The Malta Community Chest Fund could not be enrolled as a voluntary organisation even if it wanted to, the Attorney General, Silvio Camilleri, has insisted.
"My office was consulted on the matter way back in September 2008 and the advice was and still is that the Malta Community Chest Fund is ineligible for enrolment as a voluntary organisation in terms of the provisions of the Voluntary Organisatons Act. In fact, the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations is precluded by law from enrolling it as a voluntary organisation so that even if the MCCF wanted to be enrolled as such it could not be so enrolled.
"All persons and organisations, big or small, should conform with the law.
"The Malta Community Chest Fund is in complete conformity with the law," Dr Camilleri said.
Dr Camilleri's comments were sought in the wake of complaints by enrolled organisations in the Council for the Voluntary Sector, which said the MCCF had received preferential treatment by being allowed to raise funds during the marathon L-Istrina even though it had not registered with the NGOs Commissioner.
The commissioner, Kenneth Wain, has said he could not comprehend why the MCCF was refusing to enrol with his office and has threatened to resign if his authority continues to be undermined. Through an official statement, the MCCF said it was not prepared to enrol as a voluntary organisation "just to satisfy the whim of whoever has a different opinion".
Reacting to the official statement, Prof. Wain declared he had every respect for the President, admiration for his honest dedication to assist good causes and individuals in need and for the work and drive of the MCCF and the hundreds of volunteers it mobilised for its noble cause.
"However, among the many responsibilities laid on my office by the Voluntary Organisations Act (2007) one charges me with 'monitoring the promotion of voluntary organisations and the behaviour of administrators of such organisations to ensure the observance of high standards of accountability and transparency and compliance with law.' (article 7 (h)) This is the only consideration that has motivated my action as commissioner with respect to the MCCF, no other," he said.
He noted that he had never contested the Attorney General's advice to MCCF that it "is not in duty bound to enrol and register itself as a voluntary organisation".
"This is not the issue with regard to L-Istrina. The issue arises from article 4 of the law, which states that to 'be the beneficiary of grants, sponsorships or other financial aid from the government, any entity controlled by the government or the Voluntary Organisations Fund', a voluntary organisation must be enrolled with the commissioner.
"Though the MCCF and Id-Dar tal-Providenza have every right not to enrol with the commissioner, PBS, as a state entity, is in breach of the law in allowing either of them to make use of its resources, never mind, in the case of the MCCF, turning L-Istrina entirely over to it. In the case of Id-Dar tal-Providenza, which is a Church organisation following the Curia's directive not to enrol with the commissioner, this is a flagrant example of abuse of the law by PBS because there was no ministerial exemption for Id-Dar tal-Providenza, as there was in the case of the MCCF. Again, this is not a reflection of my personal view of the institution, which I admire very much."
Prof. Wain noted that the law laid down that "In the exercise of his functions, the commissioner shall act impartially and shall not be subject to the direction of any other person or authority (article 7.2)". That, he pointed out, both guaranteed his autonomy and also obliged him to observe it against the MCCF's advice to defer to the authority of the Attorney General.
He commented on the fact that the list of beneficiaries for L-Istrina 2009 was still not in the public realm. "The MCCF's publication of its audited accounts in leading newspapers is what is required by law and in accordance with the Public Collections Act. However, 'transparency and accountability' means more," Prof. Wain added.
As to criticism that he ignored "repeated invitations" to nominate a representative of the Council for the Voluntary Sector to sit ex-ufficio on the MCCF board, he insisted it was not in his legal power to make any such nomination. If anything, that could be done by the council itself. He also pointed out that there had been only one such invitation.
He continued:
"I first discussed the MCCF with the President personally in a courtesy visit he kindly made to my office on March 23, 2009 when I encouraged him to consider enrolling the fund. In early September 2009, my office received an inquiry from the MCCF signalling that it was considering enrolment. My legal consultants advised me that, with some changes to its statute, the MCCF could enrol with the commissioner. The MCCF's inquiry, however, was not pursued further.
"In a letter of July 3, 2009 I wrote to the President encouraging him to commence enrolment procedures. I ended my letter with this appeal: 'Such enrolment will also send a strong signal of your support in the current drive my office is making to encourage voluntary organisations to follow suit in the interest of transparency and accountability in the administration of funds collected from the public'.
"On September 22, 2009, I wrote again in reply to a letter of August 17, 2009 from the MCCF enclosing my legal consultants' full advice that the MCCF qualifies for enrolment with the commissioner in terms of the law. It included advice on the problems that would be encountered with L-Istrina were it not to enrol. My covering letter said: 'I think that at this stage a personal meeting between myself and His Excellency the President, as MCCF chairman, rather than a further exchange of letters, is probably the best way forward'.
"This letter was acknowledged on October 27, 2009 but not replied to. On October 7, 2009, I wrote again repeating my advice on L-Istrina, which letter was unacknowledged. On December 10, 2009, I wrote to the chairman of PBS once more pointing out its violation of the law if L-Istrina went on. I had no desire to interfere with the event. As in everything else, I did my duty. At this point, the Minister for Social Policy intervened and used his powers under the law to grant the MCCF blanket dispensation from its provisions for L-Istrina 2009."