The horrendous explosion of illegally-stored fireworks at Naxxar and the associated loss of life and property are, for the time being, at the centre of public attention.

The Times commented editorially (March 29) on: (a) the derisory fines imposed on two men arraigned before two different magistrates on charges of being in possession of explosive material without authorisation and the illegal manufacture of fireworks and (b) the news that, belatedly, the Attorney General is working on amendments to the law to ensure harsher punishments. To this I say about time.

Earlier last year I complained in Parliament that most court sentences for serious crimes were far too lenient and downright obscene. Little seems to have changed over the years.

Long before the Naxxar explosion, the government had a report by the Pyrotechnics Committee and did nothing about it, although it has since transpired that several fireworks manufacturers have been operating for some time with apparent impunity. A fortnight after the Naxxar tragedy, The Times commented that "the sooner the legislators in Parliament and the judicial bodies responsible for administering the law act to drive home the message that illegal fireworks manufacture is utterly unacceptable and that legal pyrotechnics factories have to be subject to the most stringent controls, the better".

With respect, the problem facing Malta goes beyond the issue of pyrotechnics. It has to do with social discipline, enforcement and the updating of laws and regulation by a vigilant government. I raised this issue in Parliament more than two years ago (January 2006) following the death of a 19-year-old girl who fell off the bastions in Valletta. After that incident, the government had appointed a commission of four persons "to examine how to prevent the abuse of drugs, alcohol and other vices". In this case, the issue was related to a tragedy that could most probably have been avoided. It was linked to a national problem that had been, visibly and rapidly, assuming alarming proportions. At that time, the government's attention was repeatedly drawn to the problem but the problem was not addressed. Upright citizens had good reason to voice their concern and I did my best to convey their concern to the House.

Since then, we have been hearing about binge drinking, car accidents galore, absence from work and other social maladies arising from a degenerative culture change, distinguished by permissiveness and the predatory greed of unscrupulous business interests.

Yet, the law seems to be unequal to the situation. As a result of police inertia, Paceville and other places of entertainment have been transformed into a devil's cauldron.

I raised this issue several times in Parliament, going to the extent of proposing a curfew for unaccompanied minors in certain districts.

The media took little notice and the government slumbered. Society is paying a price. The tragedy is that, although one hears the cry in the desert from time to time, nobody at the top seems to care.

At the heart of the problem is the issue of responsibility. Who is accountable and to whom? Who is responsible for enforcement and for tightening up present arrangements? Why can't we have a transparent set-up that would expose Byzantine tactics that provide a wide berth to unscrupulous interests, which have proved to be the root of all evil?

Why aren't licences suspended when transgressions come to light?

Wouldn't it have been far more straightforward, above-board and transparent if the initiative was taken to set up a parliamentary committee, with members from both sides of the House, for a root and branch inquest into the whole issue?

For Malta, the price of slumber has been exorbitant...There has been no political will to take the bull by the horns... and this in spite of many a clarion call in the parliamentary forum.

Dr Vassallo is a Labour member of Parliament.