Minister demands value for money from contractors in social housing projects

Social Policy Minister Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said today that her ministry would demand value for money from contractors engaged in social housing projects.

She said officials would be inspecting all apartments managed by the Housing Authority to ensure that contractors provided the services they were contracted to provide, with the required quality.

She made the comments during a visit to an apartment managed by the Authority in Floriana, where a 90-year-old woman has lived alone since September.

She noted that the apartment had a broken gas pipe, no soap dish in the bathroom, a window which did not close properly and paint splatter on some tiles.

Such things may appear minor, but they were major for an elderly resident, the minister said.

There were even more serious problems elsewhere, with  730 families living in dangerous properties and awaiting alternative accommodation, she said. Some of the cases went back to 2004.

There are some 3,000 people awaiting social housing, but the Housing Authority lacked housing stock and funds, the minister added.