New construction regulations 'pointless' unless enforced, ADPD says

New construction regulations are pointless unless authorities effectively they are implemented and enforced, the Green Party said on Saturday.

"No permit for construction work should be issued before it is ascertained that the safety regulations are complied with. Site managers must receive adequate training and unannounced inspections must be carried out and on which action is taken promptly. Fines must be made tougher for contractors who carelessly do not protect the safety of their workers,” ADPD leader Sandra Gauci said.

Addressing a news conference outside the Office of the Prime Minister in Valletta ADPD leader Sandra Gauci said authorities needed to be proactive if further construction site tragedies are to be avoided.

“We can no longer shed crocodile tears after a tragedy occurs that is soon forgotten, as if nothing had happened." she said.

She recalled how Abela won’t launch a public inquiry into the construction site death of Jean Paul Sofia, a 20-year-old who was buried alive when a partially constructed building at Corradino collapsed last December.

ADPD spokesperson Mark Zerafa argued that without proper enforcement, new construction regulations “are not worth the paper they are printed on.”

He then insisted that the construction industry must stop exploiting the vulnerable, noting that of the eight construction site fatalities registered in 2022, four were third-country nationals.