Eight years ago on 16 January, 2000, Riccardo Cesare, an elderly man, lost his life tragically when the landing of his one room, Floriana apartment collapsed. He fell four storeys and ended up buried in the rubble of his own home. The retired builder’s apartment was below standard, and he had been sidelined for housing for over 17 years.

Early yesterday afternoon, activists of the Campaign for Social Housing Justice (CSHJ), together with Mr Cesare’s relatives and friends, gathered together to commemorate his tragic death at King George V gardens, in Floriana.

“Eight years after Riccardo Cesare’s death, Maltese society has learnt nothing from the experience and he has died in vain,” said CSHJ’s chairman and Labour MP Dr Stefan Buontempo. “We have been commemorating Mr Cesare’s death in order to urge the authorities concerned not to allow such tragedies to happen again by taking appropriate measures,” added Dr Buontempo. Mr Cesare’s daughter Joyce, also appealed to the authorities to keep working on this matter, as she did not wish other people to go through the same traumatic experience.

The largest concentration of dilapidated and structurally unsound housing is found in the southern harbour area which includes Vittoriosa, Cospicua, Senglea, Floriana, Valletta and Marsa. Of the total 28,093 dwellings found in this area, 1,744 are dilapidated or structurally unsound. This means that 6.2 per cent of these places are not fit for habitation.

Dr Buontempo suggested that dwelling houses which were built a long time ago, should undergo a test for structural soundness. He pointed out that last year more than four houses had collapsed, and consequently, an elderly man died, while three others ended up homeless.