Those who advised the government to remove the National Book Council from the Ministry of Education have no idea what they are doing and no expertise on the subject. The National Book Council is still legally under the Ministry of Education because the Subsidiary Legislation has not been revoked.
In addition, according to the law itself, this move requires the full consultation of the stakeholders – this did not happen. The Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association, which is praising the move, is not a stakeholder of the book industry and has no remit or expertise to advise on this matter. The stakeholders are explicitly listed in the subsidiary legislation.
The MEIA is becoming an extension of government interests and don’t take my word about this. Although I respect several individuals in this organisation, the MEIA is also being led by literal government employees employed with the Arts Council and the Culture Ministry – these individuals are not artistic professionals and have got nothing to do with the book industry. They issued a very bizarre statement saying that “literature will now have its deserved place” with this move. This is false.
Under my remit, the National Book Council literally put Maltese literature on the world map and literature boomed locally, but the individuals pushing this move don’t care about the literary community: they care only about themselves as they play centralising power-games through NGOs.
Read here the subsidiary legislation of the National Book Council which provides the entity with autonomy and empowers its stakeholders.
Note that the MEIA has adopted a habit of praising Labour Party politicians and attacking government critics – just as it did last year when they issued a defamatory press release in my regard during the exact time when I was being lynched by the Labour Party’s propaganda machine.
It’s a total shame how the culture industry is being compromised by a couple of opportunistic grifters.
Below is a photo of the MEIA committee with the new Culture Minister. On the far-right is Francesco Grech who is literally a government employee, yet he is cosploying as an expert lobbyist for the arts world.
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