Neglected national monument of St Nicholas

A favourite reading of mine is the interesting One World article from Mepa. One such article was about the statue of St Nicholas (September 18). After supplying readers with information about this limestone statue of St Nicholas (or St Oswald), found in Mtarfa, we are told that, as per Government Notice no. 628/08 in the Government Gazette of July 21, 2008, Mepa scheduled this statue as a Grade 1 national monument. So far so good, although it's quite a shame that the left arm of the statue, which is believed to have held a crosier, is completely missing from the shoulder.

According to the report, there exists the possibility of a recent restoration of the saint's face. I found this piece of knowledge slightly entertaining, to say the least. During the British "occupation", Mtarfa was an active residential town for the Forces, having military personnel family quarters, a hospital and a radio station. So, I asked myself, why were only "traces of a recent restoration" found?

Even after the British left, Mtarfa was hardly ever a ghost town and, as the British were known for the way they meticulously kept their records, surely someone was seen to have restored this statue, unless of course work was carried out in the cover of night...

Apart from that, from the black and white photo provided, parts of the wrought iron railing are seen to be missing or broken and the surrounding area of the monument needs urgent cleaning up.

Is it possible that there are no funds to embellish such an important statue and its enclosure since it is a national monument dating back prior the arrival of the British in Malta?