‘Their Blood Is On Your Hands’: Moviment Graffiti Calls Out Lack Of Enforcement In Wake Of Magisterial Inquiry
After the publication of the long-awaited magisterial inquiry regarding the fatal incident that took the life of young Jean Paul Sofia, pressure group Moviment Graffiti slammed authorities for their lack of enforcement leading to the collapse.
In a post entitled Is-Saltna Tar-Regħba, or The Kingdom of Greed, Graffiti lamented the issues highlighted by the magistrate had already been identified previously, including in the case of Miriam Pace in 2019, and the tragedy could have been averted if the government was not beholden to the construction lobby.
“The expert reports submitted by the court clearly state that this tragedy is rooted in the total lack of regulation,” said the NGO.
They went on to identify what they see as the main issues pinpointed by the report.
- Contractors and developers who do not need any license to operate and, consequently, lack the basic skills required for construction work.
- Total failure to enforce regulations at construction sites where numerous laws, including those on workers’ health and safety, were blatantly violated.
- An enormous building constructed under a simple ‘Development Notification Order’ (DNO) without going through the proper planning process.
- Contractors, developers, and architects making critical decisions based on images shared via WhatsApp chats.
“It’s infuriating that these shortcomings have been identified for years, including after the killing of Miriam Pace in 2019, and almost nothing has changed.”
“And why has nothing changed? Because the developers’ lobby exerted strong pressure on the government to avoid necessary regulation. And, of course, the government sided with developers instead of looking out for workers and the people.”
“An obvious example of this is seen in the case of contractor licenses. The magisterial inquiry clearly shows that if there were proper licenses for contractors, the killing of Jean Paul Sofia could have been avoided.”
“However, despite years of talking about serious licensing, recently, a law was rushed through, which does not establish any clear criteria, independence, or transparency in the granting and revoking of licenses.”
“Like Jean Paul Sofia, many other workers have lost their lives in the construction sector. They were not merely victims of “accidents” but victims of a deeply flawed and politically-backed system perpetuated by politicians and developers.”
“Their blood is on your hands.”
Moviment Graffiti has always been critical of the hold the construction lobby seems to have on the government, whoever is in power.
What do you make of these revelations?
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