MPs laud role of voluntary organisations

The role of voluntary organisations remained under Parliament's spotlight yesterday during the continuation of the debate on the Voluntary Organisations Bill.

Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela said the voluntary sector was strong and helped to hold Maltese society together. The work which voluntary societies performed was varied and evident everywhere, including environmental, religious, social and cultural initiatives. Band clubs were among the oldest NGOs, giving a useful contribution in musical appreciation and the organisation of parish feasts.

The Society of Christian Doctrine had grown beyond Malta's shores and the founder of this voluntary organisation, Dun Gorg Preca, was now approaching canonisation.

The Boy Scouts and Girl Guides had also given valuable service for generations, and he hoped they would be given premises in Rabat.

Dr Abela spoke on various other NGOs in Rabat, expressing particular appreciation for the work done in the historical and cultural sectors by Fr Gwann Azzopardi.

He also praised the work done by various NGOs among irregular migrants.

Referring to sports organisations, he called for generous assistance to promising athletes wishing to compete abroad.

The parliamentary secretary discussed various aspects of the law, saying that it was right that organisations conducting public fund-raising events were properly constituted and accountable.

Carmelo Abela (MLP) said voluntary organisations usually went in for tasks which would not otherwise be seen to.

In 2004, 109 NGOs had been active in the youth sector alone, led by Church organisations. Of these, some 21 per cent were social organisations and 18.1 per cent cultural. Only 1.6 per cent were environmentally inspired.

Between 2001 and 2004 there had been an increase in the number of voluntary organisations for youth, but the number of voluntary workers in those organisations had decreased to the tune of 10.5 per cent between 2003 and 2004. This trend should be studied.

Financially, youth voluntary organisations were in deficit by Lm27,770.

With regard to sports, in 2004 there were 450 NGOs, mostly involved in football at 19.8 per cent. Again, there had been a drop in membership, from 99,236 in 2001 to 94,000 in 2004. These organisations were also reporting serious financial difficulties, with a deficit of Lm1.926 million.

Mr Abela said part of the reason for these difficulties lay in decreased political commitment.

In other countries, the trend was for volunteers to receive some sort of income for their voluntary work.

The opposition was in favour of the Bill, but felt that absolute transparency should be guaranteed, without a handful of persons deciding and insisting on what should happen in the sector. The Bill also provided a stepping stone for a framework that would give the sector a legal footing. The people who sponsored or donated funds for the sector would thus be more comfortable in the knowledge that the sector was being monitored.

It was accepted that NGOs should be fully accountable for their activities.

Mr Abela said the Bill sought to regulate voluntary organisations, but not the way the government distributed funds to help them. What criteria were used in deciding on such distributions by the various ministries? Maybe it was time to emulate the allocation of funds by the EU, according to the project applied for rather than who was proposing it.

Was there a conflict between the Bill and the Sports Act, which also insisted on the registration of sports voluntary organisations? Clearly, registered NGOs should not be expected to register elsewhere too.

Anglu Farrugia (MLP) said the need for the Bill had long been felt. To date, there had been lawsuits in which voluntary organisations had sought to defend their members but run into problems because such organisations did not enjoy legal recognition. Why should the courts have to explore whether an organisation or other had such stature?

The Bill would also enhance accountability and transparency, so that nobody could hide under a voluntary organisation's name to achieve dubious aims. It should not only be seen that everything was done, but also that it was done professionally and that nobody would be allowed to get away with abuse.

There were voluntary organisations in Malta that had a turnover of several thousand liri but without any transparency or accountability as to how these funds were being used.

Dr Farrugia said the international definition of an NGO held that such organisations should have no connection with any government and be completely independent of any influence thereof. They should also be non-commercial. This Bill appeared to conflict with such requirements.

Overseas there were some NGOs that specialised in conflict management, be it armed, trade-unionistic or otherwise, even including Constitutional crises. He hoped such NGOs would take root in Malta too. Malta could boast of very capable and intelligent people who were, however, averse to what could be seen as being political involvement.

Dr Farrugia said it was not clear from the Bill how the commissioner for voluntary organisations would compile information on voluntary organisations and monitor their work in a fully-accountable manner. Would NGOs that decided not to register still be held accountable?

The winding up of any NGO should be done by people who would be above politics and above reproach.

Concluding, Dr Farrugia said this was a good Bill, a step in the right direction that needed more attention.

Education Minister Louis Galea said the government only wanted to set up the best possible environment and legal framework to help NGOs fulfil their self-appointed missions. It would certainly be ready to consider and possibly accept any recommendations put forward by the opposition, NGOs and other interested parties.

If there had ever been a political party that really believed in the value of the voluntary sector, it was the Nationalist Party, and it had shown this during its various administrations with its involvement and collaboration.

Dr Galea said that firms or organisations that donated funds to these non-profit-making NGOs should be privileged in one way or another.

The Bill, he stressed, amply showed that the government did not want to impinge on the independence or freedom of voluntary organisations in any way.

A distinction should be made between the efforts of an individual on a voluntary basis and those of a non-profit-making organisation that qualified for certain benefits.

Replying to comments by the opposition, specifically on the functions of the commissioner, Dr Galea said there should be a distinction between self-regulation and national or public needs. This Bill would serve to reassure the people that donations they made to voluntary organisations would go for the purpose indicated. Self-regulation was an important process, but it went in tandem with those activities that should be regulated by the State. There was nothing wide-ranging or discretionary, or even less than accountable, in the commissioner's functions as laid down in the Bill. The commissioner would even have to report directly to Parliament.