Prime Minister Robert Abela said that there is no doubt that the house collapse in Hamrun was related to the neighbouring works.
Miriam Pace died on Monday after the residence she lived in collapsed as excavation work was being carried out in an adjacent plot in Hamrun.
Addressing a press conference this afternoon, Abela said one needs to see why and how the accident occurred and what could have been done to prevent it. “For some reason the accident occurred… the house did not collapse on its own. It had been standing for years and it was no coincidence that it collapsed during a process of excavation or digging or stone cutting.”
He said one needs to establish what process was taking place exactly, but there was a process. The consequence of the house collapsing is related and there is no doubt about that.”
During the conference, Abela announced the creation of a committee that will take stock of the construction industry and make recommendations to help create a stronger regulatory framework.
The role of the four-man committee will overview the situation related to the construction industry, its techniques and development methods, especially with regards to the safety of persons in the properties adjacent to construction sites. The committee will take stock and will send direct recommendations to Prime Minister Robert Abela, to create a regulatory framework that will ensure that what happened will not happen again.
The committee is composed of Judge Lawrence Quintano, Dr Adrian Mifsud – a lecturer at the University of Malta specialising in structural engineering who is also a geotechnical engineer, Perit Mario Cassar and lawyer Mark Simiana.
Asked by this newsroom whether there is a deadline for the committee to hand in its recommendations, Abela said that there he had not set a precise date by which the committee had to submit its recommendations, but appealed for urgency and for the work to be done quickly so that the recommendations can be studied and then implemented accordingly.
Abela also skirted around questions as to whether Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg – who was responsible for the last construction reform in July – should shoulder some form of political responsibility in light of the incident. He said that this is not a time for partisanism, but for seriousness, noting that the committee and the amendments it will propose will set in stone a good framework for future works to be based on.
He said that he could not promise that there would be no more incidents, as this is an impossible promise to make, but noted that the government wanted to give the best guarantee possible that this does not happen again. He said that the recommendations proposed should give that peace of mind, and should contribute to a change in mentality in the construction sector.
Abela repeated his statement from Wednesday morning, saying that there would not be a moratorium on construction, but noting also that he appealed to authorities for them to carry out more inspections and for contractors and developers to follow proper practice, adding that if abuses are not done, then the situation can improve.
Answering a question precisely about enforcement, or the lack thereof, Abela said that if the committee finds that the regulatory authority does not have enough people or resources to enforce the industry, then that without a doubt has to be addressed.
A vigil held on Tuesday night also saw Janet Walker and Caroline Micallef – victims of past collapses in Guardamangia – lament that they had received no form of justice thus far – with Micallef in particular saying that while her house was still in pieces, the site next door – which her house had fallen into – was almost completely built up.
Asked by this newsroom whether he would be stepping in to ensure that these victims do receive some form of justice soon, Abela said that while it is not the Prime Minister’s job to make up for the shortcomings of a private contractor he felt that he could not abdicate and leave these families going from one residence to another. He said that he felt that he had to intervene immediately as a mediator so that they can arrive at a solution.
“It’s not acceptable to have a development next to you, end up with your residence broken and collapsed, and months later they do not have a solution”, Abela said.