Maltapost chief executive Bob Macgregor has been removed by Maltapost plc and Transend Worldwide Limited after just three months in the post.
Mr Macgregor, who was appointed chief executive only in February, when the deal with Transend Worldwide Limited was sealed, will be leaving Maltapost tomorrow.
The decision was taken unanimously at a meeting of the board of directors and is understood to have been based on the need for an executive who would implement in parliament yesterday the company`s long term business plan.
The Labour opposition was quick to seize on the development in parliament yesterday, having created a furore when the deal with Transend was announced.
Upon his appointment in February, Mr Macgregor told reporters that he had about 45 years experience in the postal industry and that he was on the payroll of Transend but was contracted out to Maltapost as chief executive.
Maltapost and Transend said the decision was taken in the long-term business interests of Maltapost.
In the interim, Maltapost chairman Frank Dimech will take over the running of the company until the appointment of a new CEO.
Transend WorldWide Limited, a subsidiary of New Zealand Post, acquired a 35 per cent shareholding in Maltapost last February and it is managing the company for two years under two separate agreements signed earlier this year.
One agreement involves a two-year management services contract for the management and operation of Maltapost.
In the second agreement, Transend took a 35 per cent equity stake in Maltapost through the purchase of 980,000 shares. The government retains the remaining 65 per cent of the shares.
The government had not sold its shares - the shares bought by Transend were new shares. The government said at that time this meant that the money would be pumped directly into Maltapost.
Under the agreement, the chairman remained Maltese and will continue to be nominated by the government as majority shareholder. There are two Maltese directors on the board and two other directors nominated by Transend.
Commenting on the development, Mr Dimech said: "Mr Macgregor had successfully made operational improvements in the business and has overseen the development of the long-term business plan."
However, he added: "We are now looking for a change of leadership to manage the implementation of the plan and take the business forward. Maltapost remains confident in its working relationship with Transend and we will work together to appoint a new chief executive."
Mr Dimech went on to thank Mr Macgregor for his efforts in Malta and wished him well for the future.
He added that with the business plan substantively completed, the focus would now change to business development and revenue growth, along with enhancing the already established efficiency improvement initiatives.
Sources close to the government said the decision to replace Mr Macgregor was proof that the Maltese were still in control of the company and that the agreement reached with Transend had a particular clause which enabled Maltapost shareholders to replace their chief executive.
The agreement with Transend, the sources said, provides for the lease of an executive: "Under the executive lease, Transend has to provide the chief executive. The agreement provides that Maltapost may request Transend at any time to permanently replace this executive with another appropriate person having such qualities, qualifications and experience."
The sources said Maltapost would not incur any cost so far as Mr Macgregor`s replacement was concerned.
The deal between Maltapost and Transend had been the subject of political football between the government and opposition.
Opposition MPs Leo Brincat and Joe Debono Grech had given notice of a private motion asking parliament to declare the agreement between the government and Transend on the running of the postal service as not being in the best public interest.
Mr Brincat and Mr Debono Grech, the MLP spokesmen on finance and communications respectively, said in their motion that the agreement lacked transparency and issues which had been raised in meetings of the Public Accounts Committee had not been satisfactorily explained.
They said that the contacts between the government and the New Zealand company had been held directly, without the possibility of competition which would have enabled the best conditions to be obtained for the Maltese. The motion was defeated in parliament.
The parliamentary secretary in the Economic Services Ministry, George Hyzler, had defended the government`s deal with Transend, maintaining that it was a "good sale with good conditions to a good partner" which would enable Maltapost to grow and become more relevant in the region.
The government said that its decision to partially privatise Maltapost was to take on board a strategic partner who would invest in the company and help it grow and modernise its operations in an increasingly competitive environment.
The company has identified a number of new services which could be introduced, substantially broadening its operations base. Among them would be rationalisation and simplification of tariffs based on size not weight, a service of unaddressed advertising mail, value added registered mail, a track and trace service, parcel customs clearance on behalf of clients, a local courier service and door-to-door locked box pick up and delivery service.