The Culture Ministry would not say why it had appointed a politician to the helm of Heritage Malta rather than an expert in the field.

MP and former Gozo minister Anton Refalo’s appointment followed that of Phyllis Muscat, who had worked behind the scenes in the coordination of the Labour Party’s 2013 election campaign. Ms Muscat, who owns a business specialising in the retail of cosmetic products, heads a newly established contemporary art museum.

The new Heritage Malta chairman was announced in a short statement issued on May 3 in the evening. It was not immediately clear that the post had in fact been given to a sitting MP.

Heritage Malta, set up in 2002, has to date never been headed by a politician.

Dr Refalo’s appointment raised eyebrows amid speculation that it was meant to heal the wound created last year when he lost out to Justyne Caruana in the race for the Gozo Ministry despite having won a higher number of votes in the general election.

A recent Malta Today survey carried out prior to his appointment suggested that the Labour Party was facing a backlash, as it was losing support in Gozo.

The Times of Malta asked the Culture Ministry why the government had taken the unprecedented step of appointing an MP to be Heritage Malta chairman.

The ministry was also asked for information on Dr Refalo’s remuneration package. This newspaper also sought a reaction on speculation that the appointment was politically motivated. However, no replies had been received by the time of writing.

The information requested was still being gathered

Ms Muscat’s appointment as chairwoman of the Malta International Contemporary Art Space was recently raised in a parliamentary question filed by Opposition culture spokeswoman Therese Comodini Cachia.

She asked Culture Minister Owen Bonnici to outline the criteria on which Ms Muscat’s appointment had been based and also to say what her remuneration package consisted of.

“The reply I got was that the information requested was still being gathered,” Dr Comodini Cachia said.

“The fact that Dr Bonnici was not able to justify a decision made by his own ministry and furnish information that is readily available speaks volumes,” she continued.

With regard to Dr Refalo’s appointment at Heritage Malta, Dr Comodini Cachia expressed concern that the art sector was being politicised. She noted that, apart from these two posts, the government had also appointed former Labour Party general secretary Jason Micallef to head the Valletta 2018 foundation.

“The culture sector has been completely taken over by people with blatant political connections who are close to the government,” she said.

Dr Comodini Cachia questioned the decision to have Mr Micallef head a new culture agency for the capital that would be set up on a permanent basis. “Does this mean the local council will be responsible for street cleansing only?” she wondered.

The Sunday Times of Malta has reported that Valletta mayor Alexiei Dingli pulled out of the V18 board meetings in the wake of complaints that the council was being excluded from the decision-making process.

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