Revealed: Kurt Farrugia given €12,500 a month contract at Transport Malta

The spin doctor for disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat is being paid €12,500 a month as CEO of Transport Malta, The Shift can reveal.

Transport Malta has been resisting calls from The Shift for a copy of the new contract that will cost taxpayers more than €150,000 a year.

The contract was only made available to The Shift after the Information Commissioner issued an enforcement notice against Transport Malta for its failure to abide by his ruling on the Freedom of Information request filed.

The agreement that was finally provided shows that Farrugia’s three-year contract, includes a basic salary of €99,000, a €15,000 expense allowance, a 20% (€20,000) disturbance allowance and a €2,000 communications allowance.

It also includes non-monetary allowances paid by Transport Malta, including a full-expensed car and a full-time driver and an international health policy.

Despite this package, Farrugia has not been bound to prove his performance at the beleaguered transport regulator, so much so that his contract does not envisage a performance audit on his delivery.

Still, the perks normally tied to a performance bonus were diverted to other allowances to keep Farrugia’s take-home pay as high as possible.

During his days as Muscat’s gatekeeper, Farrugia earned less than €50,000 a year.

Just a few weeks before Muscat’s forced resignation in 2019, Farrugia was gifted a new government job at Malta Enterprise, where he was paid €11,000 a month.

During his time at Malta Enterprise, the agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment to Malta, little to no new investment came Malta’s way.

Earlier this year, following the sacking of Aaron Farrugia as Transport Minister, Farrugia was transferred from Malta Enterprise to Transport Malta.

Despite no longer having anything to do with Malta Enterprise, Farrugia is still representing the entity on the boards of MTrace PLC and Smart City (Malta) Ltd.

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17 Comments
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M.Galea
M.Galea
3 months ago

X gharukaza!!

Fred the Red
Fred the Red
3 months ago

L-aqwa zmien indeed! The Opposition should raise hell…. Will it? It would even be in order to boycott all official Christmas events…. These are not normal times. As a great statesman famously said in the 80s… in the current situation, everything else is irrelevant…

Last edited 3 months ago by Fred the Red
Saviour Mamo
Saviour Mamo
3 months ago

A € 150,000 a year contract for keeping his mouth shut.

P montebello
P montebello
3 months ago

Jekk taghmilhom fuq xulxin jigu ghola minnu!!!!
(Ma stajtx niflah izjed biex nghida)

Joseph Tabone Adami
Joseph Tabone Adami
3 months ago

Sometimes I wonder as to the real reason why tax ceilings are being raised every now and then!

John
John
3 months ago

Nahseb biex isolvi il problema tat traffiku ghalhekk se jkollu driver biex waqt li jkun fit traffiku jkun jaħseb fuq soluzzjonjiet

Anne R. key
Anne R. key
3 months ago
Reply to  John

TM made sure of getting rid of all valuable Transport management experts – the result, well we all know, don’t we?

Natalie Mallett
Natalie Mallett
3 months ago

Dak soċlaliżmu eh!! F’xahar jaqla paga aktar milli naqla penzjoni jien f’sena wara aktar minn erbghin sena naħdem fis-servizz tas-saħħa. Ħallas it-taxxi ġaħan ħalli dal-ħallelin ikollhom biex jiffangaw. Ja qatta ħnieżer. Tneħħilhom il-flus ma jibqalhom xejn għax l-irġulija ilhom li tilfuha mill-2013.

Anne R. key
Anne R. key
3 months ago

Very well said

Austin Sammut
Austin Sammut
3 months ago

Disturbance allowance? What disturbance?

Karmenu Psaila
Karmenu Psaila
3 months ago
Reply to  Austin Sammut

Waiting in the traffic disturbance

Anne R. key
Anne R. key
3 months ago
Reply to  Austin Sammut

Well he does disturb the toilet when he flushes………… OINK, OINK!

Anne R. key
Anne R. key
3 months ago

“Despite this package, Farrugia has not been bound to prove his performance”
What performance? he is there just to warm his seat. The Authority is known to be run by an intimate friend of Bonnet’s wife – a person who has done nothing but instigate hatred, has turned the Authority into an active Labour Party Club and as a result has completely eroded the little good that remained!

Gee Mike
Gee Mike
3 months ago

The best thing was the precedent of Amanda Muscat paying back her ill gotten gains. Using the same labour yardstick, a new government with a spine (we have never had one yet) will be able to recover a lot of money back from these leaches.

Paul Berman
Paul Berman
3 months ago

Instead of locking them up we reward them with huge sums of money

charles vassallo
charles vassallo
3 months ago

I’m sorry to be rude, but what the fuck?! What does this sorry excuse of a man know on roads and transport?

S. Camilleri
S. Camilleri
3 months ago

This guy knows about all the dirt, and was part of it, and so, as per usual, is being compensated to keep silent.

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