Editorial

Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Christina is to be commended for bringing forward the passage of the Voluntary Organisations Act before Parliament rose for the Christmas recess.

Her choice of Kenneth Wain, a "liberal democrat" in the best sense of that phrase, as the first Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations also shows excellent judgement because there had been some concern among many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that the wide powers of regulation envisaged under the new law would lead to the dead hand of government intruding too heavily on business best left to voluntary NGOs themselves.

Prof. Wain's selection for the post shows that the minister was seized of the criticism made and wished to ensure that common sense, tact and the lightest of touches would prevail.

The importance of the long overdue passage of this law for civil society in Malta - as well as for the NGOs themselves - cannot be gainsaid.

First, it recognises both implicitly and explicitly, the crucial role that civil society plays in a thriving democracy. For a long time - with the clear exception of those like Din l-Art Helwa and some others that first gave active recognition and focus to the important role of civil society in cultural heritage and other spheres - Maltese civil society was largely supine, content to leave it to the politicians. That this is no longer so is a healthy sign.

NGOs are the bedrock of civil society, run by volunteers who, for the most part, are there for what they can give not what they can take. They attract dedicated members of society with the knowledge and expertise often matching, or even exceeding, those in government. They make an immense and largely free contribution to a whole range of activities from heritage and the natural environment to many other philanthropic causes. Moreover, these organisations or associations, which are not-for-profit, form a network within society that reflects its very best sentiments as well as underpinning those parts where the government requires such support. The volunteers who man the NGOs derive their satisfaction from helping others and the noble cause of making Malta a better place.

However, although most NGOs already operate within the correct parameters established by the new law, some have evolved without the proper statutes or structures in place and the transparency and accountability to their members which are so important to a well-regulated environment for voluntary help to work successfully. The new law defines what the basic criteria for qualifying as an NGO should be and ensures their proper regulation. In this crucial respect, it lays down that those existing organisations that are not independent of the government will be given four years within which to come into line.

It is important now that NGOs should enrol under the law. This will give them proper legitimacy and also access to funding - especially EU funding, whose rules about the legal status of NGOs are rightly very tightly drawn. Closely following on their formal enrolment as NGOs under the law will be the establishment and composition of the NGO Council whose key roles will be to assist the commissioner to provide a forum for voluntary organisations and to administer the Volunteer Organisation Fund.

The sooner all this takes place the better, not only for the voluntary sector itself but also for civil society as a whole.