Watch: Laissez-Faire Mentality Needs To End, Says Grech As Sofia Public Inquiry Nears Publication
As the government prepares to publish the findings of a long-awaited public inquiry into Jean Paul Sofia’s tragic death at a construction site, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has paved out what he believes is the way forward.
“We want the government to shoulder responsibility,” Grech told Lovin Malta. “The findings of the inquiry are clear. An authority (Lands) didn’t even know it was responsible to check what was going on at a site and didn’t even know development was going on, even though it was a government site.”
“This truly means the country’s institutions aren’t working well.”
Grech accused the government of adopting a “laissez-faire” mentality across the board, convincing people to believe they can do whatever they please.
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“Over the past decade, the government has given the impression that there is a vast climate of impunity which means everyone feels they can do as they please.”
“This type of impunity and climate must change from the top-down and not from the bottom-up.”
The PN leader warned that any new construction rules that are introduced as a result of this should tackle failures at the top of the government, and not burden regular people.
He compared the situation to new banking compliance rules that were introduced after Malta’s infamous FATF grey listing, “which made it harder for people to buy property, cash a cheque, loan money or withdraw their deposits”.
Parliament is set to discuss the findings of the public inquiry and Grech urged the government not to try and rush the debate.
“It should be wide discussion, spread over multiple days if needs be, so that we can seriously implement the inquiry’s findings.”
What do you think should change in the wake of the public inquiry?
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