New Enemalta boss Jonathan Cardona gives assistant Monica Farrugia €105,000 top post

Tista’ taqra dan l-artiklu bil-Malti hawn.

Monica Farrugia, formerly the close assistant and travel companion of new Enemalta boss, Jonathan Cardona, has been hired by her former boss at the government’s cash-for-passports agency (Community Malta) to serve as an executive director at the state energy company on a six-figure compensation package, a Freedom of Information request confirmed.

Farrugia, a long-standing member of the executive committee of the Labour Party, was recruited as Executive Director at the state energy agency, just weeks after Cardona himself was handpicked by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli to serve as Enemalta CEO, on a financial package of 160,000.

According to information sought by The Shift through a Freedom of Information request, Farrugia, hired as an Executive Director by Enemalta, will receive a remuneration package of 105,000, including salaries and benefits.

Apart from a basic salary reaching 81,105 per annum, Farrugia’s contract is peppered with fringe benefits, including an 8,500 annual payment for the use of a full-expensed car, some 4,000 for a health insurance and communications allowance, another 4,000 compensation for ‘disturbance’ and a performance bonus reaching more than 12,000 a year. This bonus is to be determined by Cardona himself.

Farrugia, who has no experience in the management of such a large entity, will see her job transformed into an indefinite contract after four years of employment at the state energy company.

Reporting directly to the company’s CEO (Cardona), Farrugia has been put in charge of all departments related to HR and communications as Executive Director for Corporate Affairs.

In its replies to The Shift, Enemalta said that Farrugia was recruited to the post following a public call. 

It is not yet known whether Cardona sat on the interviewing board quizzing Farrugia to establish whether she was the best and most qualified candidate for the top post.

Monica Farrugia, a Gozitan from Victoria, has been piggybacking on Cardona’s meteoric career progression since Labour was elected to power in 2013.

Cardona was a school classmate of disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat who became closely involved in his campaign to become Labour leader.

Following the 2013 election, Cardona was put in charge of Identity Malta where he acted as chief salesman of Maltese passports to multimillionaires.

He immediately recruited Monica Farrugia to act as his assistant and later promoted her to Chief Commercial Officer of the cash-for-passports scheme.

 

Monica Farrugia promoting the sale of Maltese passports while in China

In 2020, The Shift reported that Cardona and Farrugia spent months globetrotting, ‘promoting’ the sale of Maltese passports across four continents from Asia to South Africa, the Caucasus and South America.

In four years, Cardona and Farrigia ran up a travel bill of almost 300,000 in luxury hotels and business class travel, visiting places such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Monaco, China, Brazil and Ukraine among others. Their travels were mostly related to sales pitches organised by Henley & Partners.

Farrugia was also appointed to serve on the Board of Governors of the National Development and Social Fund (NSDF) – the government fund that controls millions of euros in income from the sale of passports, soon after Cardona was made chairman of the same board.

Separately, Farrugia was also appointed by the government to serve on the Board of Directors of Gozo Channel.

Enemalta sources told The Shift that Farrugia’s latest move to Enemalta was made on the personal initiative of Cardona who made it an “unwritten condition” to Minister Miriam Dalli in order to agree to move to Enemalta.

Farrugia is now considered “the second in command” at the state energy company after Cardona.

Enemalta is currently experiencing major financial problems and is only being kept afloat by direct monthly subsidies from the government.

                           

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21 Comments
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Greed
Greed
2 years ago

I think bonnicci brothers need yet another direct order to build a new super sized trough?

M.Galea
M.Galea
2 years ago

To the editor! Monica Farrugia a Gozitan from Victoria! Did you tell us where from is Cardona!?

Cikku
Cikku
2 years ago

prosit indeed!!! if she is as effective in communications as she was at Community malta, than we have our minds at rest that non of the utility company’s clients would receive any feedback. meritocracy as its best, whilst the country’s deficit continues to grow!!!!!!!

carmelo borg
2 years ago

Hbieb tal Hbieb u kif???????

Geatno Pace
Geatno Pace
2 years ago
Reply to  carmelo borg

It trend il gdida hadet il bixra ta IL HABIBA TAL HABIB.

Marianna Galea Xuereb
Marianna Galea Xuereb
2 years ago
Reply to  Geatno Pace

Ma tantx hija gdida wisq ghaliex, ta’ 23 sena fl-2013, Nikita Zammit Alamango tpoggiet mid-diversi hbieb taghha dak iz-zmien (mainly Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando u CONrat Mizzi) direttrici fuq il-bord tal-Water Services Corporation.

Marianna Galea Xuereb
Marianna Galea Xuereb
1 year ago
Reply to  Geatno Pace

Gdida xejn. Hnizrijiet li f’Malta ilhom isehhu ghexieren ta’ snin.

Francis Said
Francis Said
2 years ago

Well nothing surprising about all this, as it has become the order of the day.
Public funds being passed on to “tal-qalba”.
Nothwithstanding that Enemalta is again being subsidised by tax payers’ funds.
Again the saying: it is not what you know but who you know.

B Micallef
B Micallef
2 years ago

Jagħmlu l-arju bi flus ħaddieħor …

Last edited 2 years ago by B Micallef
Irma la douce
Irma la douce
2 years ago

Jaq, jaq, jaq. Some people remind me of a particular profession which seems to have become legalised.

Marianna Galea Xuereb
Marianna Galea Xuereb
2 years ago
Reply to  Irma la douce

That is extremely insulting to the girls at places such as Marsa, Qawra and Gzira’s Testaferrata Street. Such women are paid by private clients NOT via tax-payers’ money.

Geatno Pace
Geatno Pace
2 years ago

Why worry Jock there is the National Debt to make good for this extraordinary expense of Euro 2000.00 Per week.
Now tell me which Labour Labourer would ever beyond 300 Euros a week.

Godfrey Leone Ganado
Godfrey Leone Ganado
2 years ago

Such a long, expensive and close relationship, makes me wonder what we are actually paying for.
Converting the job into an indefinite contract after 4 years is criminal.
No wonder the Budget deficit and the National Debt keep increasing.

Marianna Galea Xuereb
Marianna Galea Xuereb
2 years ago

We are paying for many totally unnecessary and bad-value-for-taxpayers’-money squanders, including for the personal services rendered by very expensive whores.

carmel callus
carmel callus
2 years ago

What do you expect from a corrupt government led by a Prime Minister who declared to have paid €600,000 for a villa the price of which was much higher.

Kalanc
Kalanc
2 years ago

Why don’t you investigate their actual personal relationship? Also, is it so easy to be appointed in such an important top post without even having the basic knowledge of how electricity is generated?

carlos
carlos
2 years ago

Mhux il-parlement biss sar maqjel (annglu farrugia please note) izda Malta kollha taht il-muvument korrot.

Ganni
Ganni
2 years ago

It’s not a surprise she doesn’t have a profile on Linkedin. Individuals holding such important roles within the local sector are visible on Linkedin, but funnily enough she doesn’t. Guess why? It’s easy and reliable to have such a close personal connection with someone being apopointed as CEO – her job security level is on a high! Miskina l mara tieghu!

Marianna Galea Xuereb
Marianna Galea Xuereb
2 years ago
Reply to  Ganni

Mela ghadu mizzewweg ukoll?

Marianna Galea Xuereb
Marianna Galea Xuereb
2 years ago
Reply to  Ganni
Marianna Galea Xuereb
Marianna Galea Xuereb
2 years ago

Enemalta should provide a link to the public call for Farrugia’s job. I for one never came across it.

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