Five Days From Collapse, Doorstepping Forces Abela’s First Comment
It took five days and a doorstep question from a journalist outside Parliament for Prime Minister Robert Abela to comment on the Paceville building collapse – a near-tragedy that could have claimed dozens of lives.
On Wednesday 11th June, the Tania Flats in Paceville crumbled just hours after 32 student residents were urgently evacuated. Their escape was thanks to the persistence of an architect, Perit Chris Mintoff, who had spent two days sounding the alarm to the authorities.
“These types of structures fail slowly, then suddenly,” Mintoff wrote in a police report filed on Monday 9th June.
His warnings likely saved lives. But this collapse was more than just a freak structural failure – it triggered a national emergency. The Civil Protection Department, Malta Police, the Building and Construction Authority, and the Occupational Health and Safety Authority all mobilised. Adjacent buildings were declared unsafe and had to be demolished. Another 40 people were forced to evacuate.
This was a serious national incident demanding coordinated leadership and swift public reassurance because while 32 people did not die, they very easily could have.
Instead, silence. Abela had ample time to speak up and should have during the usual political rally held last Sunday.
Abela finally broke his silence this morning – but only after being confronted by a journalist. In his comment, he said that conclusions shouldn’t be drawn too early, promised that those responsible would be held accountable, and insisted that recent reforms to the construction sector were working well – even crediting them for the fact no one died.
But there was no mention of the fact that the evacuation only happened after two full days of pressure from a concerned professional. No recognition of the delay in action. No visit to the site. No real reassurance to the public. No acknowledgment of just how close Malta came to mourning another preventable loss.
Some may argue that the Prime Minister isn’t obliged to comment on every incident. But this wasn’t just “any incident” – 32 lives were at risk. A strong gust of wind, vibrations from nearby construction, or even a passerby walking past at the wrong moment could have turned this into a national tragedy. This was serious. It demanded an immediate response from the country’s highest office – and it didn’t come.
His delayed response raises serious questions: Where was Robert Abela? Why did it take five days and a journalist’s intervention to prompt a reaction? And what kind of message does this send to the people who were nearly buried under the weight of Malta’s reckless construction culture?
If the collapse had happened just one day earlier, Malta could be counting bodies. Do we really need a death toll before leadership steps up?
People are tired.
Tired of being told that “lessons will be learned.”
Tired of accountability being delayed or dodged.
Tired of developers acting with impunity while institutions only react once disaster strikes – or nearly does.
And let’s not forget – people in Malta have already died due to construction negligence. Each time, we are promised change.
But last Wednesday’s collapse made one thing clear: the cries of grieving families have fallen on deaf ears.
This wasn’t a lucky escape – it was a disaster narrowly avoided because professionals refused to stay silent. But what about the leaders elected to protect us?
Silence isn’t leadership. Malta deserves better.
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