Does Konrad Mizzi’s wife put in his batteries every morning, or is he wind-up?

Published: January 15, 2013 at 4:35pm

Sorry I’ve been away for the most of the day. I’m watching Labour’s press conference on Super One TV right now.

Konrad Mizzi has just mentioned that he is only the ‘public face’ of their power station project, and that there is a whole team of civil engineers and others working on the proposal.

Shouldn’t we be told who they are? It’s important that we know. It occurs to me that a few of them may be speaking in favour of the proposal in public while working on it in secret.

Bang on cue, a journalist asks the question: can you tell us the names of the people on your team, please?

Mizzi demurs. He fudges about saying that we should take his word for it that they are civil engineers etc. You know, because every old civil engineer can tell you how to build a power station. And now he’s said that some of them don’t wish to keep their involvement secret “because you know how it is, if it becomes known that they are helping the Labour Party then they won’t get any government contracts and so on.”

Unbelievable. Truly, truly beyond belief.

And if that is really the case, and the Labour Party sees nothing wrong in colluding with such unprincipled behaviour (well, really, what do you expect of Il-Guy?) then what about the others, the ones who are not keen to keep it secret?

They probably don’t exist. From my considerable experience of life in this country, I’ll tell you exactly what is happening: the Labour Party has drawn in a few operators who are not the best in the field but who are the ones with their eye on the main chance. In helping Labour, they’re hoping for favour hand-outs when Labour is in government – while keeping their identity secret just in case Labour loses and they will want to continue trying to seek favours from a PN government.




33 Comments Comment

  1. Jozef says:

    Ivan Camilleri:tista’ tghidli min huma, tista tghidli min huma, tista, tghidli min huma.

    Konrad MIzzi: yes it-timeframe tas-safety case, yes world class safety standards, yes tested with stakeholders, yes voxpop on radio.

    • Jozef says:

      From The Times comments board.

      Jason Zammit
      Today, 14:33

      Conrad Mizzi f’xi Play station jifhem mhux Power Station

  2. P.Dimech says:

    For how long are we going to be kept in the dark…unbelievable. ..

  3. observer says:

    One finds lackeys in all walks of life, No wonder there may be some involved in this hotch-potch.

  4. ray says:

    Why is The Times treating the PL with kid gloves?

    Even the reporting is biased towards the PL, with no questioning. Nothing.

    At least Maltatoday -for what it’s worth- is reporting much better. Take this press conference for example. One wonders if they were in the same building.

    http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130115/elections-news/pl-says.453355

    http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/elections2013/Labour-excludes-tendering-process-for-LNG-terminal-and-power-station-20130115

  5. Manuel says:

    And why all the fuss about energy? They give the impression that this is the only card they to play.

    Malta achieved a lot more in the last 10 years and this seems to be irrelevant to the PL.

  6. George says:

    Does Konrad have a conflict of interest in all this? Who is he colluding with? What will he get personally out of it?

    Furthermore, does anyone have an idea why he is refuting to admit that Labour will have to buy a new power station?

  7. TROY says:

    Kollox top secret hi.

    Imma jien hsibt li Malta taghna lkoll.

    Kemm huma fuckin foloz dawn in-nies.

  8. David S says:

    Perit Ellul Vincenti is a civil engineer – but the less said the better.

    While he was chairman of EneMalta, phase 1 Delimara power station was built under his (very close) watch.

    Yes, let’s admit it, part of the problem with energy generation in Malta was the appointment of EneMalta chairmen who were “not too competent” or “not very transparent”. Look them up and see what I mean.

    This excludes the current chairman who does not fall into either category. He is ex CEO of Lufthansa Technik.

  9. Tonio Bone says:

    Konrad is throwing in a lot of passion in this but what he does not realise is that there is a hidden risk. If this works he will be a hero, if it doesn’t he will be the sacrifical lamb.

    Labour will be running this country come the 9th of March and Joseph Muscat will implement his energy policy revolution because if he doesn’t, the Opposition will pelter him all the way to the last day of the legislature and the people that will vote Labour will feel betrayed.

    Eventually we will then find out 1) the real figures behind the project, 2) who the interested private parties are, 3) who the engineers advising Labour are. And more.

    Mark my words: Joseph Muscat WILL reduce electricity bills by 25% whatever the outcome, because frankly he cannot afford not to. According to Konrad Mizzi, this requires a cost of Euro 77 million annually, so there must be a Plan B to cough up this money from another source.

    If there is no Plan B then this will go to widen our deficit further and that will not be good news.

    I will not go as far as saying that PN’s energy plan has been perfect, far from it, and perhaps in some instance, especially with Phase 2 of Delimara, it did not pan out as expected, but the people that govern us need and have to realize that this country cannot take such gambles.

    The restructuring of entities such as Malta Drydocks, Malta Shipbuilding, Sea Malta (defunct), Air Malta and the so-far failed restructing of Enemalta either for lack of expertise or not to lose votes have cost us dearly, and we will bear the brunt of this for a few decades to come.

    It is therefore high time our politicians find some consensus in their policies so that we move in a straight line and not zig-zag our way forward.

    To call our present utility bills a burden is an understatement: in comparison Enemalta debt peaking at just over Euro 800 million is frightening. I just hope Labour know what they are doing and that keeping ‘the promise’ will not result in further financial misery.

  10. Jozef says:

    From Maltatoday, which seems to be having second thoughts about Joseph’s transparency.

    ‘(…) We’re not going to buy a power station,” Mizzi said when asked by MaltaToday whether Labour’s proposed expression of interest was not a transparent method of choosing a private operator that will construct and supply gas to the power station.

    “We are inviting a private operator to participate in the supply and generation of energy and this will be in line with EU law… we are going to push bidders to offer the lowest price possible.”

    The private operator will be a new entrant in the market for generating energy, but the energy will have to be distributed by Enemalta, the state-owned company. (…)’

    Simply because they’re not buying the physical plant, doesn’t mean they aren’t making use of its services.

    It’s a bloody public procurement process like any other, especially if you expect to sign up with one interested party for 25 years.

    If this is their way of treating the derogation, they’re mad if they think the EU’ll let them get away with it.

    But then, that will become the bureaucracy to do away with.

    Simples.

  11. ciccio says:

    Why is KonradMizzi2013 manifestly not minimally bothered that his daily ration of repetition of bullshit about how the power station Labour (PL) is “doable” will result in the total annihilation of his credibility?

    Because he doesn’t have any credibility already.

  12. pablo says:

    I have been following Konrad Mizzi since his hit-the-ground-running promotion began.

    This afternoon he finally trundled out his acceptance that there has to be a hedging agreement “on top” of the energy supply agreement adding that they exist for periods of ten years and up. “Its a fact, go find them on the internet”.

    While he has failed to produce one instance of a recent fixed price supply agreement, he is now duty bound in honesty to produce one instance of a recent hedging agreement of ten years for LNG.

    This aspect is crucial to the whole proposal not being just another Spanish Lottery.

    You see that the only thing that bothers me about his behaviour is that he never admits to the slightest possibility that he might be wrong about anything and down to the last timing detail and last Euro.

    He shows a fanatical disposition. Poor boy is looking like Labour’s future sacrificial lamb when Muscat fails to deliver on this proposal.

  13. Grezz says:

    That’s the way the average Maltese businessman works. Rather sickening and unprincipled behaviour.

  14. H.P. Baxxter says:

    Can I join Konrad’s team? I’m fully qualified and I like to back a winner. I also wouldn’t mind a chairmanship once Labour is elected.

  15. Matthew says:

    This morning I heard a taxi driver reading out one of those giant iphone billboards out loud. I quote verbatim.

    Malta ta’ poplu wiehed.
    Malta taghna lkoll
    U mela ta’ min hi? T’ghoxx ommu jew?
    Mhux ovvja din?

    I found the comment both amusing and insightful.

    There’s nothing obvious about a country belonging to anyone but the fact that it is taken for granted shows how out of touch and out of depth Joseph Muscat is.

    Such a slogan would have made sense in 1960s USA when blacks were still trying to get their share of the nation. Such a slogan would have made sense in 1970s Malta when the Labour government trampled over human rights with impunity. Such a slogan makes sense in present day Syria where the majority of the population feels disenfranchised.

    It is completely meaningless in 2013 Malta. We got our rights to free speech, to work and invest, to study at university, to travel, to buy goods on the open market and so much more in 1987, and no thanks to the Labour Party.

    The Labour Party is completely shameless. Instead of just trying to hide the past, it tries to get credit for things it did not do and pretend that it is trying to achieve things which we have already achieved. The way they go on, you would think independence, joining the EU, joining the euro zone, economic success and probably the end of the second world war, man landing on the moon and the discovery of how to create fire are all thanks to Labour.

  16. Gel says:

    One perit who said that he thinks the PL proposal is viable is Joe Ellul Vincenti, who happened to be very friendly with Il-Guy when they bought the old telephone Stroger system.

    He was also responsible for that horrible Selmun Palace hotel.

    Then after 1987 he became friendly again with the PN and was seen attending a few mass meetings. Now he is smelling something in the air and is playing up to the Socialist party again. Bla misthija.

  17. QahbuMalti says:

    Just like the PN discriminated against Konrad Mizzi when they appointed him CIO of Enemalta.

  18. Ghoxrin Punt says:

    Many people I have spoken to are under the mistaken impression that Konrad Mizzi is an engineer. He is not. Neither is he an accountant, nor as far as I can tell an economist.

    However he has been designated by Marlene Farrugia as the Labour expert on energy.

    In the name of transparency, can we know what qualifications Konrad possesses and even more so, what real experience he has in energy projects of this kind.

    After all as Helen Dalli said, when Labour are in power, they will ensure that only people with suitable qualifications will hold the relevant positions of trust.

    Should this principle not start to apply from now?

  19. David S says:

    Omg … Ellul Vincenti again on One.

    So bloody evident he is after something. Yes FAVURI mhux drittijiet.

  20. Riya says:

    Dawn tal-Labour tat-twerwir.

    Nixtieq naghmel appell biex il-poplu Malti jiftah ghajnejh sew sabiex ma’ naghtux cans lill-dawn in-nies giddibin u inkompetenti jkomplu jafgu.

    Dan nghidu ghax ninsab cert li din se tkun xi storja ohra kerha bhal tal-VAT. Jew xi storja ohra qarsa bhal tat-Tarzna fejn konna inhallsu €35 milljun fis-sena ghal corma nies li ma’ kienu jaghmlu xejn hlief jiehdu l-paga minn fuq dahr il-haddiem genwin basta ihallsu il-manswalita’ lill-GWU u kullhadd jiekolha sew minn fuq il-haddiem onest.

    Joseph Muscat qal li ma’ ghandu ebda ftehim ma’ xi kuntratturi dwar dan il-progett tal-power station. Temmnu?

    Minn jaf kemm diga hallas flus lill-konsulenti tal-klikka biex inhmiet din il-froga. Imma min hu involut qed jibza jikxef wiccu.

    Jiena ninsab cert li kieku xi grupp ta’ nies jirnexxielu johloq progett bhal dan bis-serjeta’ u jkun cert li dak li fassal ikun jaghmel sens u ser jahdem ghal gid tal-pajjiz u tal-poplu imur jigri b’wiccu minn quddiem quddiem il-poplu Malti u jispiega kull detall. Mhux kif qed jaghmel il-Labour li qed jahbi lill-dawn hekk imsejha esperti wara paraventu politiku.

    Esperti qed jghidu li gewwa Dellimara anqas spazju ghat-tankijiet ma’ hemm. Ara xi froga dik.

  21. Patricia says:

    Spot on, Daphne! By their logic, the Labour Party will only be giving government contracts to Labour sympathisers.

    “Because you know how it is, if it becomes known that they are helping the Labour Party then they won’t get any government contracts and so on.”

  22. Riya says:

    X’qoxra jrid ikollok ma’ gismek kollu biex tidher fuq it-television u fuq il-media titkellem dwar progett falz u li kull espert qed jghid li huwa impossibli dak kollu li qed tghid.

    Xi storja dahal fiha dan Konrad Mizzi ghadu jibda id-dinja fil-karriera politiku tieghu.

    Imma tajt daha f’din il-basla ta’ xejn?

  23. Harry Purdie says:

    Remember Ratso Rizzo in ‘Midnight Cowboy’?

    Think his offspring are sprinkled around the Rock, under the guise of ‘civil engineers’.

  24. On the square says:

    Now let’s see who’s in: Brother Ellul Vincenti, Brother Mugliette, Brother Karmenu Vella, Brother(?)Michael Falzon and of coarse Brothers Louis and Edward.

    They miss brother John Attard Montalto.

    I watched CloseUp where Joe Grima stated that he HONESTLY does not recall the protests against the Delimara power station.

    Honestly.

    • Jozef says:

      It follows, Joseph says his isn’t the Labour Party, no it’s a movement encompassing the party, this being only an instrument. He insists a distinction has to be made between the two.

      Which begs the question: it’s not as if we’ll get a symbol saying ‘moviment ghal-laburisti u dawk li ma jhossuhomx komdi fil-Partit Laburista’ on the ballot sheet are we?

      What representative mechanism will he reserve for the second group? It could be a movement now, but it cannot be elected to parliament, only the Partit Laburista will.

  25. Vanni says:

    I personally have had it up to here with this old hoary chestnut much beloved of the Muscat Labour Party.

    ‘They won’t be able to get a contract’ my foot. Let’s mention two who come to mind who have (or had) been dipping their beaks into quite a lot of gravy, shall we?

    Marlene Mizzi – Director and subsequently Chairman Sea Malta (for a period of NINE YEARS)

    Louis Grech – Chairman Air Malta was kept on by the PN Minister Josef Bonnici.

    And a contract awarded to PL bazuzli springs to mind:

    Robert Abela – President’s son, married to Lydia Abela (national executive secretary of the Labour Party) is a partner of the Law Firm, Abela Stafrace and Associates, which handles MEPA’s caseload. MEPA paid Abela, Stafrace & Associates the amount of €1.23 million from 2001 up until 2011 for handling its caseload’ . Source MaltaToday

    So that particular myth is BUSTED.

  26. Josette Jones says:

    Assuming you’re right with your hunch that there are operators and experts wanting to keep up the secrecy (which I doubt) can’t the PL find at least one credible independent expert anywhere in the world who is ready to put his name behind their cunning plan and vouch for its success and especially a price reduction of 25%?

    [Daphne – It isn’t my hunch. It’s what Konrad Mizzi actually said. They have consultants and they don’t want to reveal their identity so that they can carry on getting contracts. Or similar.]

  27. Stephen Borg Fiteni says:

    Everybody knows Labour is going to win, I doubt anybody would want to keep their identity secret in case the Nationalists do, since it’s impossible.

  28. Riya says:

    ‘Everybody knows Labour is going to win’

    Who is everybody?

    Even in the last election Labour were saying that they were going to have a sure win with an advantage of 20,000 votes but they lost once again.

    They invented this project cause they assume that the voter is stupid but it will again fire back to their face.

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