Opposition MP Leo Brincat yesterday said it was difficult to understand why Foreign Minister Michael Frendo has made no statement about the fact that workmen were dismantling furnishings and equipment at the Voice of the Mediterranean studios.

Mr Brincat said the silence was deafening, especially in view of the fact that the station had been out of commission for four years amid allegations of irregularities and wasting of public funds.

Moreover, Mr Brincat said, the foreign ministry has ignored various calls for explanations from sections of the media.

He said that the public deserved to know where the furniture and technical equipment was going and whether a professional and independent inventory of the contents had been taken.

He also said the public deserved to know the findings of audit accounts of the station and whether shareholders might have liquidated some assets. If that was the case, he asked, how much were they sold for?

Mr Brincat also questioned whether items declared obsolete were truly obsolete.

He also called for a clear and categorical confirmation that no furniture and sophisticated equipment “disappeared” during the radio station’s four years of silence.