Parliament on Tuesday shelved the Ombudsman debate and discussed the estimates for Heritage Malta and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.

Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech opened the discussion by mentioning how, at an exhibition called “Masterpieces of European Art” held at the Quirinal Palace in Rome to celebrate 50 years of European unity, Malta was thrust into the limelight by its ambassador in stone: the artefact formerly known as The Fat Lady, found in Hagar Qim.

Re-christened Mother Earth, the statuette caught the attention of Prof. Louis Godart, counsellor to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on matters of artistic heritage, who linked the sculpture to the start of the “European adventure” during the “Neolithic revolution”. The minister reported that millions of people heard President Napolitano say on television that “the voyage starts in Malta.”

Enthusiastic about the exposure attracted by our 5,000-year-old emissary, Dr Zammit Dimech said that “when we promote cultural heritage, we are promoting our national DNA.”

Focusing on Heritage Malta, the minister said that the agency fosters this national spirit by promoting heritage, by managing several projects of note – including conservation works, by adopting commercial principles to make heritage sustainable, and by practising an outreach policy. The latter policy not only generates publicity useful for attracting tourists, but is also a key component of cultural diplomacy.

Such diplomacy, said the minister, is just as useful in bringing nations together; in 2005, after seeing the Shaanxi terracotta army in person and having expressed a wish to bring back to Malta at least “a small taste”, the Chinese government agreed to support the exhibition currently under way in Valletta, offering a window on Chinese life of the past.

Minister Zammit Dimech said that between 2005 and 2006, the agency organised 219 events, averaging 1.5 events every two days. Heritage Malta has acquired quite a following with 950 people subscribing to the agency’s membership scheme.

Mentioning the newly-introduced audio guides, the heritage installation at the airport Schengen lounge, the publication of various heritage guides, the projects conducted in partnership with private sponsors, and the various degree and vocational courses introduced at University and MCAST, Dr Zammit Dimech gave an overview of Heritage Malta’s achievements.

The minister also announced that the temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra will be given their weather shields by the end of this year, with a visitor centre following soon after. The temple of Ggantija in Gozo will be likewise equipped with a temporary visitor centre, with a permanent structure being erected in the future. An American company is also conducting a survey of the seabed, at a location which Dr Zammit Dimech said will be kept under wraps and from which Heritage Malta hopes to salvage archaeological relics.

The tab for all the projects to be undertaken this year and the next, including the continued rehabilitation of the National Museum of Archaeology, is expected to reach Lm4.5 million.

As for the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Minister Zammit Dimech said that although it serves as an important element in the safeguarding of cultural heritage, the institution needed to be beefed up, and hence a call for new posts, even at managerial level, will be issued soon. The Superintendence is also going to shift base to Fort St Angelo, and will soon be putting the Cultural Heritage Inventory Management System online.

MLP spokesman for national heritage Joe Brincat lamented Dr Zammit Dimech’s recent criticism of a Labour position paper on cultural heritage. Dr Brincat in turn said that the pictorial installation at the airport was next to useless since passengers whiz by it in their urge to smoke a cigarette after their flight or to retrieve their luggage.

Dr Brincat suggested that the definition of a monument should not be just what is listed as being such by Mepa, but be widened to include anything that links one to the past and that displays a facet of our culture. “A monument can be a simple street, its configuration, what is in it, and which can give you a perspective on its surroundings.”

“What is the use,” said Dr Brincat, “of squabbling on a corner statue, when the rest of the building is ignored?” The Labour MP praised certain private owners in Valletta who rehabilitated not only their home or place of work, but also some of the surrounding facades, when other “awesome buildings were being practically used as slum dwellings.”

Dr Brincat questioned whether the proposed covers for the Qrendi temples would actually trap saline moisture, hastening the rot of the megaliths which have otherwise braved the elements for millennia.

Minister Zammit Dimech replied that the temples spent centuries buried in soil, and experts have confirmed that their relatively recent exposure has taken its toll. The protective structures will be reversible but will provide the necessary protection since the air and humidity within will be controlled.

The other Labour spokesman on national heritage, Roderick Galdes also hit out at the government, saying that 12 sites out of the 32 administered by Heritage Malta are inaccessible and in a bad state. Mr Galdes said that the agency wants more funds, with the Lm1.5 million earmarked by the state for its budget amounting to only a tenth of what the government spends on local councils. The future looks bleak also in terms of qualified labour supply, since only a maximum of seven students are expected to graduate from the BA course in conservation studies by 2010.

A division was called, and the estimates were passed with 26 votes for and 18 against. Parliament was reconvened to yesterday’s session.