Sofia public inquiry: PN insists that political responsibility be carried
On Thursday, the Nationalist Party demanded that following the publication of the public inquiry report on the death of Jean Paul Sofia, political responsibility ought to be shouldered, “not just by pinpointed persons by a given deadline by the Prime Minister, but also by Government and Ministers who themselves had no idea what was going on at the site of this preventable tragedy.”
The Opposition party said that the public inquiry found the State and the government guilty, and that it also insisted on radical change in health and safety “after different Ministries ignored this sector.” Hence, the PN are insisting that political responsibility be shouldered.
Jerome Caruana Cilia, Stanley Zammit, and Janice Chetcuti all spoke on behalf of the Nationalist Party during this press conference on the site where the accident took place in December 2022. Sofia, 20, died when a building which was under construction collapsed. A public inquiry found that the State was responsible for the accident.
Caruana Cilia said that despite Isabelle Bonnici’s pleas to have a public inquiry opened in order to reveal the full truth behind this tragedy and to ensure that such a thing does not happen again, her and her husband’s continuous appeals “were all ignored” at first.
The PN MPs reiterated how the government had initially voted against having a public inquiry, before making a U-turn on this decision just a few days later. Caruana Cilia described how the Prime Minister had initially said he did not want a public inquiry because he did not believe it was needed. He then added that PM Abela had labelled the Nationalists populists for calling for a public inquiry, as Isabelle Bonnici was.
Caruana Cilia went on that “the results now show why they did not want a public inquiry in the first place.” Furthermore, they called for the recommendations from the report to be implemented well and in full.
“Every day, week, month that passes that the recommendations from this report remain on the shelves is time in which we are potentially endangering other lives. We are endangering our youths and other workers,” he said.
Zammit emphasised how the public inquiry had revealed that no entity knew what was going on at the Kordin site 15 months ago, when this tragedy took place. Additionally, the final report also showed “how the government failed and is failing to safeguard people’s lives.”
“It has shown the deficiencies of present systems that are poor from beginning to end,” Zammit stated. He also addressed the “scattered systems that have been created in the last 11 years” and said that “The inquiry addressed the government’s stubbornness and that of everyone else that does not want to listen.”
Zammit also insisted that the method statement for the implementation of the report’s recommendations should also include “the timeline of the project, featuring clear references of standards to uphold the quality of the project.”
Janice Chetcuti said that through the usage of the terms “total detachment” and “should descend from their ivory tower,” the report highlights the “total negligence and rampant abuse that resulted in the death of this young man.”
She continued that through the loss of a single life through these circumstances, in spite of any successes that have come, she sees nothing but failure from the State.
After reiterating that it is time for political responsibility to be carried by those responsible, Chetcuti concluded the press conference by thanking the Sofia parents, and particularly Isabelle Bonnici, for their work, courage, and determination to push for this public inquiry.
“Thank you as a mother, that through what you believed in, today, myself and other parents can live more at ease whenever our children go to the workplace,” she said.