The shady agreement entered into by Heritage Malta for the use of Palazzo Vilhena, in Mdina as a restaurant is another example of the lack of transparency through which this government chooses to operate.
I immediately called upon Heritage Minister Owen Bonnici to publish the contract between the two parties, which he did but, instead of reassuring us, it raised many more questions.
Bonnici said the agreement is similar to others which are “regularly made” while peculiarly adding that its scope was to establish whether a public call for future initiatives should be made.
I am not against the concept of our heritage sites encompassing a holistic experience including catering facilities but procedures need to be transparent and not reduced to hidden deals.
This is the crux of it all. Under a Labour government everything happens under a shroud of secrecy and, if exposed, we get the usual myriad of damage control excuses.
The minister has also refused to make public the income and expenditure statement of the agreement, nor has he clarified whether HM was paid €50 per day or eight per cent of the sales made by the operator and, if the latter, how much the turnover was.
But this is not an isolated case under Bonnici’s remit. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage is slowly steering away from its duties and obligations and morphing into an extension of the Planning Authority, defying its duty “to ensure the protection and accessibility of cultural heritage”, as defined by the Cultural Heritage Act.
I will provide just one example. Last month, a marker stone dating to the British era was collected from a rural area in Żabbar. I commend such prompt actions which lead to the safeguarding of objects of historical value. But, then, what about the marker stone in a minister’s residence?
In the former case, the superintendence immediately took to social media boasting that “it took immediate action to retrieve the stone marker to ensure its protection”. And if not ironic enough, it also reminded us of our legal obligation that whoever identifies such historical objects needs to immediately report such findings. But I would like to ask Bonnici: where is the ‘marker stone’ found in your colleague’s private residence now? Was it also collected? If yes, by whom? If not, why?
Under Labour everything happens under a shroud of secrecy- Julie Zahra
Luckily, Malta has a large number of NGOs that work hard and deserve much praise. One of them is Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar. A few weeks ago, it claimed the superintendence is becoming an “extension of the PA’’, “inconsistent” and is no longer “strict but fair” in its recommendations. The NGO also underlined how “persons who have the heritage close to their hearts have been turned away” and that “now there are people from the PA working within the SCH”.
These are very serious accusations to which the minister must respond to without further delay. How can the superintendence make its recommendations to the PA through employees of the same authority who are working within it?
Is this perhaps why we are seeing recommendations for development that damage our cultural heritage?
Too often, a recommendation is first issued by the SCH in favour of protection but this soon disappears under the guise of a consensus.
The Cultural Heritage Act established the SCH to ensure that our heritage is protected and at the same time conserved by working in parallel with the PA but not by morphing into one.
Minister Bonnici, you are the custodian of our national heritage and have no right to act otherwise. It is your responsibility, and yours alone, as a member of the executive, to ensure that future generations inherit a conserved heritage.
Make no mistake. The opposition will pursue its work and will not allow you to conveniently discard centuries of national heritage.
Julie Zahra is the PN spokesperson on culture, art and national heritage.