MCCF says it is acting within the law

The Malta Community Chest Fund said this morning it does not indulge in any form of action that renders it above the law.

"The MCCF is scrupulous in its transparency and accountability when, as is well known, its accounts have always been publically audited and its audited accounts published in leading newspapers annually."

Referring to a report in yesterday's The Times, which said that the MCCF was getting preferential treatment in that it was not registered with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations, the MCCF said this gratuitous assertion was totally unfounded both in fact and law.

"It is a known fact that the MCCF, presided over by the President of Malta, does not indulge in any form of action that renders it above the law," it said.

This year’s resoundingly successful L-Istrina was carried out with maximum transparency and legality with full adherence to the provisions of the law which applies for Public Collections namely, the Public Collections Act, it said.

The MCCF board applied for and was granted the necessary permit by the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs.

It had also sought legal advice from the Attorney General to ensure the proper observance of the law. The AG had advised the private secretary to the then President of the Republic, in September 2008, that after having `..scrutinised its statute of constitution and examined the relevant provisions of the Voluntary Organisations Act, I respectfully consider that an organisation, even though it performs public collections as in the case of Malta Community Chest Fund is not duty bound to enrol and register itself as a voluntary organisation as per the provision of the Voluntary Organisation Act`.

"Though one would have expected Prof. Kenneth Wain and council chairman Robert Farrugia, as government appointed officials, to also respect the legal advice by the AG, the MCCF board on its part has strictly adhered to this advice given by the AG more than a year ago and maintained since.

"The MCCF board is not prepared to enrol as a voluntary organisation just to satisfy the whim of whoever has a different opinion," it said.

The MCCF said that another unfounded allegation was that the list of beneficiaries from this year's l-Istrina had not been identified with the consequence that people were being asked to donate money without knowing which organisations would benefit.

"This is again not true and it seems quite convenient to try to make people forget the features repeatedly carried out during this year`s edition of l-Istrina of who these organisation beneficiaries were going to be.

"More so these beneficiaries have not only been identified but have been duly informed by the MCCF board that they were going to be these year`s beneficiaries of L-Istrina."

The MCCF said that its board had included for the first time in its statute that a representative from the Council of Voluntary Organisations be represented ‘ex-ufficio’ on the board. The Commissioner, however, had not yet nominated a representative in spite of several invitations.