'Malta needs to conserve character, not just buildings'

Labour MP Joe Brincat insisted in Parliament yesterday that Malta needed to conserve not just its old buildings, but especially the character of the areas where they were sited. Speaking during the debate on the financial estimates of Heritage Malta and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Dr Brincat said Malta's unique characteristics needed to be enjoyed in their proper context and character.

It was not enough to preserve the old officers' quarters at the core of Tigne while the graceful seaward view of Valletta was being replaced by high-rises which hid the capital. The same had happened at Fort St Angelo, where the fort was being restored, but jarring buildings went up right next to it.

He was not saying there should be no development, but there had to be development which was tasteful and respected the characteristics of the areas involved. The Gozitans were doing a better job, especially with regard to village squares.

Cultural heritage, he stressed, was not a term which applied only to monuments and very old structures. Malta, for example, had a wealth of wrought iron works which deserved preserving.

The designation of urban conservation areas needed to be uniform and regulations needed to be issued after proper consultation involving all agencies concerned. Such regulations should help not only to conserve village cores, but also to ensure that they remained populated and in use.

The officials of the Superintendence of National Heritage and Heritage Malta needed to have a stronger say in the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, where building development was discussed.

Dr Brincat said the cultural heritage should be a unifying factor for the people, as much as the environment.

Referring to remarks made earlier by Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, Dr Brincat said he would have preferred it had the display at the airport, been sited in an area where the people could stop to see it properly. As it were, most people simply rushed past the exhibits on their way to collect their luggage.

Referring to the minister's comments on the filling of posts at Heritage Malta, Dr Brincat asked the minister to explain if two cases had ended up before the Ombudsman and whether there had been an instance where a particular person was given a post even though he applied after the closing date.

Dr Brincat said Malta needed to consolidate its cultural heritage. It currently had a situation where, for example, the Valletta fortifications fell within the remit of one ministry, restoration fell under another, and the Culture Ministry was responsible for something else.

Furthermore, the sites which underwent restoration and rehabilitation works should not be decided on the basis of where a particular minister lived, Dr Brincat said, adding that he was not referring to Dr Zammit Dimech.

Dr Brincat referred to the comments by the minister on the building of a shelter over Mnajdra and Hagar Qim and said he feared that the characteristics of the site would be lost. Furthermore, he was worried that humidity under the shelter would cause even more damage. This was a sector where one could not afford to make mistakes.

Labour MP Roderick Galdes complained that far too many important heritage sites remained closed to the public and in a deplorable state. These included sections of the Archaeology Museum, a number of stone age temples such as Borg in-Nadur, ta' Hagrat and tad-Dejr Catacombs and the Roman baths. Other museums and sites left much to be desired, such as the War Museum, which was continuing to suffer from a lack of funds. It was very well to mount the Terracotta soldiers exhibition in Malta, but what about Malta's own treasures?

Indeed, the funding of Heritage Malta was far too low, reaching barely a tenth of what the government spent on local councils.

Malta needed a serious strategy to address the problems of this sector.

For a start, the sector should no longer be fragmented among as many as 11 organisations and departments. Heritage Malta did not even have a direct say on the budget of the Restoration Unit! Mr Galdes said he could understand why Heritage Malta had raised museum entrance fees. But had the number of visitors dropped?

More visitors could be attracted with an effective educational strategy which promoted particular sites such as Tas-Silg Temples, which many people did not know about and even fewer visited. Mr Galdes said the University entry requirements for courses related to conservation were too tough. As a result only one person applied and lecturers had to be paid just the same. Could the country afford not to have people trained in this sector?

Mr Galdes said many members of staff at Heritage Malta were demotivated because of their salary structure.

There was a lack of communication between the central management of Heritage Malta and its branches, including Bighi.

He asked the minister to explain why Malta had not entered its attractions for the international contest to designate the world's top heritage sites. Were steps being taken to remedy the situation?

Mr Galdes also asked whether the Superintendence actually existed. What could it do with a budget of just Lm130,000? The Cultural Heritage Inventory Management System, which the minister had spoken about could not be found on the website.

What coordination was taking place between the organisations involved in the heritage sector? What coordination was there with Mepa? The Lands Department was removing gun posts at Ricasoli where Smart City was to be developed without anyone monitoring what was being done.

Mr Galdes insisted that there should be a stronger commitment to the preservation of village cores and said the regeneration concept needed to be better promoted.

Winding up, Dr Zammit Dimech said the opposition seemed to believe it had a well planned policy, yet the MLP's 12-page vision statement on the cultural heritage was a confusing mish-mesh which one could interpret in different ways. This was typical of how the MLP operated, saying nothing which was concrete and precise.

A statement in the document said that tourism was having a negative mark on historical buildings because of heavy use. Was the opposition criticising tourism?

The document also pointed out that the restoration of certain village cores was leading well off people to move into these villages with gentrification taking place. Was Labour proposing to reserve certain localities only for the people who came from those localities?

Furthermore, Labour's strategy on historical heritage seemed to be that of stopping all kind of development in certain areas. If this was the case it should say so and point out where these areas were.

As for preserving character in regeneration projects, surely praise was due for the way the Valletta Waterfront, Pinto Stores, the Cottonera waterfront, and St James Cavalier, to mention a few, had been rehabilitated, with new activity integrated into them?

How different that was from building a pool in the heart of Fort St Angelo, as happened under Labour!

And what about the rehabilitation of the barrakkas and Hastings Garden? In the 22 months of Labour administration there had been absolutely no historic regeneration.

And the opposition should compare the budgets allocated by this government for historic regeneration to what Labour used to allocate. Malta was even acquiring EU funds for projects such as the shelter over Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. And he could assure Dr Brincat that temperature and humidity levels could be monitored and controlled under this shelter. He could also assure Mr Galdes that major new halls in the National Museum of Archaeology would be opened soon featuring Punic, Roman and Byzantine exhibits.

Referring to the competition for the world's best wonders, Dr Zammit Dimech said this was a private, commercial initiative where people proposed sites and others voted for them. Therefore if the Statue of Liberty was nominated and all the people in the US voted for it, and Hagar Qim and Ggantija were nominated and all the Maltese voted for them, it was obvious that the Statue of Liberty would win over Ggantija and Hagar Qim.

The minister defended the appointment of Lucio Mule Stagno as Heritage Malta CEO saying that the agency had not been entirely satisfied with the people who had applied for the post and therefore, in line with procedure, another person was sought.

On the Cultural Heritage Inventory Management System, Dr Zammit Dimech said this was expected to be online in the coming weeks.

Turning to the Superintendence of National Heritage, the minister said it had intervened to stop development which could interfere with cultural heritage, such as, among others, the Gudja road works, the Health Department works on Rabat Cemetery and during works at ta' Cenc - the latter being a private project.

It acted seriously, fairly and correctly irrespective of whether development was being undertaken by the government or the private sector.

On the display at MIA, Dr Zammit Dimech said this was meant to give a taste to tourists on the heritage sites they could explore. He hoped a similar exhibition would be mounted at the sea passenger terminal.

The estimates were later approved after a division.