Parliamentary Secretary Andy Ellul will take on the responsibilities of affordable accommodation and social housing which were previously the ministerial portfolio of Roderick Galdes, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Sunday.

Galdes resigned as Minister on Saturday evening weeks after being embroiled in a scandal related to a penthouse he bought in Gozo and on the eve of a new story which was to expand on alleged links between his family and contractors.

Abela said in a political activity that the government had carried out major reforms in the housing sector, particularly in dealing with the pre-1995 rents which he said were absolutely necessary.

“I accepted [Galdes’] reasoning for him to resign to be able to better defend his reputation against allegations which I feel are not proven, meaning that they are unfounded – but that’s now up to him to defend his own integrity and competence,” Abela said.

He announced that the responsibility for his portfolio will go to Parliamentary Secretary Andy Ellul, who is currently responsible for Social Dialogue.

“This area remains a priority for us, particularly as we want to increase home ownership rates,” Abela said. “I’m proud of what we’ve done, but we have to do more.”

The decision was confirmed in a short statement later on Sunday, which also confirmed that Ellul would remain a Parliamentary Secretary despite the new portfolio.

“This step aims to consolidate the work done in favour of work-life balance together with the government’s politics on social and affordable accommodation,” the statement read.