Manoel CEO said to have screamed at workers, sent inappropriate text to female employee

Minister for culture Owen Bonnici will not give out any details on an ‘external’ panel whose members have advised the Manoel Theatre board to suspend its CEO, Massimo Zammit, on half-pay.

Questions sent to the ministry to explain the panel’s terms of reference and the allegations they were probing into the Manoel Theatre, were not answered. “Given the fact that the matter was referred to the Police, the Ministry refrains from passing any comments at this stage. The Ministry and the relevant entities have taken all the necessary action,” a ministry spokesperson said.

Zammit was suspended on recommendation of this external panel, which is investigating as-yet-unspecified allegations on the Manoel Theatre’s management. The police have been forwarded a set of allegations, while a disciplinary board will hear and determine part of the allegations.

MaltaToday understands that an emergency board meeting was convened on Tuesday night at the Manoel Theatre over the allegations that concern Zammit’s personality and management style.

The claims could be based on complaints from Manoel Theatre employees to the external panel, who said Zammit was a difficult person to deal with professionally. 

In one complaint, Zammit was said to have been heard screaming at an employee while slamming shut her laptop. She then left the office crying.

A female employee even alleged Zammit had made unsolicited advances toward her, first by complimenting her appearance while at work and later by texting her at night on WhatsApp, on matters unrelated to work, the sources said.

Other individuals who spoke with MaltaToday said they rarely had clashes with the CEO but said they had witnessed him yelling at employees who had been smoking in the theatre’s workshop. The source said Zammit’s reaction was justified due to the highly flammable contents stored in the workshop.

Zammit was appointed to the post under the purview of Bonnici’s predecessor, José Herrera. Sources who support Zammit’s tenure believe his work will be overshadowed by the internal inquiry and that he lacks favour with the powers that be.

The sources also believe the Manoel Theatre board wants to avoid the backlash prevalent inside the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, whose CEO was charged with suborning a witness over her sexual harassment accusations agaist a top official.

Zammit accepted to suspend himself on half-pay without any protest, they said, and that he was cooperating with the police.

Edward Zammit, who currently holds the post of Spazju Kreattiv CEO, is now acting CEO of the Manoel Theatre.