Labour’s former electoral manifesto secretary Aaron Farrugia has denied the Government directly appointed him as CEO at Malta Freeport Terminals Ltd as a compromise for not contesting the MEP elections.

Dr Farrugia said the two issues are not related and whoever was making such claims was lying.

“My new job had nothing to do with my intention to contest the MEP elections,” he told Times of Malta yesterday.

“It’s true that I was planning to contest the [MEP] election on the Labour ticket but then changed my mind due to changes in my family circumstances.”

Labour sources told this newspaper that Dr Farrugia was originally on the candidates’ list but it was altered at the last minute.

Dr Farrugia, 33, has occupied various positions within the party since he was young.

His position as Malta Freeport Terminals Ltd CEO has not yet been officially announced, even though he said he had already assumed the new role.

“My academic curriculum is not bad,” he said, when asked about his experience in the transhipment business.

He said he felt his degrees in finance, European studies and law made him fit for the post.

“I am 33 years old and don’t think I am too young for this position, as some may be implying,” he said.

Asked whether his appointment was made following a public call, Dr Farrugia said this was “a position of trust”.

“The Government thought I was the best person for this position and it’s all about trust,” he said. Malta Freeport Terminals Ltd is the owner of the property currently used by the Freeport and Oil Tanking.

Apart from acting as licensee and regulator of the Freeport activity, it has also some operational responsibilities and is responsible for security at the transhipment facilities.

Apart from a small group of clerical staff, the company employs some 60 security officers.

Following Labour’s return to power in March, architect Robert Sarsero has replaced Mark Portelli as chairman while the Government also appointed Ronnie Pellegrini – former section secretary at the GWU and a close associate of former Labour minister Lorry Sant – to the board of directors.

Sources close to the company told Times of Malta that it has never had a CEO and the administrative job related to the Freeport’s security staff was performed by Ernest Tonna, chief security manager at the Freeport and a Nationalist activist closely associated with former minister Austin Gatt.

Before taking on this post, Dr Farrugia was coordinator of the Maltese delegation at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels.

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