Konrad Mizzi’s father is a Malta Employers Association council member, consultant to the MEA and adviser to the MEA president
UPDATED AT 6.20PM
Some of you expressed your astonishment at the way the Malta Employers Association rushed out this morning with fulsome praise for the Labour Party’s amazing plan for electricity tariffs, hours after the shocking details were ‘revealed’, leaving more questions than answers.
No sign of caution, even as people with even an ounce of common sense are asking pertinent questions and tearing the thing to shreds.
Some of my more sarcastic Labour readers have asked me whether I have anything to say about the MEA’s wild praise of Konrad Mizzi’s mad project.
Well, yes, I do actually. It’s in the title to this post. But if you can bear to read more about the Labour Party’s sickening network of nepotism and dangerous manipulation, click on this image and read some more.
That Lawrence Mizzi there is not just Konrad’s daddy. He’s also one of Labour deputy leader Louis Grech’s longest-standing buddies, back from when they both started out in Air Labour in 1974. Yes, Konrad Mizzi’s father was personal assistant to Louis Grech at Air Malta.
TAL-BIKI.
The Malta Employers Association should be seriously worried about this inside job on its credibility.
And more to the point, the press really need to ask some searching questions about the business interests involved in their electricity plan. I don’t mean any international corporation. I mean the Maltese business interests. Both Karmenu Vella and Louis Grech are significantly networked into business deals in Malta, and they themselves are business partners rather than political colleagues.
There’s a lot to be explained here, and in the name of democracy, it should be.
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Now try coming up with something juicy to counter what MHRA stated too.
[Daphne – Ah, Tony Zahra. He who voted Labour in 1996 because Alfred Sant promised the removal of VAT. I thought he had learned by that particular mistake, but apparently not. He’s still a nice guy, though. Takes all sorts, etc.]
Tony Zahra’s track record in business speaks for itself. You definitely cannot accuse the guy of being naive or stupid.
[Daphne – I haven’t accused him of being naive or stupid. But some people just like to be in with the political In Crowd. If it looks like Labour is on a roll, then some people are keen to roll with them. And the same with the Nationalists, of course.]
These are the links you need:
http://www.maltaemployers.com/Default.aspx?tabid=841
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130109/local/pl-s-energy-proposals-well-researched-and-ambitious.452567
On a different note –
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130109/local/gonzi-discusses-eu-budget-with-merkel.452568
“The Chancellor said Malta had amply proved in its ‘excellent economic data’ that one could still achieve positive results in a difficult environment. She said Malta had developed excellently, but its particular circumstances must be catered for in the EU Budget.”
Oh! I though Konrad’s father is Leo Brincat. Like him, he’s very white and doesn’t blink.
My God! I was thinking exactly that while watching Bondi+. I would have sworn he was Herr Flick’s illegitimate love-child.
Except that he does not appear to be a midget like Herr Flick, maybe his mother’s of normal height?
Herr Flick has a penis?
Stranger things have been known to happen.
No surprise there then. Thanks, Daphne. The Times should learn to do its homework better and not simply report verbatim without any insights and objective criticism.
And have you noticed that Muscat is only concentrating on electricity and water? What will he concentrate on next week? Eggs? Halib? it seems to me that he has no other cards to play.
He will take up anything which he thinks is on people’s nerves. A friend of mine suggested Arriva.
And it won’t just be Arriva service users but the many private car drivers who drive to work every morning and blame Arriva for the clogging of arterial roads.
How come most Employers Association council members are employees and not employers?
Because employers are busy and employees aren’t.
Like!
This is too good to be true u vera trid tkun Labourr biex tohrog b’ dawn it teatrini.
I think that Labour hasn’t even realised that it won’t do them any good to try to hide certain details.
It is amazing how you always manage to pluck these warts from the darkest of crevices. Prosit and well done. I just adore your blog.
My jaw is hitting my desk: literally.
I thought it rather strange for the MEA to come rushing out like that in favour of the “proposals”, I have to say. However, to see that the MEA Is so “intimate” with Konrad Mizzi and Louis Grech, is incredible.
Imma kif ma jisthux?
Now they will rush out to say that Mr. Mizzi had nothing to do with it. Too late. Had they disclosed their affiliations, then it would have been a different story (perhaps). However, now it is too late.
MEA, you deserve nothing but contempt.
Mamma mia x’biza! MEA have become lejboristi! So many Nationalists shocked! So suddenly, one single council member at MEA has taken full control of the association, brianwashed everyone and issues press statements in its behalf. But, really, how daft do you think we are? Can’t wait for the ides of March!
I am sure you do not know Lawrence Mizzi’s background and his wide network in Malta’s business community.
Quoted question: “How daft do you think we are?”
Answer: “Very!”
Why? What’s happening on the 15th of March?
On the 15th of March, reality and regret will hit home deeply. In the coming years it will hit even harder. Unfortunately we will all be dragged down by a bunch of switchers.
Then everyone can use their 25% savings on therapy.
Oh wait, those who thought they would save on VAT in 1996, spent their VAT savings on CET.
Getting careless. Under duress it seems.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130109/local/muscat.452574
Tonio should have never gone there, but to take it up to mock someone in this manner says a lot about one’s sensibilities.
The answer why we’ve been led to this level.
The only way anyone can truly start to discuss the Labour energy plan is to ask them for a copy of the letter of engagement and terms of reference given to KEMA consultants. You cannot fathom any report without first knowing what was asked of the consultants who issued it.
If I ask for it, will they publish it?
Fat chance.
……..and thus, the plot thickens.
Please allow me to submit my assessment on the Labour Party’s energy policy as a concerned voter with reasonable knowledge and experience in Public Procurement Regulations and PPP.
1. The PPP model as proposed by Labour requires the setting up of an SPV, whose ownership is shared by a public entity and the private investor/s. The size of the respective share is normally determined according to the assets (land) the public entity contributes, as independently valued, and the capital raised by the private partner to develop the infrastructure for which the SPV is set up.
The 3D visual of the completed project publicised during yesterday’s press conference indicates that the land take-up for the new power station will be minimal. The value of the land is almost certainly negligible with respect to the cost of the new power station estimated at €300m by Labour’s consultants.
How will the public entity (Enemalta?) ensure that it will have a controlling stake in the SPV without raising enough capital to make up for the shortfall?
If the public entity will NOT have a controlling stake, how will a prospective Labour Government ensure that it will not be at the mercy of the private investors should they decide that the 10-year deal is not beneficial to them?
We can only look at how Arriva exploited its monopolistic position when Bisazza Street was closed to traffic to claim more subsidies to reroute via Tigne’ Point.
If, as Konrad Mizzi said yesterday on Bondi+, the new power station will generate 40% of the energy mix, what leverage will the future Labour Government have to oblige the private investors to continue to generate electricity if gas prices rise tenfold as happened with oil over a period of less than 10 years?
2. Konrad Mizzi stated (unsurely) yesterday when pressed that the energy mix would be 40% private, 40% BWSC and 20% interconnector. What about renewables? There seem to be glaring inconsistencies in his very own explanation of the proposals.
3. What happens if the whole thing doesn’t work? Who will foot the bill for this massive investment? We’re not talking about a playground or a new school here. The proposals entail a chain of huge capital investments worth close to a billion euros. Votes are not blank cheques. Taxpayers deserve to know what they are getting into if they vote Labour.
Regarding point 2, he said that if interconnector supply proves cheaper before the ten years are up, it’s stake will be raised at the expense of BWSC, not the private investor.
No contingency mentioned for this scenario either.
Terms and conditions already dictated by the ‘investor’.
4. PPPs are regulated by procurement processes. Any statement to the contrary is intellectually dishonest.
Please refer to the European Commisson’s Interpretation Communication on the matter at http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/docs/ppp/comm_2007_6661_en.pdf
Special reference is made to the following sections:
2.1 “The fact that a private party and a contracting entity co-operate within a public-private entity cannot serve as justification for the contracting entity not having to
comply with the legal provisions on public contracts and concessions when assigning public contracts or concessions to this private party or to the respective public-private entity.”
2.3 “If the task assigned to the public-private entity is a public contract fully covered by the Public Procurement Directives, the procedure for selecting the private partner is
determined by these Directives.”
Your readers may also wish to refer to a presentation on the PPP Procurement Process published on the website of the Ministry of Finance.
http://finance.gov.mt/image.aspx?site=MFIN&ref=PPP%20Seminar%202
5. It is incorrect to state that the entire procurement process for the selection of a private partner can be concluded within five months. While this may be true for smaller tendering processes, commonly referred to as “departmental tenders” whose values range between €6,000 and €120,000 (exc. VAT), PPP processes last in excess of twelve months.
Unless, Labour have an interest in keeping the procurement process short to limit the number of bidders, they should allow sufficient time during the EOI stage for potential bidders to draw up a competent and thorough bid.
Bidding periods are also regulated and cannot be ignored without the risk of invalidating the entire process.
The evaluation process, too, must be thorough to ensure that the best bid is selected due to the long-term commitment, spanning six legislatures.
Each selection stage would be expected to last up to 6 months. During this process evaluators would need to assess the bidders’ experience and credentials, and meticulously analyse the offers in technical, environmental and financial terms.
This means the entire process cannot realistically last less than 12 to 18 months, depending on the number of offers received.
Apologies for the lengthy posts.
No apologies necessary. Clarifying Labour obfuscation is a very enlightening process.
So how should we qualify this? Hbieb tal-hbieb or all in the family?
What kind of father is he? As an economist couldn’t he have explained to his son that what he is saying is all hogwash? Pie in the sky at best?
And that a decision can never be taken on a desktop presentation, amateurly extrapolated to his own wish list?
Surely his father should have been the first to shoot down his final conclusions to spare his son public humiliation. Shame.
He can’t, he won’t. Lawrence (sive Lorry) Mizzi was/is a staunch Labour supporter. Probably because of his position he keeps a low profile, but I’ve seen him in video clips attending Labour’s general conference, and similar activities.
Is he just a council member, or does he have the power of, say, Vince Farrugia?
The statement by MEA comes as no surprise to me.
Malta is a minute place.
It is so easy to count the men.
In fact they have long been counted.
There is, unfortunately, a great paucity of them.
The vast majority of the inhabitants suffer from horrendously bad breath. A faecal odour.
To me MEA’s comments are to be expected, irrespective of any direct connections to Labour, and we should expect MHRA and others to follow suit.
These people are very much aware that PL are most likely to win the coming election and are therefore paying lip service to the people that they will be working with for the next five years.
Describing Labour’s energy proposal as ‘well researched’ is ridiculous unless they have been shown the workings privately – which I very much doubt.
Would any of these seasoned business people accept 10 slides as sufficient if anyone was putting them forward to their bushinesses as evidence of a potential fruitful investment?
Of course not, they would require a much higher standard of proof to invest their hard earned pennies, but when it’s 360million euro of taxpayers’ money at stake then they proclaim that the proposal is well researched, based solely on Muscat’s personal guarantee – incredible.
Aha! Pragmatism allows the country to be fucked.
A comment posted on Konrad Mizzi’s Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/drkonradmizzi/posts/470614956328914
Anita Gatt Calm yes Composed 10/10. I hope he brought a house now has he liked to keep his neighbour’s up 24/7 in his flat with is wife everyday right through the night not giving a dame about the folks underneath he liked to roll his bowling ball at 3am in the morning. Becareful what you do in life cos sometimes it comes back to bite you where it most hurts Konrad. People dont forget!!! All these years and i have not forgotton you!!
The problem at MEA is not Lawrence Mizzi but the President of MEA Joshua Zammit who is a close buddy of Joseph Muscat. How Malta’s leading employers elected Zammit as president of this long established nationalist battery is beyond many.