The news that an elderly man was badly burnt while allegedly handling chemicals for ground fireworks at his residence in the centre of Mqabba brought home yet again the stark reality of the dangers of pyrotechnics, the amateur nature of quite a few of those who engage in this activity, the risks they are ready to take and the illegalities that are so often committed.

Therefore it comes as a huge relief to know that the Government has finally taken the decision to implement the recommendations contained in a report by experts to improve fireworks safety.

The report had been commissioned two and a half years ago and submitted to the previous Administration almost 18 months ago.

This newspaper has long urged its implementation and has openly deplored the unconscionable time it has taken to do so. It therefore commends the new Administration for its decisive action so soon after taking office.

All governments have a fundamental duty of care to the heath and safety of their citizens, which should override any considerations of possible political unpopularity at the hands of particular interest groups, be they hunters or, as in this case, fireworks enthusiasts.

The previous government failed this test on this fireworks report. It seems the new Administration is determined not to repeat this failure and the people now rightly expect it to deliver.

The challenge will be how speedily, efficiently and effectively the recommendations in the report will be implemented.

A new post, Director for Implementation of Reforms, has apparently been created at the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security tasked with implementing changes in the prisons, fireworks factories, the Citizenship Department and the immigrants’ detention centres.

This will comprise a formidable package of reforms, dealing with a most demanding list of outstanding improvements in all these fields.

Whoever the director chosen, he will need to be able to chase progress in some of the most neglected and knotty areas of government. Unless he is given adequate resources and, most importantly, has the full support of his minister behind him he is doomed to fail.

As to the fireworks improvements arising from the report, a board, consisting of a representative of the pyrotechnics association, the newly appointed director of the Civil Protection Department, representatives of the Armed Forces of Malta and the ministry, will be tasked with ensuring that, in the words of a government spokesman, “this important report will finally see the light of day” and that “recommendations will start being implemented by the end of May”.

It is sincerely to be hoped that the expert commission’s comprehensive set of proposals, and, specifically, its recommendations regarding the rigorous scientific testing of all chemical mixtures before their use in fireworks manufacture, will not be diluted in any way but will be rigorously followed.

It is also hoped the safer practices recommended for the transport of fireworks on crowded roads are fully implemented.

As one prominent member of the expert commission, commenting on the wide-ranging recommendations for regulating the industry, had put it when the report was first delivered: “We need to implement the recommendations immediately, as we are literally playing with fire”. Little did he know when he said this that “the fatal fireworks accident within one or two years”, which the commission had itself predicted, would tragically come to pass.

There is no statistical guarantee that another will not occur. It is the duty of the Government to ensure, so far as humanly possible, that it does not.

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