The government has appointed Carmen Ciantar, a member of the executive committee of Nisa Laburisti, the Labour Party’s women’s branch, as the new chief of ARMS Ltd. She will be the fourth head within a year of ARMS Ltd, which is responsible for water and electricity bills.
She was put in place last week following the unexpected departure of her predecessor, James Davies. But the Energy Ministry yesterday played down the latest change, saying it had been planned.
Following a change in government in March 2013, the then CEO of the company, Wilfred Borg, was suspended by Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi after failing to take the blame for a mistake in the company’s billing system. He is contesting the decision in court.
The CEO appointed to replace him, Henry Attard, was later replaced by Mr Davies, who was asked to leave last week, according to sources within the company who spoke to this paper.
The ministry gave no reason for the decision to replace Mr Davies and no public announcement was made.
Until a few months ago, Ms Ciantar used to work as a marketing manager in a private company. She has also been appointed by the government to the board of Transport Malta.
Questioned by Times of Malta, a spokesman for the ministry confirmed her appointment and said: “The changes that have taken place within this organisation were planned and have not had a negative impact on the operations of ARMS Ltd.”
It blamed the previous government for the company’s problems.
“The lack of planning by the previous administration left ARMS Ltd crippled with managerial and operational problems, which are being addressed.
“Testament to this is the smooth transition from the old to the new energy tariffs,” the spokesman said.
Sources at the company said the management was in constant flux: while Ms Ciantar is the fourth head of the company in a year, the chairman of the board of directors has also changed three times within the same period.
The first to have been appointed by the new government, Anthony Valvo, was replaced within a few weeks by Tony Meilaq, who was also appointed chairman of Water Services Corporation.
However, Mr Meilaq tendered his resignation within a few months and the government appointed John Abela to replace him in the role.