Luciano Busuttil will be the fourth KMS chairman since March.

Labour MP Luciano Busuttil is to be the new chairman of the Kunsill Malti għall-Isport, succeeding Jonathan Barbara who quit in September after just four months in the job, this newspaper has learnt.

Since the change of government the entity has been through turbulent times, with Dr Busuttil set to become the fourth chairman in seven months.

Prior to last March, when Bernard Vassallo was unceremoniously removed from the post after five years, only two chairmen had presided over the council since its creation in 2002.

Mr Vassallo was succeeded by One Television journalist Mark Cutajar, whose stint at the helm of the KMS lasted less than two months, when Mr Barbara was appointed chairman in the beginning of May.

Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport Stefan Buontempo yesterday confirmed to The Sunday Times of Malta that Dr Busuttil’s appointment will be announced in the coming days.

Mr Barbara stepped down on September 21, citing personal reasons. His resignation coincided with that of Sandro Mangion, who was the head of secretariat of Dr Buontempo. However the Parliamentary Secretary insisted the two issues were not related.

Apart from promoting sport, KMS has the role of advising and implementing government policy, to register sport organisations and to establish dispute resolution structures. In recent years the council also launched a sport popularisation campaign, aimed at combating obesity among children and young people.

Dr Busuttil’s appointment is likely to raise some eyebrows due to his limited experience in the field. Sources said the Labour MP will be under intense scrutiny from the start, adding that his biggest challenge will be to prove he is up to the job.

Until some months ago such an appointment would not have been possible, since MPs were precluded from sitting on government boards and entities.

However, last July the law was amended, paving the way for MPs to take such posts and receive remuneration over and above their parliamentary honoraria.

The Opposition had voted against these amendments, arguing that the real intention behind them was to appease a number of disgruntled backbenchers who had missed out on a Cabinet post.

The Prime Minister dismissed such claims, saying he was following the same model adopted by the Nationalist administration.

Dr Muscat cited the example of PN MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who had been appointed chairman of the Malta Council of Science and Technology, as well as that of his former colleague Ċensu Galea, who had been nominated chairman of the Building Industry Consultative Council.