The Enemalta CEO Jonathan Cardona has been relieved of his services after the recent power outages and will be moved over to the Occupational Health and Safety Authority.
Cardona, who was placed at Enemalta on a €160,000 annual salary by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli, has been removed from the post on the direct order of Prime Minister Robert Abela in the wake of last month’s nationwide blackout debacle.
Government sources have informed The Shift that Dalli has been ordered to terminate Cardona’s contract with immediate effect and that he will now be transferred to lead the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA).
Cardona will be replacing Mark Gauci at the OHSA as Gauci is set to retire.
The government found itself under intense pressure and the brunt of national criticism when Malta’s electricity grid literally melted when temperatures soared during the recent heatwave.
Enemalta recently was brought to its knees by continuous electricity outages across vast areas of Malta and Gozo, some persisting for close to two weeks.
Although both Dalli and Cardona blamed the weather for the grid’s failure, insiders at Enemalta insisted the reason was a lack of investment and long-term planning dedicated to the distribution network.
Government sources also told The Shift that Cardona, an acolyte of disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat, had always been viewed by Abela as “unfit for the job” but Dalli had stuck her neck out for him.
Cardona was appointed as Enemalta CEO in October 2021. Before that, he spent years acting as Muscat’s chief citizenship salesman as head of the infamous cash-for-citizenship scheme.
A former classmate of Muscat at St Aloysius College, Cardona was made Identity Malta CEO soon after Muscat was swept to power in 2013.
Shortly after the government started receiving messages from Brussels that the cash for passports scheme would have to end, Dalli handpicked Cardona to run Enemalta. He then arranged for his former assistant at the cash-for-passports agency, Monica Farrugia, to be appointed as Executive Director at Enemalta where she was earning €105,000 a year.
For the time being, Enemalta will be run by Chairman Ray Fava – the Malta Dockers Union President and a close friend of the Prime Minister’s father, former President George Abela.
This is unbelievable.
Cretins being moved around the snakes and ladders board game.
But King Cretin and Lady Cretin keep smiling while saying stupidities and blaming the weather.
The OHSA Chairman should have resigned the minute he walked out fo the Public Inquiry Court Room. He was made to lick the ground .
The EneMalta CEO hand picking by Dalli showed Dalli’s incompetence.
As we say in Malta : “They ate Tripe Together , so all is well.” Kielu il-Kirxa flimkien.
Shuffle and dance with the rampant corruption in the LP between ‘friends of friends’.
So this guy screws up, gets fired and then handed another leadership role?? WTF indeed.
Or maybe they want someone incompetent to manage health and safety …. So like always nothing gets done in this field.
Useless pigs at the through.
Over 13000 monthly for another incompetent person of trust.
This is, and please do excuse my foul language here, AS IT IS FUCKING AND BLOODY UNBELIEVABLE!! I mean how does a previous salesman selling ‘cash for passports scheme’ was appointed as CEO for Enemalta!? This beggars belief!
WHERE ON EARTH IS THE PN OPPOSITION PARTY ?! THEY SEEM TO BE USELESS and UTTERLY BLOODY CLUELESS!
It’s only thanks to The Shift and an indefatigable person, being Arnold Cassola, battling against such a corrupt Labour Party Government in power that we get to know on such scandals!
Wake up from your slumber Bernard and et al, as otherwise you may only be remembered as a ‘Have Been’!
IT IS TIME FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE! Our faith and conscience has long been violated throughout these past ten years by such a corrupt Labour Party in Government!
Enough is enough!
Bernard Grech is clueless, and of course he has surrounded himself with a bunch of useless idiots. I suspect that they are deliberately sleeping at the wheel.
If the roles were reversed, and this was the PL/Muscat opposition of 2008-2013, the opposition would be dictating the national agenda and all the talking points in the street, on the media, etc. Joseph Muscat was/is a crook and a fraud, but he was a super effective opposition leader.
Bernard Grech seems genuinely disinterested in being the opposition leader, and is ‘occupying’ the position simply for the prestige. He has no vision, no drive, no charisma, and no basic leadership skills.
The Alibaba thieves sharing the spoils in the same way those who crucified Christ split his clothes amongst them.
Incompetent pigs playing musical chairs.
MIRIAM DALLI SHOULD BE SACKED IMMEDIATELY, INCOMPETENT.
The obvious is NOT so obvious!
If Cardona was removed, albeit to another iced bun job, SHOULDN’T MINISTER DALLI ALSO RESIGN? She carried political responsibility in this matter, the failure of which was the main cause of the outages. Cardona to an extent is less culpable, because he has no say in the allocation of funds, whilst Dalli had the duty to provide them.
SHE DIDN’T! .
Dawn x rizenji huma? Mela min jerfa ir responsabilta ta ghemilu mhux jistahba jmur sur ministru? Ma tifilhux twaqghu lil pajjizna ghan nejk iktar. Kif ma tisthux tidru quddiem in nies.
Jien l iktar li ninharaq meta nara xi ministru bhal din Dalli jew lil Bertu l prim jitghanqu u jiccacraw mal mexxeja tal ewropa. Nistena iktar serjeta min din l ewropa li tiftahar kemm hi serja u demokratika.
Hbieb tal- hbieb. Wahda ghal nies u ohra ghall-annimali.
It is regrettable that the outgoing Chief Executive of the OHSA, Dr.Mark Gauci be replaced with a political appointee. Dr. Gauci whose integrity and professionality is unquestionable had a key role in the setting up of OHSA and putting in place high standards of occupational health and safety in Malta. It is unfortunate that his replacement is taking place at this time when as a result of tragic failures in the construction industry building safety standards need to be reviewed.
Any job for me? I’d love to run some Government enterprise.
Incredible