The Nationalist Party insisted on Thursday that Culture Minister Owen Bonnici must explain why a particular caterer had been selected to manage a restaurant at Palazzo Vilhena, Mdina, without a call for tenders.

In a reaction to a Heritage Malta statement after it complained about the restaurant on Wednesday, the PN said Bonnici was politically responsible for the agency and it was he who needed to explain.

On Wednesday, Heritage Malta said its commercial arm aimed to make better use of properties that may be commercialised, to generate funds which would then be ploughed back into the national heritage. 

In the case of Vilhena Palace, it had used an existing commercial contract (the caterer also operates a restaurant at the Muza museum in Valletta) for a four-week trial (July 19 - August 14) to analyse the viability and monetary potential of such a restaurant. 

PN culture spokesperson Julia Zahra said the commercial potential of Palazzo  Vilhena, right at Mdina gate, was well known and several business operators had their eyes on it. 

So how had this particular operator been selected without a public call? Would the minister publish the contract? 

The minister should also say why Palazzo Vilhena was selected from among 90 Heritage Malta sites, Zahra said.   

 

 

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