Parliament to debate voluntary organisations bill

A bill to regulate voluntary organisations and grant them legal recognition will ensure there is more transparency in their operations, Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina said yesterday.

Addressing a conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Down Syndrome Association (ADS), Ms Cristina said that the bill has just been published and would soon be debated in Parliament.

She said that over the past 25 years, people suffering from Down Syndrome had come out of hiding and were finding their place in society - which Government insisted should be inclusive.

Ms Cristina said that thanks to the work of many entities and individuals, such as the ADS, Maltese society was beginning to understand the value of people with Down Syndrome.

Social segregation and isolation were coming to an end and stigma was changing into positive discrimination. The inclusion policy in schools was slowly delivering positive results and there is a growing number of young people with a disability who had the same expectations as their peers. They were seeking employment in an open market and knocking on MCAST's door to continue learning and training.

The minister said in Malta there are over 70 organisations working in the voluntary sector. Faced with such multiplicity, they had to be careful to avoid duplication of work and to use resources wisely.

Ms Cristina insisted on the need to address the available resources consciously and carefully. Having territories, she warned, only led to a waste of precious resources to the detriment of the people the resources would have helped.

Voluntary organisations, she said, were now entering into partnerships with the government to offer various essential services in sectors like continuous education, life skills and jobs. Organisations were shouldering more responsibility so more transparency and accountability was required at all levels, especially when projects were carried out with public funds.

Resources had to be used in the best possible manner and a detailed statement of accounts on the expenditure of public finances, including the fund-raising carried out by the organisations, should be available.

ADS chairman Marthese Mugliette said the conference aimed to raise awareness on the condition and the rights of people with Down Syndrome. Another objective was to press for action. The education of children with Down Syndrome unfortunately stopped when they turned 16 or 17, and the association was working to ensure they received lifelong education as this would help them to lead independent lives.

The association is currently involved in a pilot project with the Eden Foundation helping children with Down's Syndrome make the transition from education to employment.

An average of 12 children are born with Down Syndrome every year.