Galdes allocated unfinished Bormla social housing units before 2022 elections, beneficiaries still waiting

The 68 unfinished social housing apartments in Bormla, abandoned by Malita Investments plc due to a liquidity crisis, were allocated to vulnerable families days before the 2022 general election by Minister Roderick Galdes, The Shift can reveal.

According to several beneficiaries, the Housing Authority issued allocation letters weeks before polling day, informing applicants that they had secured one of the new units.

They also informed The Shift that Galdes personally notified them by phone, promising a handover “a few months after the elections”. Still, the apartments, launched in 2017 and originally due for completion in 2020, remain incomplete three years later.

Families awaiting accommodation say they have received no official communication since the elections.

“We’ve heard nothing since 2022, despite repeatedly contacting the Housing Authority and seeking meetings with the minister,” said one single parent allocated a flat.

“Our lives are on hold.”

Another couple, whose child has a disability, said Galdes has been unable to provide a timeline and has instead blamed contractors and previous management at Malita Investments, the state-owned company funding the project.

“These are excuses. It doesn’t concern us who is at fault. The minister should fix it,” the couple said, speaking anonymously for fear of losing their allocation.

Malita Investments is understood to have exhausted its financing for the site, located not far from the Bormla church and comprising 68 apartments and 117 garages.

The project has been beset by planning revisions and cost overruns with X,Y,Z Architects – co-owned by former Labour Deputy Leader Daniel Micallef – amending plans repeatedly, adding millions to the budget.

No one knows how the politically connected firm was given the project in the first place, and how much they were paid so far.

Tensions escalated this year when a €4.3 million finishing tender awarded to Calibre Industries was cancelled shortly after Galdes was appointed minister responsible for Malita in 2024, displacing Finance Minister Clyde Caruana.

A new contractor, Next Construction, a recently formed entity owned by Gozitan developers Joseph Portelli and Mark Agius, known as Ta’ Dirjanu, subsequently replaced Calibre. At the time, the businessmen were selling Galdes a penthouse in Gozo at much below market value.

Malita’s chief executive, Amanda Desira, declined to comment on why work had been suspended, the expected final cost of the project, or how Next Construction Ltd had been selected.

Prime Minister Robert Abela has so far avoided making his position known publicly. Galdes has insisted he will not resign over the matter.