Energy Minister Miriam Dalli humiliated as prime minister takes over Enemalta

Tista taqra dan l-artiklu bil-Malti.

Less than two months after Energy Minister Miriam Dalli “categorically denied” The Shift’s revelations that Enemalta’s CEO Jonathan Cardona was to be sacked and replaced by Ryan Fava, the government confirmed the news in a terse message yesterday evening.

Through a ‘news’ item leaked to the state broadcaster PBS, Enemalta announced the sudden departure of Cardona and his immediate replacement with the current chairman of the energy provider, Ryan Fava.

Government sources told The Shift that the Prime Minister took the decision to sack Jonathan Cardona last August following the complete meltdown of Enemalta’s grid, halting the country with long and wide blackouts.

Despite Abela’s order to sack Cardona and replace him with Fava, Miriam Dalli resisted in what was considered a power struggle at the top echelons of the government, with the energy minister lamenting that this would place the blame on her.

However, Abela insisted that Cardona was “not fit for the job”, and Dalli eventually had to follow orders.

It is known that relations between Abela and Dalli became strained after the latter started sounding party delegates on the possibility of replacing Abela after the next MEP elections.

Cardona’s removal from Enemalta comes less than two years into his €160,000-a-year contract arranged for him by Miriam Dalli.

His three-year definite contract as CEO of the state entity had to run until October 2024 and included a renewal clause of a further three years.

However, it has now been terminated, and it is not yet known where Cardona will be placed.

Both Cardona and his former assistant, Monica Farrugia, who he had also put on a €105,000 salary as an executive director at the state entity, are expected to be removed from Enemalta.

Ryan Fava, who has now taken over the role of CEO, in addition to his appointment as chairman last year, is a ‘Robert Abela man’ due to his close connections to the prime minister’s father, George Abela.

Fava, with a background as a docker (tax-Xatt) is also the President of the Malta Dockers Union, which used to be represented by George Abela.

The same sources said Fava had been instructed to report Enemalta affairs directly to the prime minister, bypassing Miriam Dalli.

While Dalli and Jonathan Cardona had blamed the weather for the unprecedented series of power outages, Enemalta officials had told The Shift that the real reason was the lack of professional management, direction, and long-term investment by Enemalta.

Cardona is a Joseph Muscat loyalist entrusted to lead the cash-for-passports programme between 2013 and 2021.