Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/216204
3 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 NOVEMBER 2013 Labour's musical chairs in government corporations Enemalta CEO Louis Giordimaina to take over from Peter Davies in 2014 as Air Malta chief executive raised this matter in parliament, but energy minister Konrad Mizzi tried to laugh it off. Government is trying to accommodate its own people rather than having the best possible candidates for a job." MATTHEW VELLA THE government yesterday an- nounced new CEOs and chairmen at the helm of utility corporations Enemalta and the Water Services Corporation, in moves that follow the ousting of WSC chairman Tony Mejlaq. Mejlaq – one-time chairman of the Telemalta corporation during the Sant administration – was also serving as chairman of the corporations' billing company ARMS (Automated Revenue Management Services). But he was asked to resign earlier this week. It is not yet confirmed whether the resignation is linked to the fact that ARMS's new chief executive, James Davies – appointed some time in the summer – was his former business partner. The government said in a statement that Mejlaq will still be "giving his contribution in other spheres of government." The most high-profile of appointments was that of outgoing Enemalta chief executive Louis Giordimaina, who has been designated as Peter Davies's successor at Air Malta. The move will see WSC chief executive Frederick Azzopardi, a Labour local councillor for Mdina, take up the Enemalta CEO's post; while the new chief executive at the Water Services Corporation will be engineer JohnMary Abela – a former Labour candidate in the 1998 elections, and son of former minister Wistin Abela. New Air Malta chief Louis Giordimaina The political nature of the appointments, none of which are by public call, was enough to attract comment from Nationalist MP George Pullicino, who said the new postings at WSC and Enemalta were "proof that Labour's definition of meritocracy is not about what one does, but whether you are a bootlicker or not". Pullicino, formerly a minister for the environment, said he had previously raised the fact that the WSC board was not holding any meetings, citing differences between Tony Mejlaq and Frederick Azzopardi. "These new positions are being made in a bid to save face after ARMS now loses its second chairman since Labour was elected. I was right when I Air Malta now sees its former chief engineer Louis Giordimaina, returning to steer the airline when Peter Davies, the Welshman appointed in 2010 to take over a €230 million restructuring plan, moves out in April 2014. Giordimaina has over 36 years' experience in the aviation industry, having joined Air Malta's engineering department in 1975 as an aircraft engineer, before becoming chief engineer in 1994. He was instrumental in the setting-up of Lufthansa Technik Malta, a joint venture between Lufthansa Tecknik and Air Malta, of which he was appointed CEO in 2002. He occupied this role until 2011 and retained as director of the company until September 2013. In 2008 he was appointed chairman of the Water Services Corporation and in November 2011 he was appointed executive chairman of Enemalta. It is yet to be seen whether Davies will be kept on a retainer at Air Malta to guide Giordimaina through the restructuring process of the national airline, after having halved the airline's losses from €78 million in 2011 to €30.9 million in 2013. Tourism minister Karmenu Vella described Giordimaina's appointment as a confirmation that "a person shouldn't be foreigner to occupy top positions in a government company" – somewhat betraying Labour's discomfort with the choice of the €500,000-a-year Davies. No public calls for posts Putting paid to Labour's meritocracy battlecry, the top posts at the utility companies are now held by former Labour MP Charles Mangion as Enemalta chairman, Labour councillor Frederick Azzopardi as CEO and former Labour candidate John Mary Abela as chairman at the Water Services Corporation. Under Tony Mejlaq, the CEO at billing company ARMS was his Peter Davies George Pullicino former business partner James Davies, who took over acting chief Henry Attard earlier in the summer. Davies was a company secretary and shareholder in a number of companies in which Mejlaq also had a controlling interest. ARMS will now have its third chairman in less than nine months: Meilaq was appointed chairman in July 2013, replacing Xghajra mayor Anthony Valvo who was appointed in April. Davies was a company secretary in Comtel International, CJTV Holdings, Management Outsourcing Co Ltd, and in the case of Traveltek he was also a shareholder with Meilaq. And another common name is that of WSC deputy chairman Saviour Zammit, who was a director in Comtel, Traveltek, and Management Outsourcing before these companies were struck off the company register. Non-EU nationals leave over €2 million in unpaid hospital bills TIM ATTARD MONTALTO SINCE January 2008, the sum of €2,162,575.80 in unpaid hospital bills for the medical care of non-EU citizens has accumulated at various hospitals in Malta. The figures were issued in parliament after Opposition health spokesman, Claudio Grech, requested the information from health minister Godfrey Farrugia. Malta's national hospital, Mater Dei – which only started operating a few months previous to the startingpoint of these figures – has generated the almost-inconceivable sum of €1,255,679 in unpaid hospital fees from non-EU citizens. Meanwhile, patients at Mount Carmel Hospital and Gozo's General Hospital have racked up a total of €633,286.81 and €235,687.95, respectively. The Karen Grech Rehabilitation Hospital has also accumulated a credit total of €37,922.04 in such fees. During 2008, there were 262 cases of non-EU citizens receiving public medical care, of which 140 (53%) settled their bills but 122 (47%) did not, and so far have not. In monetary terms, this equates to a total of €221,234 which was not paid from the year's total amount billed of €483,082. Entity Amount Billed Paid Gozo General Hospital Mater Dei Hospital Mount Carmel Hospital Rehab Karen Grech Hospital €261,253.18 €2,527,563.00 €660,318.84 €37,922.04 €25,565.23 €1,271,884.00 €27,032.03 NIL Total €3,487,057.06 The trend was to carry over to the following year in which only 133 (54%) bills of non-EU patients, out of a total of 248, were closed. The 115 (46%) patients who did not pay had a combined accumulation of €174,905 from the total amount billed of €429,571. €1,324,481.26 In some cases, the individual hospital fees were nothing short of astronomical. In November 2008, for instance, one particular unpaid fee amounted to €16,981, whilst earlier that year another fee which stood at €14,908 was left unpaid. Farrugia said that the government was committed in rectifying such mismanagement. According to the law, healthcare in Malta is free for citizens, persons in possession of a valid work permit and any citizen of a foreign country who has a reciprocal understanding with Malta, with regard to subsides in health services. In the case of non-taxpayers, a bill is issued from the place where the care was administered and the person in question is required to pay it, however if the person is able to present the required EU documents, the bill will be passed on to the respective authorities of his or her country of origin.