INDIS Malta, and the Lands Authority and – somehow – none of these authorities were responsible for enforcing sites like that where Sofia died.

The proposal of Chamber of Architects President Andre Pizzuto to have one super-authority regulating every element of the construction industry certainly holds water in terms of having a central point of reference and even in making operating within the industry more practical and less bureaucratic.

One must now wait to see what conclusions the public inquiry’s board draw up based on the testimonies and their own analysis – but more so one must wait to see what action will be taken by the government on the recommendations which are put to it.

The stakes are high because, put simply, if the lessons aren’t learnt, then more lives will be at risk.