PN MPs disagree on St John's project

Former ministers Jesmond Mugliett and Ninu Zammit have expressed serious reservations over the planned extension of the St John's Co-Cathedral Museum in a Nationalist Party parliamentary group meeting earlier this week.

The two MPs, now backbenchers, joined Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando in voicing their disagreement over aspects of the project during their party's parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday.

Party sources said there may be other MPs silently opposing the plans.

Contacted yesterday, Mr Mugliett confirmed he had reservations because he failed "to understand how it (the project) managed to get so much funding when other projects could have been more deserving".

"When I was minister responsible for urban development we had various applications for regeneration, including in Valletta, even from the private sector, but we had the indication that there were little funds available in the budget," Mr Mugliett said.

The meeting was held just before Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi gave notice of a motion that will change Parliament's regular timetable for the first time in some 30 years because of the continuing absence of a pairing agreement. The motion, however, also has the effect of pushing back an Opposition-sponsored debate on the museum to February 11.

The foundation is proposing to extend its museum by excavating new exhibition space beneath the Cathedral primarily to house a series of tapestries which are based on sketches by 17th century artist Peter Paul Ruebens.

The proposal has sparked an outcry from several quarters and there are fears that it could jeopardise the very structure of the cathedral.

Mr Mugliett said he has not taken a final decision on how he will vote on Labour's parliamentary motion asking the government to revoke its support for the project and find alternative buildings to house the museum.

"On Tuesday we only had a brief discussion and Lawrence Gonzi promised the group a debate focused solely on the project. I want to see how the discussion proceeds and listen to his clarifications before I take a final decision," Mr Mugliett said.

The MP who first raised objections to the project in October, Dr Pullicino Orlando, reiterated his disagreement with the foundation's proposal.

"The argument that is being made is that we should leave it up to Mepa (the Malta Environment and Planning Authority)," he told The Times yesterday, expressing serious doubts about the credibility of the process.

"I cannot leave it up to Mepa when the project description statement makes no reference to geological studies to determine the stability of the rock in the area; or when the plans are not readily available to the public".

He said neither could he trust the process when the foundation is refusing to include the study of alternative sites in the Environment Impact Assessment.

"The foundation wants to conduct the EIA to justify its choice, rather than search for the best possible option. This is arrogance, especially when within the cathedral's perimeter there is a big long corridor that is unutilised or when there are available properties across the road," he said. This is not the first time the young MP has had scrapes with his own party over environmental issues, until the last election when he got embroiled in a controversy after Labour exposed an application for an open-air disco which was to be built on land the MP owns in Mistra.

His opposition to the St John's project, in fact, represented the first such high profile stand since that controversy.

Mr Zammit could not be contacted despite several attempts over the past two days but is said by party sources to have questioned the wisdom of allowing a five-storey quarry to be excavated in Valletta.

According to sources, he lamented the fact that heavy trucks would be passing through Valletta's streets on a daily basis, possibly damaging the new expensive paving, which he had overseen as Minister in the last legislature.

During Tuesday's meeting, Dr Gonzi argued that the government could not interfere with a decision of a non-governmental organisation. Mr Mugliett, however, pointed out that the cathedral's foundation is partly made up of government appointees and therefore the decision was partly sanctioned by the administration.

The budget estimates show the foundation receives government funding. In 2007, it got €256,231 with a further €256,000 last year. The budget allocation for this year is just €25,000. The expenditure falls under the capital vote for the Office of the Prime Minister.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com, mmicallef@timesodmalta.com