‘The situation is scary’: Franco Azzopardi frustrated by lack of respect shown to Enemalta workers

JD Group CEO Franco Azzopardi on Sunday shared his disapproval at the way Enemalta employees were treated during the mass power cuts that Malta experienced over the past few weeks.

The Maltese population suffered from widespread power cuts in recent days, with some localities going without power for consecutive nights, a situation that was not helped by a heatwave that simultaneously struck Malta. The power cuts, which have primarily come as a result of the heatwave, according to authorities, prompted Enemalta employees to work long hours in attempts to repair electrical faults as quickly as possible.

However, their efforts were not appreciated by everyone, with the General Workers Union stating that some Enemalta workers had eggs and bags of water thrown at them, while others were shouted at and insulted.

Reacting to this news, Mr Azzopardi noted that the attacks were “indeed undeserving”.

“What we are going through is a consequence of force majeur and a lack of investment in infrastructure over decades,” he explained.

In his opinion, it is “already sad” that such workers “get melted working day and night” when most people are “chilling in air conditioning or just complaining”. He added that it is “even sadder” that they get “pelted for something that’s not their doing”.

“The situation is scary. Infrastructure doesn’t seem to be designed to withstand the population growth and climate change,” Mr Azzopardi said.

He also hoped that such a situation will not also take place when it comes to water infrastructure “more than anything”, particularly given Malta’s heavy reliance on reverse osmosis plants for drinking water.

“We lived in the 80s with water cuts for days and weeks. I remember toilets sprayed with foam to cut the foul smell of not flushing them for days on end. That is scary,” he added.

“But all said, let’s educate people to show respect to employees of public services. Let’s also strategise our investments in foundations and fundamentals,” he concluded.

Mr Azzopardi is a Certified Public Accountant that has more than 40 years of experience in senior positions across a wide range of industries. He was named CEO at JD Group last June, and throughout his long career has contributed to the development of the Malta Institute of Accountants, which he is a fellow member of, having served on its council from 2007 up until 2019.