Minister’s man inside PA given €150,000 consultancy by Enemalta

Architect Godwin Agius, a close aide to Planning Minister Clint Camilleri and recently appointed to the executive board of the permits regulator when the Gozo Minister was given the planning portfolio, has now also been awarded a €150,000 direct order by Enemalta.

While no details have been given on Agius’s latest consultancy, sources at the state energy company told The Shift that this was related to a project in Birzebbuga to rehabilitate the area called il-Pont tas-Shell.

The project, intended to turn a former pier used to carry fuel towards Enemalta storage tanks into a swimming and recreational area, is spearheaded by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli. The project is in her electoral district.

Agius has been commissioned for the job despite his conflict of interest as a member of the Planning Authority’s top decision-making board and his consultancy to another government company that requires a planning permit.

Godwin Agius is a former consultant to Minister Clint Camilleri and was also recently given another ‘full-time’ job as a senior project manager at the Gozo Regional Development Authority (GRDA).

He has served on various government boards, including Gozo Channel Operations Ltd, the Construction Industry Licensing Committee and Transport Malta.

He is also a frequent recipient of direct orders particularly from the Gozo Ministry, mostly related to road projects.

Enemalta dishes out 20 consultancy contracts

Meanwhile, Enemalta, which is currently in the red due to heavy losses, is still paying some €800,000 a year in consultancies.

After publishing a new list of consultancies, requested by PN MP Mark Anthony Sammut, it has been revealed that a full-blown internal audit is currently taking place at Enemalta.

The audit – a result of last summer’s blunder when the island suffered days without energy due to years of lack of investment and planning – is being carried out by RSM, the audit firm for the Labour Party in government.

The audit firm is being paid €174,000 for this latest audit.

Architect Janice Borg, Head of the maritime unit at Infrastructure Malta, is also a consultant for Enemalta.

Recently, The Shift reported that Borg was also given a direct order by an OPM agency, former Projects Malta, to advise on maritime infrastructure – the same job she is paid to do at Infrastructure Malta.

Infrastructure Malta CEO Ivan Falzon, who introduced a conflict-of-interest code last summer, did not reply to questions about the matter.

A young lawyer, Elian Scicluna, employed at the firm of former PN official John Bonello, who turned Labour in 2017, has been hired to provide data protection consultancy to the state entity for €20,000 a year.

Other consultants include Gordon Cordina, the BOV chairman through his private consultancy E-Cubed, lawyer Stefano Filletti, and Camilleri Preziosi law firm.