[attach id=267203 size="medium"]Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi.[/attach]

The man who recently resigned as head of the Government’s Privatisation Unit “for health reasons” has been engaged by Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi as a consultant for Enemalta corporation, Times of Malta can confirm.

Emanuel Ellul, who resigned from the Privatisation Unit on May 13, is now assisting the Government on the expressions of interest of a new gas-fired power station and energy procurement.

Mr Ellul had tendered his resignation shortly after Economy Minister Chris Cardona intervened to change the adjudication for a legal services contract, a move the former Central Bank governor disagreed with, according to sources.

Both Mr Ellul and Dr Cardona insisted that the resignation had nothing to do with this issue and instead cited “health reasons”.

He asked to be engaged on a part-time basis

Times of Malta is informed that Mr Ellul was engaged with Enemalta just days after informing Dr Cardona that he was stepping down from the Privatisation Unit.

Contacted yesterday, Mr Ellul confirmed he is now assisting Enemalta as a consultant.

Asked how he reconciled his new role with the health reasons given to Dr Cardona justifying his resignation, Mr Ellul said that upon assuming his new role he made it clear to Dr Mizzi that he wanted to reduce his working hours and was only restricting his consultancy to a few hours every week.

Mr Ellul had been heading the Privatisation Unit since the late 1990s, soon after he retired as Central Bank governor.

He spearheaded most of the major privatisation processes conducted by various Nationalist administrations, from Maltacom to Malta Shipyards.

The Energy Ministry also confirmed Mr Ellul’s engagement stating: “Mr Ellul asked to be engaged on a part-time basis to work less strenuous hours.”