The Court's reinstatement of the Evans Building concession to a private consortium, following its earlier annulment by the Public Contracts Review Board, has been crtitised by NGOs Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar and Reisdenti Beltin as an effective renewal of the long-term privatisation of a major public building in the heart of Valletta, a dense residential area already under enormous pressure.

The process for the Evans Building was initiated in 2010-2011, the NGOs daid in a statement. Residents' repeated and practical proposals for the Building to be used for the city's real needs, including a 24/7 community clinic serving locals and tourists, elderly residential care, childcare facilities near a school, a civic hub for essential services, accessible community space, and an on-site ambulance to improve emergency response, were ignored, in spite of being submitted through official channels.

These are not frivolous requests but the conditions to allow residents to continue to live in their city, submitted by Residenti Beltin and backed by Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar. When public authorities repeatedly failed to act on them, they made Valletta increasingly uninhabitable for its residents, the NGOs said.

These demands are backed by Malta's National Health Strategy which stipulates that elderly people are to be cared for in their community. UNESCO's designation of Valletta as a World Heritage Site depended on it being an authentic 'living, working city' not a commercial asset.

What is the justification for a mega-hotel when over the last 10 years, 100 hotels and tourist accommodations have set up in Valletta, increasing pressure on its infrastructure: more traffic through narrow historic streets, higher waste and servicing demand, more bars and restaurants within residential zones, reduced civic space, more noise and air pollution, and strain on drains which are already failing. On the other hand, there is no other structure like Evans Building that would lend itself as a residential facility for Valletta's elderly.

This is a critical failure of governance. Over time, the Valletta Local Council, Members of Parliament, and public authorities have failed to prioritise long-term community needs re key public assets such as the Evans Building, intentionally undermining residents' quality of life. The old market is a case in point.

"Yet, we accept to be robbed of our birthright, while our Government which boasts of Malta's strong economy, puts income from yearly rent and taxes, including taxes from tourist stays and a 35% tax on company profits, before the quality of life of Valletta residents."

Residenti Beltin and Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar maintain that Valletta is a living city; public buildings should never be handed over to tourism interests when residents' more pressing needs are not met.

"Valletta's people have given enough. This time, the failure has a name and an address: Evans Building, which will stand as a permanent landmark of two administrations that abandoned the residents of its capital city, to enrich tourism millionaires," the NGOs said.