{"id":85185,"date":"2026-07-13T09:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T07:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/watch-swieqi-mayor-writes-to-pm-after-new-video-shows-disorderly-conduct-in-short-let-properties\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T09:35:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T07:35:00","slug":"watch-swieqi-mayor-writes-to-pm-after-new-video-shows-disorderly-conduct-in-short-let-properties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/watch-swieqi-mayor-writes-to-pm-after-new-video-shows-disorderly-conduct-in-short-let-properties\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch: Swieqi mayor writes to PM after new video shows disorderly conduct in short-let properties"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Watch: Swieqi mayor writes to PM after new video shows disorderly conduct in short-let properties<\/p>\n<p>The mayor of Swieqi, Noel Muscat, has written directly to the Prime Minister Robert Abela demanding &#8220;determined and effective legislation and enforcement&#8221; to tackle the disorder plaguing the locality, after residents endured yet more sleepless nights.<\/p>\n<p>A video clip is being circulated showing tourists screaming from the rooftops of short-let properties and hurling what appeared to be bottles down onto the street below, putting residents at risk. The letter was shared with this newspaper following our <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.com.mt\/articles\/2026-07-06\/local-news\/Extra-enforcement-at-Swieqi-still-missing-a-month-after-deadline-6736291136\">earlier report on the crisis<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The letter, addressed to the Prime Minsiter, was sent to residents by an administrator of the Swieqi Residents Facebook group, who said they were doing so &#8220;as instructed by the Mayor Noel Muscat.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In it, Muscat set out plainly what residents are enduring. &#8220;This is what residents in Swieqi are experiencing on a daily basis,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Year in year out matters get worse.&#8221; Scenes such as those captured in the clip, residents say, have become part of the day-to-day reality they have faced for years, but as the mayor told this newsroom in an earlier interview, the situation has only become this unlivable over the past year.<\/p>\n<p>The mayor said the problems being raised were far from new, and that residents&#8217; patience had worn thin after a decade of unanswered complaints. &#8220;We have been reporting these problems for ten years!!!&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;I suppose that enough is enough.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Despite the frustration, Muscat struck a hopeful note about the possibility of change, telling the Prime Minister he trusted this appeal would finally be heeded. &#8220;I honestly hope that this time meaningful measures are taken,&#8221; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The mayor was also keen to acknowledge the agencies he felt had supported the locality so far, thanking the Malta Tourism Authority and the Community Police &#8220;for the tremendous assistance given to us,&#8221; even as he pressed the case for stronger central government action.<\/p>\n<p>Muscat was specific about what he believes is missing. &#8220;What we need is determined and effective legislation and enforcement,&#8221; he wrote, adding that the council stood ready to work with government on a permanent fix. &#8220;We are determined to help and cooperate for a long term and lasting solution.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Its release follows this newspaper&#8217;s earlier report detailing the mayor&#8217;s account of escalating short-let-driven disorder in Swieqi, missed enforcement deadlines, and residents&#8217; own catalogue of noise, vandalism and indecent behaviour linked to tourist accommodation in the locality. Muscat had previously told this newspaper he felt &#8220;helpless&#8221; to act given the limits of the council&#8217;s powers, and warned that without intervention the situation would continue to deteriorate.<\/p>\n<p>The letter marks the mayor&#8217;s most direct appeal yet to the country&#8217;s most senior office, after months of what he and residents have described as inaction and buck-passing between ministries following the change of government and a change in the tourism portfolio. It remains to be seen whether the appeal will secure the response that a decade of local complaints, by the mayor&#8217;s own account, has so far failed to achieve.<\/p>\n<p>\nRSS Feed Source: Independent Malta <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.com.mt\/articles\/2026-07-13\/local-news\/Watch-Swieqi-mayor-writes-to-PM-after-new-video-shows-disorderly-conduct-in-short-let-properties-6736291322\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Watch: Swieqi mayor writes to PM after new video shows disorderly conduct in short-let properties<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch: Swieqi mayor writes to PM after new video shows disorderly conduct in short-let properties The mayor of Swieqi, Noel Muscat, has written directly to the Prime Minister Robert Abela demanding &#8220;determined and effective legislation&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2139],"tags":[1850],"class_list":["post-85185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-malta-news","tag-abatement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85185"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shopsofmalta.com\/malta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}