‘Abela Lacked Strength To Make The Responsible Ministers Resign,’ Grech Says On Sofia Inquiry Vote
Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has called out the government for voting to amend a no-confidence motion and removing references to political responsibility.
“The government voted against parliament adopting the report of the Inquiry into the death of Jean Paul,” Opposition Leader Bernard Grech wrote on social media.
The original no-confidence motion was tabled by Grech and the party whip Robert Cutajar, and it called for the resignation of three ministers who were or are responsible for the entities singled out by the inquiry into the construction site which caused the death of Jean Paul.
The ministers are: Silvio Schembri, Miriam Dalli, and Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi.
It further urged for the recommendations of the inquiry to be implemented within six months, alongside monthly progress reports to ensure that this is happening effectively.
However, in a parliamentary debate yesterday, labour whip Naomi Cachia moved an amendment that got rid of all of these conditions and this passed due to the sheer strength of the government’s vote.
“The government again voted against a motion related to the tragic death of Jean Paul. The Nationalist Party will continue to insist that those who played a part in the tragedy of Jean Paul take political responsibility,” Grech wrote on social media following the vote.
“Robert Abela is powerless. Without political will. He did not have the strength to make the responsible ministers resign. The government is responsible. The government’s duty is to ensure that people’s lives are protected, not to be the cause of their deaths.”
Lovin Malta reached out to Labour Party CEO Randolph De Battista who voted in favour of this amendment and has previously admitted to feeling “ashamed” for initially voting against a public inquiry into Jean Paul’s tragic death.
In response to arguments stating that the amended motion removed a specific timeline for the implementation of the recommendations and absolved the related ministers from political responsibility, De Battista said:
“What we have seen so far is determination to implement the recommendations in a timely manner. Is it too early to say that lessons have been learned? Maybe, but I can already see a shift which is promising.”
“My role as an MP now is to put pressure to see that the recommendations are implemented in a timely manner and with as much consultation as possible.”
“As for political responsibility, that will have to be shouldered if the recommendations are not implemented. I won’t go into the partisan arguments made yesterday by a Party that speaks about good governance but at the same time conceals its sources of funds.”
The updated motion, voted for by Labour’s 41 MPs, now calls for the government to implement the inquiry’s reforms in the “shortest time possible”. It also obliges the state to debate the implementation of the inquiry within a year of its publication.
It further includes an apology to Jean Paul’s family, refers to other accidents and deaths in the workplace, urges the state to keep the family and the public informed in the spirit of transparency and “expressed regret at the way the construction sector has been left to operate in the past 50 years as stated by the inquiry report”, De Battista said, attributing his positive vote to these provisions.
The Nationalist Party pushed forward by presenting counter-amendments to restore the motion to its original state, but these were also defeated.
The site was found to be in a regulatory grey area, so, the public inquiry concluded that the state must bear responsibility for the regulatory shortcomings that led to this.
Dalli and Schembri were responsible for the state agencies INDIS and Malta Enterprise which were found to have committed serious shortcomings in approving the project in 2019 and allocating the public site.
Meanwhile, at the time of the incident, Zrinzo Azzopardi was responsible for planning and the construction sector.
Do you agree with Labour’s amendments?
READ NEXT: Watch: PN MP’s Shocking Claim - 'Mater Dei Patient Made To Defecate On The Floor’
