Housing incentives are proving fruitful in revitalising village cores, Housing Minister insists

Xtra on TVM | Roderick Galdes and Ivan Bartolo spar on housing initiatives and social accomodation

Minister says housing incentives have helped people move from the suburbs back into the village cores
Minister says housing incentives have helped people move from the suburbs back into the village cores

Government housing incentives have been successful in reviving village cores and old properties, Roderick Galdes said on Monday.

The Housing Minister said the incentives to help people restore houses in the village cores have helped attract people back to the centres of community life.

"There was a time, when everyone chose to build their home in suburbs, because it was cheaper, turning village cores into phantom settlements," the Housing Minister said on TVM's XTRA on Monday.

But Galdes had to fend off criticism from Opposition spokesperson Ivan Bartolo, who insisted the government had not lived up to commitments on social housing provision.

“You promised people contracts before the election, and then you left them out on the street… look at the social accommodation apartments in Msida, they are still in shell form,” Bartolo insisted.

The PN MP said people were frustrated over delays in completion of the project since they did not know when they would move into the apartments.

Galdes defended the project, stating that it would be completed soon and that it was “one of the government's most beautiful projects.” 

The project saw slums across Valley road being demolished to make way for 110 apartments, garages and a parking spaces.

At the time, three years ago, the minister said that thanks to the Msida project and other similar initiatives, the waiting list of almost 3,000 social accommodation applicants would go down by 70%.