We are grateful to the BCA, OHSA and architects for having done their work and for having averted a tragedy of gigantic proportions yesterday in Paceville, which could have involved 32 lives.
However, it was thanks to a person living there that no one died. We must recognise that if that resident had not taken the initiative to contact the authorities, people would have died. This should never have been allowed in the first place. The right to safety and to enjoy one’s residence is guaranteed by the constitution.
This incident highlights a glaring hypocrisy. While politically useful reforms, such as the changes to Magisterial Inquiries, are actioned within weeks of a political statement, the crucial construction reforms are dead slow. We have been promised many reforms, yet very little changes on the ground, leaving residents to bear the risk.
Momentum Chairperson Arnold Cassola asked “How long are these cowboy contractors going to be allowed to do whatever they want? Portelli’s Excel Developments are involved in these works. The arrogance of such developers is rampant all over Malta and Gozo.”
“Cowboy developers like these are a big threat to society. The fact that they sponsor the major political parties should not be a guarantee for impunity. Life is precious. Our childhood memories are precious. We cannot have all these erased in a second by the arrogance of such developers. Justice must prevail.”
Momentum expects that, in such cases, immediate legal action is taken irrespective of who the contractor is. We need political leaders who have the political courage to make this happen and not to close an eye because a developer organises fundraisers for the Prime Minister.Arnold Cassola,
Chairperson, Momentum
