[WATCH] PN concerned by rising property prices

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s “socialist government” has overseen an unprecedented rise in property prices which has only been countered by social housing propaganda, PN MEP candidate Michael Briguglio said.

Addresing a part press conference on property prices and social housing, Briguglio referred to a Eurobarometer survey which showed that housing was one of the local population’s biggest concerns. 

The Muscat government, he said, lacked a long-term vision. “Muscat told us that he will be financing social housing by using passport sales, yet all we have seen is propaganda and lack of action.”

While the government was yet to build any new social housing units, Brigulio said, the social housing waiting list continued to rise, and had now reached 3,200, with hundreds living in run-down accommodation.

MEP candidate Roselyn Borg Knight also blamed the government, arguing that the rapidly growing population was contributing to increased demand and a higher prices.

“With this economic model, fewer people are managing to afford a house, but every citizen should be able to afford property,” Borg Knight said. 

PN MP Ivan Bartolo also addressed the press-conference, quoting a MaltaToday survey which showed that 95.1% of the population feel that rent prices are a national problem.