Enemalta issued a massive 137 direct orders worth over €4 million over a six month period. 

Figures published in the government gazette revealed Enemalta, which the government and Shanghai Electric own, issued the direct orders between July and December 2021, representing the bulk of funds dished out by the energy provider.

One of the biggest winners appears to have been Electrical Supplies & Services, owned by Duncan Agius, which was given 24 direct orders to provide Enemalta with cables. The company pocketed almost €300,000 in direct orders, over and above the €120,000 it earned through tenders issued over that period.

However, the largest direct orders were awarded to Lucy Electric Uk Limited (€347,159), Grid Solutions S.P.A. (€311,381) and Etas & S Ltd (€302,063)

Beat Ltd. of David Galea, a confidante of disgraced former minister Konrad Mizzi who was awarded thousands under his tenure, also appears on the list for consultation services for “Work In The Preparation Of A Negotiation Position On Changes To The Conversion Term Agreement With EGM”. This was first issued before 2019.

Usually, any payment over €10,000 should be issued through a tendering process. However, there are rules for the Minister responsible for bypassing the procedure, although this should not exceed a €135,000 limit.

However, the rule is seldomly followed, with ministries dishing out millions in direct orders year after year. 

Enemalta has also previously courted controversy over its spending, namely with the purchase of a Montenegrin windfarm in a deal that involved Yorgen Fenech’s 17 Black and has suspicions of corruption.

Meanwhile, Chen Cheng, a key figure in a €320 million deal that saw Chinese state-owned company Shanghai Electric Power buy a third of Enemalta in 2014, has been revealed to be the owner of the secret offshore company, Macbridge.

Macbridge was one of two companies, along with Yorgen Fenech’s 17 Black, listed in the Panama Papers as a target client for the offshore companies of Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.

What do you think of the figures?