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Biography
Konrad Mizzi (born 4 November 1977) is a Maltese Labour politician, currently serving as a Member of Parliament and as a Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister. He served as Minister for Energy and the Conservation of Water between 2013 and 2014, Minister for Energy and Health from 2014 until he was appointed as Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister in April 2016.
In his position as Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister is working on projects related to energy, water conservation and Public Private Partnerships along with special projects.
Early life
Mizzi was born at St. Luke's Hospital in Pieta', Malta, on 4 November 1977.
Education and family
Mizzi was educated at the De La Salle College and completed his sixth form at the Paolino Vassallo Upper Lyceum. He graduated at the University of Malta, reading for Undergraduate degree, and then furthered his education with a post-graduate studies at the University of Nottingham, where he achieved his Masters in Strategic Management. He furthered his education with a Doctorate at the University of Nottingham. Mizzi was awarded a Chevening Scholarship from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the United Kingdom and holds a Diploma in Finance.
Mizzi met his wife, Sai, for the first time when they were both pursuing their studies at the University of Nottingham. The couple were married in 2001 and have two children.
Career before joining politics
Mizzi has led major projects and initiatives across different sectors including public, infrastructure, telecommunications and enterprise promotion.
Mizzi was a Partner and Head of the Energy and Infrastructure Practice for the EMEA Region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) with Pcubed, a global leader in programme management. He has previously held senior roles with Deloitte and Touche and British Telecom (Programme Director) in the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom Mizzi led various change projects which included the forging of an Alliance between seven energy companies which improved services and realised large savings. He worked with Regional Government leaders of which aim was to improve deprived areas.
He was a member of a team which established the Malta Enterprise. He was a consultant to the Office of the Prime Minister where he led a number of projects which, included the first public-private partnership to improve landscaping of the main roads in Malta. Mizzi held the post of Chief Information Officer at Enemalta.
Politics
Mizzi was elected in the Maltese Parliament from the Fourth District (Paola, Gudja, Ghaxaq, Tarxien, Santa Lucija and parts of Marsa and Fgura) in March 2013.
2013 General Election
Mizzi was appointed by the President, on advice of the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, as Minister for Energy and the Conservation of Water on the 13th March 2013 following the 2013 general elections. On 1 April 2014, Mizzi was given the responsibility for the Health and Energy portfolio. On 28 April 2016, his position was changed to Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister. This gave him the responsibility to carry out high-profile projects.
Minister for Energy and Health
Energy
Electricity tariffs
Upon assuming office, as the Minister for Energy, Mizzi started implementing the Government’s energy plan with the primary aim of reducing utility tariffs. Following this implementation the government is calculated to have injected about €80 million in the national economy. Previously utility tariffs in Malta were considered amongst the highest tariffs in Europe, and following the reductions utility tariffs become the fourth cheapest in the European Union. This measure enabled the local industry to become more competitive.
This saw the transformation of the energy in Malta, contrasting with the situation when Mizzi was given the responsibility when Enemalta was close to declare bankruptcy, with €840 million in debt and was consecutively downgraded by Standard & Poor’s. This affecting the credit ratings of the country at the time.
Enemalta
In December 2014 Shanghai Electric signed an agreement with the Government of Malta where it acquired a minority stake in the local energy producer Enemalta. The acquisition was valued at €250 million. The restructuring envisaged new investment in the local distribution system, as well as transition from oil-fired energy generation to cleaner technology, such as the Malta-Sicily interconnector, gas-fired plants and renewable energy sources. This is expected to increase the grid redundancy and flexibility. The Government of Malta retained the majority of share of the energy company.
Shanghai Electric is expected to be investing in the conversion to gas of an existing power plant which at present is powered by heavy fuel oil, valued at around €70million. In 2016, and following the investment by Shanghai Electric and the restructuring process that followed, Standard and Poor's upgraded Enemalta's rating to BB- with a stable outlook. Enemalta and Shanghai Electric established a joint venture to tap into renewable energy markets in Europe. They are jointly responsible for the development of the Mozura Wind Park project in Montenegro.
Marsa power plant
The third pillar of the energy plan will also result in the closure of the Marsa power plant which has been operating since 1969. The Marsa power plant has been shut down, on cold standby, pending the completion of the new gas fired power plant. The local Opposition party criticised the Government of Malta that this plant has been shut down due to measures implemented by the previous Government and not due to the current Government’s plans. However, the current Government’s plan envisages the demolition of the 1992 Delimara Phase 1 Heavy Fuel Oil power plant.
Demolishing the 1992 power plant, would be impossible to achieve without a new power plant due to N-1 requirements. Over 700,000 tonnes CO2 were reduced by shutting down the Marsa power plant. Statistics from the Eurostat confirmed that Malta experienced the highest reduction in emissions in all the European Union.
Gas Power Plant and LNG facilities
The second pillar that would be sustaining cheaper utility tariffs in the long-term was the development of a gas fired power plant. The development of this project is based on a private-public partnerships model. The Delimara Power and Gas project is being developed by Electrogas Malta Limited, a consortium that includes SOCAR, Siemens and Gem Holdings. The consortium has been restructured following Gasol departure. Enemalta would be purchasing electricity. The local Opposition Party has been critical of this project since its details were announced, including the procurement process. However, following parliamentary questions in the European Parliament by Malta’s European People’s Party, the European Commission stated that there were no procurement violations.
Electrogas Malta Limited has recently won the award for Best European Energy Project which is organised by IJ Global. The project is expected to contribute greatly to the decrease in particulate matter by 90%. Through the Delimara Power and Gas project, Malta will be conforming for the first time, with the N-1 principle which is stipulated by European Union directives. Such concept enabled Malta to shift its financial resources onto other sectors, while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of modern and efficient infrastructure. The development of the gas fired power plant and the conversion to gas of another power plant is in line with the European Union Energy policy of the European Union, that encourages the shift to gas in the energy sector. Mizzi is also responsible for Projects Malta, the company tasked with overseeing private-public partnership initiative across a whole spectrum of economic sectors including tourism and other infrastructure projects.
Health
On assuming the health portfolio in 2014, Mizzi embarked a transformation of the health sector by attracting a private investment worth €200million to a public-private partnershio initiative. This investment will develop a new world-class hospital on the island of Gozo while existing facilities are being redeveloped. Other facilities will also be redeveloped. The former St. Luke's Hospital will be converted into a new rehabilitation hospital with all the necessary facilities, which are currently do not exist at all in Malta.
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry will manage a new medical school as part of this project.
Vitals Global Healthcare was selected as the preferred bidder for the €200 million investment into St Luke's Hospital, the Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital and Gozo General Hospital. Vitals Global has also teamed up with Partners Healthcare as part of this project.
Controversies
Panama Papers
Mizzi was one of the individuals named in the leak of the Panama Papers in April 2016. He was initially the only incumbent EU Minister named in the leaks; but the name of a Spanish minister surfaced in mid-April. Shortly before the news stories based on the Panama Papers were released, it was revealed that Mizzi had opened a Panamanian company called Hearnville Incorporated. Its shareholder, Orion Trust Limited, was established in New Zealand through a Maltese financial services company called Nexia BT. The trust was purchased by Nexia BT for Mizzi through its parent, the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The beneficiaries of the trust fund were listed as Mizzi's wife and two children.
Keith Schembri, the Maltese Prime Minister's chief of staff, established a similar financial setup at the same time and through the same intermediaries.
Criticism followed, particularly from the Maltese opposition party, which led calls for Mizzi's resignation from the cabinet organised a number of public protests on the issue and presented a motion of no-confidence in the Labour Party government. Despite, these allegations, which were done in Parliament under privilege, were never repeated outside Parliament by Opposition Members of Parliament. The motion of no confidence was defeated 38-31 and all Government members of parliament voted against this motion. Mizzi was also criticised by a number of high-level Labour Party figures who called for his resignation, including Member of the European Parliament and former Prime Minister Alfred Sant, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo, as well as Labour Party whip Godfrey Farrugia.
Mizzi defended his financial practices, saying that both the trust and the company were publicly disclosed in his declaration of assets at the first opportunity and that the fund was solely intended to protect his family's assets, which include property in Malta and in London. Mizzi's trust and the company were listed in his declaration of assets submitted to the Maltese Parliament in April 2016. Mizzi had declared in March 2016 that his Panamanian company was a shell company which held no assets and its issued share capital was valued at €92. Mizzi voluntarily requested that the Commissioner for Inland Revenue and an international tax audit carry out a tax audit on his assets, which nobody has ever done in Maltese political history. He declared that once the audit is complete, he will close down Hearnville Incorporated and retain only his New Zealand trust. Mizzi said that although he exercised poor judgment, the financial structure he set up was not illegal and he did not attempt to hide it from the public or his peers.