Ftit ħsibijiet wara t-traġedja f’Ġenova

Wara l-kollass tal-pont f’Ġenova hemm numru ta’ lezzjonijiet, anke għalina, mijiet ta’ kilometri ‘l bogħod mill-pont Morandi.

Minkejja li l-investigazzjonijiet uffiċjali dwar l-għaliex seħħ dan il-kollass tal-pont għadhom bil-kemm bdew, il-media Taljana diġá qed tiddiskuti dak li ġara fid-dettall. Il-pontijiet kollha fl-Italja qegħdin taħt il-lenti, b’mod partikolari dawk li hu magħruf li m’humiex f’kundizzjoni tajba u li allura jistgħu, f’qasir żmien jikkollassaw huma ukoll. Dan jassumi sinifikat ikbar meta wieħed iqis li f’dawn l-aħħar ħames snin, fl-Italja, diġa ikkollassaw seba’ pontijiet oħra, u qiesu ma ġara xejn!

Bla dubju, fost il-lezzjonijiet ewlenin, jeħtieġ nifhmu l-ħtieġa li nieħdu ħsieb u nikkuraw b’mod adegwat il-proġetti pubbliċi. Għax anke f’Malta, wara li l-proġetti pubbliċi jkunu saru, ħafna drabi ftit nagħtu kas tagħhom. Ħarsa ftit lejn il-flyover li tifforma parti mill-bypass tal-Marsa/Ħal-Qormi kif inhi illum, tkun biżżejjed, avolja kif ħabbret Infrastruttura Malta nhar il-Ġimgħa ma hemm l-ebda ħsara strutturali. Huwa biss issa li tħabbar li ser jibda programm ta’ manutenzjoni, issa li n-nies, wara l-istraġi ta’ Ġenova, bdiet tistaqsi l-mistoqsijiet. Forsi, min jaf, mil-lum il-quddiem jibda jkollna skeda regolari ta’ manutenzjoni tal-proġetti pubbliċi kollha. Forsi xi darba l-mini ta’ Santa Venera ma jibqgħux iqattru.

Hemm ukoll x’jingħad dwar il-governanza tajba fil-proġetti pubbliċi.

Deċiżjoni riċenti tal-bord li jirrevedi l-kuntratti pubblici (Public Contracts Review Board) hi ta’ tħassib kbir. L-għoti tal-kuntratt għall-bini u t-tkomplija taċ-Ċentru tas-Saħħa f’Raħal Ġdid ġie mwaqqaf wara li Public Contracts Review Board esprima dubji serji fuq kif tmexxew il-proċeduri tal-evalwazzjoni tal-offerti. Fil-fatt ġie identifikat li żewġ professjonisti (inġinier u Perit) kienu konsulenti kemm tal-Fondazzjoni tas-Servizzi Mediċi tal-Ministeru tas-Saħħa kif ukoll ta’ tnejn minn dawk li tefgħu l-offerti. Fil-fehma tiegħi huwa diffiċli ferm biex nifhem kif ħadd mill-Fondazzjoni għas-Servizzi Mediċi ma nduna b’dan il-konflitt ta’ interess. Kont nistenna xi ħaġa aħjar mill-Fondazzjoni, għax jidher li ftit li xejn qed jagħtu importanza lill-ħtieġa ta’ governanza tajba fil-ħidma tal-fondazzjoni.

Issa li l-Public Contracts Review Board ħa deċiżjoni nistenna li l-korpi professjonali li jirregolaw l-inginiera u l-periti jeżaminaw sewwa l-kaz biex jaraw x’passi għandhom jieħdu f’dak li hu ksur ta’ etika professjonali bażika.

Il-kontroll adegwat tal-materjali li jintużaw fuq is-sit ta’ kostruzzjoni hi materja oħra ta’ importanza fundamentali. Din mill-ewwel tfakkarni fl-investigazzjoni li saret dwar il-kwalitá tal-konkos użat fl-isptar Mater Dei. Anke hawn kienet responsabbli l-Fondazzjoni għas-Servizzi Mediċi. Dwar dan ma kienx hemm biss l-inkjesta li saret taħt it-tmexxija tal-Imħallef irtirat Philip Sciberras imma ukoll rapport tal-Awditur Ġenerali fuq talba tal-Ministru tal-Finanzi. Dan ir-rapport kien konkluż u ippubblikat f’Mejju li għadda.

Niftakru li l-Awditur Ġenerali fir-rapport tiegħu kien emfasizza li rriżultalu li kien hemm nuqqas kbir ta’ dokumentazzjoni dwar kull stadju tal-proġett (significant lack of documentation with respect to all stages of the project). Dan wassal lill-istess Awditur Ġenerali biex jikkonkludi li “l-inkapaċita tal-Fondazzjoni li tipprovdi l-informazzjoni bażika dwar proġett ta’ dan il-kobor ifisser falliment istituzzjonali u negliġenza grassa fl-amministrazzjoni ta’ fondi pubbliċi” (the Foundation’s inability to provide basic information relating to a project of this magnitude represents an institutional failure and gross negligence in the administration of public funds).

Min-naħa l-oħra, anke l-inkjesta immexxija mill-Imħallef irtirat Philip Sciberras identifikat nuqqasijiet kbar li dwarhom irrakkomandat li jittieħdu passi.

In partikolari qed nara quddiemi l-konklużjoni numru 5 tar-rapport Sciberras li tgħid li “in-nuqqasijiet gravi li nkixfu bir-rapporti tekniċi tal-lum jindikaw li l-konkos dgħajjef li nstab f’kull parti tas-sit hu riżultat intenzjonat ta’ azzjonijiet bi skop ta’ frodi. Il-Bord ifforma l-impressjoni ċara li l-ġrajjet li wasslu għal dan ma kienux riżultat ta’ koinċidenza, lanqas ma kienu providenzjali, imma warajhom kien hemm id moħbija li tagħti direzzjoni.” (the widespread failings uncovered by the present day technical reports indicate that the pervasive weak concrete found in the site is a result of intended fraudulent actions. Moreover the Board is left with a distinct impression that events as they transpired were not the fruit of coincidence or providence but seem to indicate an element of concertation and direction.)

Ma tantx jidher li sar wisq dwar dawn ir-rakkomandazzjonijiet. X’qed nistennew? Li jaqa’ x’imkien?

Hemm tagħlim waħda bażika minn Ġenova: in-nuqqas ta’ governanza tajba tista’ twassal ukoll għall-imwiet.

Ippubblikat f’Illum : 19 t’Awwissu 2018

Lessons from the Genova bridge collapse

The collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genova should lead to a number of lessons which have an application hundreds of kilometres away from Genova.

Notwithstanding the fact that the official investigations into the bridge collapse have barely commenced, the media in Italy is discussing the possible causes of the collapse and whether there are any other bridges on the Italian mainland that may shortly have a similar fate. The fact that there have been some seven other bridge collapses in Italy during the past five years adds more fuel to this debate.

Among the many lessons to be learnt is the need to ensure adequate maintenance of public structures at all times. How does Malta score? Not very well, I would say. Have a look at the bridge forming part of the Marsa/Qormi flyover. It does not send out a good message even if, as stated by Infrastructure Malta on Friday, the flyover is structurally safe. The authorities in Malta have only announced the commencement of a maintenance programme for this bridge when questions began being asked as a result of the Genova tragedy.

Hopefully we will henceforth have regular maintenance schedules of all public structures and,  maybe, someday the dripping Santa Venera tunnels will be seen to permanently!

What about good governance in tenders for public projects? A recent decision by the Public Contracts Review Board is cause for concern. The award of the contract for the building and finishing of a health centre in Paola was halted by this Board after serious doubts regarding the evaluation procedure were raised. In fact, two professionals (an engineer and an architect) were identified as being simultaneously advisors of the Health Ministry’s Foundation for Medical Services as well as two of the three tenderers. It is, in my opinion, very difficult to understand how nobody at the Foundation for Medical Services was aware of this glaring conflict of interest. Good governance is apparently not the Foundation’s strong point.

Now that the Public Contracts Review Board has decided the case, I would expect that the professional bodies regulating the professionals involved take appropriate action on what is clearly a very serious breach of professional ethics.

Adequate quality control of materials used on site is another fundamental issue. The investigations regarding the quality of concrete used in the construction of the Mater Dei Hospital project comes to mind. The Foundation for Medical Services was also responsible for this project.

This issue has been dealt with not only by an inquiry led by retired judge Philip Sciberras but also by a report drawn up by the Auditor General at the request of the Finance Minister, which was concluded and published last May.

We may remember that, in the Auditor General’s report, it was emphasised that he found a “significant lack of documentation with respect to all stages of the project”. This led the Auditor General to conclude that “the Foundation’s inability to provide basic information relating to a project of this magnitude represents an institutional failure and gross negligence in the administration of public funds”.

On the other hand, the inquiry led by retired judge Philip Sciberras also identified various deficiencies in respect of which it recommended that action be taken.

I point in particular to conclusion No. 5 of the Sciberras report which states that : “the widespread failings uncovered by the present day technical reports indicates that the pervasive weak concrete found in the site is a result of intended fraudulent actions. Moreover, the Board is left with a distinct impression that events as they transpired were not the fruit of coincidence or providence but seem to indicate an element of concertation and direction.”

Apparently, not much has been done to date regarding the  implementation of the recommendations of these reports. Shall we wait for our own bridge collapse before action?

There is one basic lesson to be learnt from the Genova tragedy: a lack of good governance is a potential killer.

Published in The Malta Independent on Sunday : 19 August 2018

Ftit ħsibijiet wara l-istraġi ta’ Genova

Wara l-istraġi ta’ Genova bla dubju it-Taljani ser jippruvaw jitgħallmu l-lezzjonijiet li s’issa ma rnexxielhomx jitgħallmu, sforz amminstrazzjoni ġeneralment inkompetenti u korruzzjoni fl-għoti tal-kuntratti.

L-investigazzjoni dwar x’wassal għall-kollass tal-pont għadha fil-bidu. Il-pont ilu hemm iktar minn 50 sena u bla dubju kemm saret (jew kemm ma saritx) maintenance adegwata tul is-snin ser tkun materja fundamentali fl-investigazzjoni. Anke l-fatt li l-pont kien ilu daqstant snin, hu fattur, għax probabbilment messhom ilhom li ittieħdu passi biex il-pont jinbidel għax il-konkos tiegħu bla dubju għejja u per konsegwenza ddgħajjef wara dan is-snin kollu fl-użu.

F’dan il-kuntest ikun tajjeb li flok il-konkos ta’ Genova niftakru ftit fil-konkos ta’ Mater Dei. Dwar dan hemm mhux biss ir-rapport tal-awditur ġenerali, ppubblikat f’Mejju li għadda, imma ukoll ir-rapport tal-inkjesta immexxija mill-Imħallef irtirat Philip Sciberras.

Ikun tajjeb li niftakru li fir-rapport tal-Awditur Ġenerali kien ġie emfasizzat li kien hemm nuqqas ta’ dokumentazzjoni li hi tant essenzjali biex tingħata l-assigurazzjoni li proġett ta’ dan il-kobor sar sewwa.

Min-naħa l-oħra r-rapport tal-inkjesta immexxija minn Philip Sciberras kien identifika diversi nuqqasijiet li dwarhom irrakkomanda li jittieħdu passi.

Wara l-istraġi ta’ Genova għandna kull dritt nistaqsu: x’passi ittieħdu dwar ir-rapporti fuq il-konkos ta’ Mater Dei? Għax jekk ma jittieħdux il-passi neċessarji, dawn l-affarijiet ser jibqgħu jirrepetu ruħhom.

Pensjoni għall-allat u oħra għall-bqija

 

Darba waħda, Evarist Bartolo kien qalilna li r-Rumani kienu jgħidu li hemm liġi għall-allat u oħra għall-annimali.

Ma kienx hemm għalfejn immorru lura sar Rumani biex insiru nafu dan, għax il-ġrajja ta’ dawn l-aħħar ġranet dwar il-pensjonijiet tpinġi b’mod ċar li anke lil hinn mir-Repubblika ta’ Ruma, ftit l-isfel, fir-Repubblika ta’ Malta għandna pensjonijiet għall-allat, pensjonijiet bla limitu, kif ukoll pensjonijiet għall-annimali, għall-bqija.

L-istorja tas-Sunday Times tal-bieraħ hi gravi, imma fiha żball.

L-ewwel nikkoreġi l-iżball.

Philip Sciberras kien Membru Parlamentari f’żewġ leġislaturi. Tela’ l-ewwel darba f’byelection fl-1979 meta kien irreżenja l-Ministru Ġuże Abela, dakinnhar Ministru tal-Finanzi. Reġa’ tela’ fl-elezzjoni ta’ Diċembru 1981. Total li jaqbez il-minimu ta 65 xahar servizz.

Alternattiva Demokratika hi preokkupata bl-allegazzjoni gravi ħafna li qed tagħmel is-Sunday Times dwar indħil lit-Teżor fl-ipproċessar tal-applikazzjoni għall-pensjoni parlamentari ta’ Philip Sciberras. Jekk dan hu minnu, dan ikompli jżid l-isfiduċja enormi li bħalissa hawn f’dawk li jeżerċitaw il-poter politiku. Min-naħa l-oħra jekk din l-allegazzjoni hi biss qlajja huwa meħtieġ li jkunu ċċarati l-fatti malajr kemm jista’ jkun. Għax mhux sew li jintefa’ l-ħmieġ lejn ħadd.

Qegħdin fl-istat li kull ċaħda li tista’ issir mill-Gvern, ħadd ma hu ser jemmina u dan bħala riżultat tal-iskandli wieħed wara l-ieħor li qed ifaqqsu madwarna u qiesu ma ġara xejn.

F’dawn iċ-ċirkustanzi l-Awditur Ġenerali biss għandu l-kredibilitá u l-awtoritá morali li jitkellem. Għall-kelma tiegħu f’każ bħal dan inbaxxi rasi. Bħalma bla dubju jagħmlu bosta oħrajn.

Għalhekk għada fil-għodu f’isem Alternattiva Demokratika ser nitlob lill-Awditur Ġenerali biex jinvestiga bir-reqqa ċ-ċirkustanzi li fihom ġiet approvata l-pensjoni ta’ Philip Sciberras. Mhux biss jekk kienx intitolat għaliha, imma fuq kollox jekk saritx pressjoni fuq it-Teżor biex din il-pensjoni tingħata.

Il-konkos f’Mater Dei : il-ħmar iwaħħal f’denbu

Qed naqra r-rapport tal-inkjesta immexxija mill-Imħallef Philip Sciberras dwar il-konkos fl-Emerġenza tal-isptar Mater Dei.

Ir-rapport fih bosta informazzjoni, imma fih in-nieqes ukoll. Dak li hu nieqes hu essenzjali biex tgħaqqad l-istampa kollha ta’ x’ġara u dwar min sar jaf xiex u meta. Peró xorta nafu ħafna iktar milli konna nafu, biżżejjed biex uħud mill-affarijiet li konna qed naħsbu li setgħu ġraw, issa nistgħu ngħidu b’ċertezza illi ġraw.

Kif diġà kelli l-opportunità li nikteb f’dawn l-aħħar ġranet, l-istorja kollha hi waħda ta’ falliment ta’ mekkaniżmi ta’ kontroll tal-kwalità tal-konkos. Fi kwalunkwè proġett ta’ dan il-kobor il-kontroll tal-kwalità tal-konkos hi kruċjali u allura ma nistax nifhem kif min mexxa l–proġett ma nvestiex iżjed f’dan il-qasam. Mhux biss fl-apparat, imma investiment ikbar f’persuni ta’ integrità bl-inkarigu li jassiguraw il-kwalità. Dawk li jassiguraw il-kwalità tal-konkos, kif rajna, huma importanti daqs l-awdituri finanzjarji!

Skanska kellha kull dmir u interess li tassigura l-kwalità u dan  bħala l-kuntrattur ewlieni. L-istess  il-Gvern li ukoll kellu kull interess, kemm direttament kif ukoll permezz tal-Fondazzjoni għas-Servizzi Mediċi illi jassigura ruħu mill-kwalità. Il-fatt li naqsu milli jassiguraw li din l-iktar parti kruċjali tal-proġett timxi fuq ir-rubini jfisser li kien hemm nuqqas ta’ serjetà kbira. Dak li qal Vince Cassar, dakinnhar Direttur Ġenerali tax-Xogħolijiet u illum Chairman tal-MEPA, hu riprodott fir-rapport tal-inkjesta, imma waqa’ fuq widnejn li donnhom ma riedux jisimgħu.

Hi stupidità li l-Gvern, prinċipalment permezz tal-Ministru Konrad Mizzi, jgħid li Simon Busuttil għandu xi responsabbiltà politika għal dak li ġara. Fl-opinjoni tiegħi r-responsabbiltà politika trid tinġarr imma mill-politiċi  li tul il-perjodu li dam jinbena l-isptar kienu responsabbli mill-proġett. Għax kull wieħed minnhom ikkontribwixxa, min ftit u min ħafna, min b’dak li seta’ għamel jew iktar b’dak li m’għamilx biex għandna din il-froġa.

Waqt li qed nixtarru dak li nkiteb fir-rapport tal-inkjesta beda ukoll jistema il-kor ikanta “mhux jien”. Għax kull min jissemma fir-rapport qed iħoss il-ħtieġa li jispjega kemm dak li għamel (jew dak li m’għamilx) seta ġie interpretat ħażin.

Matul il-ġimgħat li ġejjin l-istorja tkun iċċarata ħafna iktar milli hi s’issa, avolja ser tibqa’ l-ħtieġa tal-pubblikazzjoni ta’ rapporti oħrajn, li filwaqt li inkitbu, s’issa għadhom ma rawx id-dawl tax-xemx.

Jidher ukoll ċar ħafna li hemm numru ta’ “baqar sagri” li qed isir sforz partikolari biex ikunu protetti. Din storja li ser tibqa’ għaddejja għal xi ġimgħat sakemm il-Pulizija tiddeċiedi jekk hemmx provi biżżejjed biex tibda passi kriminali u iktar tard sakemm l-Avukat Ġenerali jagħti l-pariri tiegħu lill-Gvern.

Għax waqt li Konrad Mizzi ħabbar li dal-waqt ser issir laqgħa bejn il-Gvern u Skanska sadanittant nibqgħu nosservaw lill-ħmar iwaħħal f’denbu.

The hospital’s concrete

 

The issue came to the fore last September when Minister Konrad Mizzi said that there were problems with constructing additional wards on the Emergency Department of Mater Dei Hospital.  The contractor whose tender had been selected proceeded to carry out the necessary tests to ascertain that the existing buildings had the specified load-bearing properties. It was found that they did not.

All hell broke loose. Questions were asked as to how this was possible. Only one person kept his cool, former Finance Minister Tonio Fenech who, in September ,  declared  that he was not at all surprised by what was being said. He added that he was aware that Skanska, the contractor in charge of the hospital construction project, had repeatedly refused to construct additional floors because (it maintained)  the structure was not designed to carry such additional loads.

How come that only former Minister Tonio Fenech seems to have been aware of the design limitations of the hospital’s concrete?

On the other hand, whilst an inquiry is under way, Minister Konrad Mizzi is unethically disseminating selective titbits of information in order to make heavily loaded political statements.

Arup Group, a UK engineering firm, was commissioned by the government to analyse  the concrete used in the hospital’s structure. The report, which has already been submitted to the government and parts of which are being selectively quoted by Minster Konrad Mizzi, has not yet been published.

Likewise, the government is selectively quoting a waiver agreement between the Foundation for Medical Services and Skanska, signed on the conclusion of the project, presumably putting in writing what had been  agreed when addressing the final list of pending issues between the parties. The quotes being made lead to the conclusion that the waiver agreement was a blanket waiver. In fact, Minister Konrad Mizzi is actively encouraging such a conclusion. A full disclosure of the agreement would make it possible to consider whether the selective quotes are misleading –  as they most probably are.

Contrary to the manner in which the public debate has so far developed, the issue of the hospital concrete is primarily one of quality control on site, that is whether adequate quality control existed on site throughout the duration of the project. Such quality control requires that all concrete used on the Mater Dei project should have been sampled on use and tested according to established standards. Generally speaking, 28  days after use the project management team would have been in possession of the laboratory results on the concrete’s strength.

The questions which logically arise are whether the project managers had results indicating that the concrete supplied was not compatible with the relative specifications and, if such results did in fact materialise,  the manner in which they reacted to them.

The answers to these questions will point to the technical responsibilities arising both professionally and managerially.

Are there political responsibilities? I do not know. However,  the question of political responsibilities could arise if the politicians in charge interfered (directly or indirectly) in the technical decision taking. Political responsibilities  could also arise if the politicians obstructed the Foundation for Medical Services in the performance  of its duties by, for example, withholding funds or by dishing out appointments to persons who were not fit for purpose.

These are undoubtedly issues which the inquiry led by Mr Justice (retired) Philip Sciberras will examine, hopefully in some detail.

The sooner this whole saga comes to an end, the better. It is about time that everybody’s mind is at rest. This includes the taxpayer, who is not yet certain whether he will end up footing the bill.

Published in The Malta Independent on Sunday, 31 May 2015

Il-konkos ta’ Mater Dei

Dak li qed jintqal dwar il-konkos ta’ Mater Dei hu gravi ħafna.

Mhux biss għax mir-riżultati tekniċi qed jirriżulta illi l-konkos użat kien wieħed inferjuri. Imma fuq kollox għax qed jingħata l-messaġġ ċar li l-kontrolli interni li kien hemm f’sit ta’ kostruzzjoni tal-kobor tal-isptar Mater Dei, ma ħadmux.

Qed jingħata messaġġ ieħor gravi ħafna: li hemm irregolarità kbira li seta kien hemm min kien jaf biha u ipprova jostora.

Għax meta jinġieb il-konkos fuq sit ta’ dan il-kobor jittieħed kampjun li wara jintbagħat fil-laboratorju biex tiġi ivverifikat is-saħħa tiegħu. Wara 28 ġurnata suppost li l-managment tas-sit kien konxju tar-riżultati dwar is-saħħa tal-konkos. Għax inkella x’jiswa’ l-biżibilju periti u tekniċi oħra li kienu impjegati biex jagħtu servizz fuq is-sit u li tħallsu flejjes tajba għal snin kbar biex propju jagħmlu l-kontrolli u l-verifiki neċessarji?

Il-mistoqsijiet ewlenin li għalija jeħtieġu tweġiba huma:

1. saru t-testijiet tal-konkos?
2. min irċieva r-riżultati mill-laboratorju dwar dawn it-testijiet?
3. x’ħareġ minn dawn ir-riżultati ?
4. x’passi ittieħdu wara li ġew eżaminati r-riżultati dwar is-saħħa tal-konkos?

Qed nistenna l-konklużjonijiet tal-inkjesta immexxija mill-Imħallef Philip Sciberras li nittama li fosthom insib risposta għal dawn il-mistoqsijiet bażiċi.

Huwa wara li jkollna dawn it-tweġibiet li nistgħu nikkunsdraw xi ftehim sar bejn l-FMS [Foundation for Medical Services] u l-kumpanija Skanska.  Iżda jkun tajjeb li qabel ma nikkummentaw dwar dan il-ftehim inkunu nafu l-kliem eżatt tiegħu għax dan jista’ jagħmel differenza kbira.

Sadanittant ikun għaqli li jieqfu l-ispekulazzjonijiet għax dawn m’huma ser isolvu xejn. Meta l-fatti jkunu magħrufa jkun stabilit ukoll min ikkontribwixxa biex seħħew dawn il-fatti. Imbagħad ikun possibli li kull min kellu responsabbiltà jerfa’ dak li jmissu.

Nittama biss li ma jiġrix bħas-soltu u jintefa l-piż fuq iż-żgħir.

Fuq dan il-blog dwar l-istess suġġett ara:

Skanska u Tonio Fenech dwar il-konkos f’Mater Dei.

Mater Dei: Ir-responsabbiltà ta’ Tonio Fenech hi li tingħata spjegazzjoni.

 

Skanska u Tonio Fenech dwar il-konkos f’Mater Dei

Fi stqarrijiet diversi li saru mill-Ministru Konrad Mizzi u s-Segretarju Parlamentari Chris Fearne konna infurmati bid-dettalji dwar li l-konkos użat f’Mater Dei ġol-blokk  li fih it-taqsima tal-Emergenza. Ġejna infurmati li l-konkos hu dgħajjef b’mod li ma jiflaħx illi jerfa’ l-piz ta’ iktar kostruzzjoni.

Bħala riżultat ta’ din l-informazzjoni kellna lil min stagħġeb, kif ukoll kellna lil min ma stagħġibx.  Dan tal-aħħar, l-ex-Ministru Tonio Fenech kien ikkwotat li qal li ma kienx sorpriż b’din l-aħbar.

It-Times ta’ Malta fil-fatt tikkwota lil Tonio Fenech hekk: “The structures were never designed to carry such loads and Skanska had refused to build beyond two additional floors for safety reasons”.

Ikun interessanti ħafna kieku Tonio Fenech jispjega “ftit” iktar x’irid jgħid b’dan il-kumment.

Għax jekk Skanska irrifjutaw li jibnu iktar minn żewġ sulari għal raġinijiet ta’ sigurta’ probabbilment li f’xi żmien kienu mitluba jew ġew  ippressati dwar dan u Skanska kellhom jiġġustifikaw il-għala kienu qed jirrifjutaw. Nifhem li Skanska jkunu ippreżentaw raġunijiet dettaljati għalfejn kienu qed jinsistu li ma setgħux jibnu iktar fuq il-blokk tal-Emerġenza. Possibilment li dan huwa wkoll dokumentat b’xi mod f’xi rapport jew xi minuti ta’ xi laqgħa.

Il-kumment ta’ Tonio Fenech hu ċar ħafna. Jgħid li (skond Skanska) l-bini qatt ma kien iddiżinjat biex jiflaħ iktar minn żewġ sulari u li allura jekk dan jitgħabba b’iktar milli hu ddiżinjat biex jerfa’ jkun hemm problemi ta’ “safety”.

Dan ifisser li probabbilment  x’imkien hemm xi dokument li jispjega l-posizzjoni ta’ Skanska liema dokument, meta jinstab x’aktarx li jwieġeb il-parti l-kbira tal-mistoqsijiet li għandu quddiemu l-Imħallef (irtirat) Philip Sciberras.

Issa jekk il-posizzjoni hi kif qed jgħid Tonio Fenech għaliex donnu ħadd ma kien jaf biha? Xi ħadd donnu li m’għamilx il-homework sewwa qabel ma fesfes f’widnejn Konrad Mizzi u Chris Fearne. Ikun interessanti ħafna kif dan il-punt bażiku li qed jagħmel Tonio Fenech ser jiġi indirizzat mill-inkjesta immexxija mill- Imħallef (irtirat) Philip Sciberras.

L-aħħar ħaga: għadni ma fhimtx kif il-ġurnaliżmu investigattiv kollu li għandna madwarna, minn dan kollu jidher li ma xammew xejn. Dak li qal Tonio Fenech, jekk veru, għandu jpoġġi l-argumenti kollha dwar l-inkjesta rashom l-isfel!