An engineer handpicked by Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi to manage the government arm that handles private-public partnerships is paid more than €90,000 a year, official data shows.
The commissioner said the contract had to be published since “the role in question brings with it a degree of accountability, an element to ensure transparency, which is necessary in a democratic society”.
The contract shows Mr Camenzuli, a close associate of Dr Mizzi, earns €70,000 a year. He is also entitled to an annual performance bonus of €14,000 and a fully expensed car and mobile phone.
Since Mr Camenzuli is an engineer by profession, the government agreed to pay the costs of continuous professional development and to issue health insurance for him and his family.
Accountability, to ensure transparency, which is necessary in a democratic society
Mr Camenzuli was the first employee to be engaged by Projects Plus, which provides project management on behalf of the government to various public-private partnerships concluded by Dr Mizzi.
One of its first assignments was to monitor the controversial agreement the government signed with Vitals Global Healthcare in 2015.
The deal, now being investigated by the National Audit Office, provided for Vitals to invest millions of euros to upgrade the infrastructure at the St Luke’s and Karin Grech hospitals in Malta and Gozo’s General Hospital. No investment was made, however, and Vitals failed to meet the concession milestones.
Prior to joining the new company, Mr Camenzuli was appointed by Dr Mizzi as CEO of the Foundation for Medical Services. However, he was replaced when Dr Mizzi lost his health portfolio after his name emerged in the Panama Papers.
Recently, Mr Camenzuli was also appointed by Dr Mizzi as executive chairman of Projects Malta, the mother company of Projects Plus.