The national federation of NGOs has called for the Malta Community Chest Fund's legal position to be resolved once and for all in the wake of last month's L-Istrina televised charity marathon.
The federation, which comprises around 50 NGOs, said in a statement that no one doubted the MCCF's transparency or interest in helping the public, but the law needed to be safeguarded because it could help give "peace of mind to the generous Maltese public".
Controversy erupted after the MCCF - which on legal advice from the Attorney General decided not to enrol under the Voluntary Organisation Act - was given benefits that were meant to be reserved for enrolled organisations, namely airtime on the State television station PBS.
The same thing happened with Dar tal-Providenza, a charity home that is run by the Church - which is still discussing with the Office of the Prime Minister whether its organisations should enrol or not.
The MCCF did not act illegally when going ahead with its plans for L-Istrina 2009 because it was given 'blanket dispensation' from the law by the Social Policy Minister.
However, the situation irked NGOs who said it was unfair to give considerable benefits to one particular organisation without insisting on obligations.
Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations Kenneth Wain also spoke out, saying the MCCF's situation rendered redundant the law he was meant to regulate. He had flagged the issue months in advance but his request for an official meeting with the MCCF was never accepted.
In their statement, the NGOs said the minister might be able to intervene on a "one off" basis but a solution must be found. The MCCF is partly State run - because it is chaired by the President who appoints members of the board.
The Attorney General said last week that even if the MCCF wanted to enrol, this was not possible because of various articles in the law that precluded its enrolment.
However, Prof. Wain argued that the MCCF could make certain declarations or changes to its statute, which would free it from government involvement and enable it to enrol. This is what other organisations had already done.
This position was supported by Max Ganado, the lawyer who drafted the law.
Prof. Wain said it was in the interest of the MCCF to enrol because this would allow it to distribute funds to organisations that were not enrolled - a practice that would be illegal if it remained a State organisation.
"If it enrols it would have no problem carrying out collections, receiving State benefits and giving out the money it collects to whoever it chooses," he said, adding he was therefore surprised by the lack of enthusiasm to join.
The MCCF has not yet made public the list of 18 organisations with which it will share the €2.3 million collected on Boxing Day, but it is possible that some of them may not be enrolled, as happened last year.
The national federation of NGOs said that if the MCCF "chooses" not to enrol, it "cannot" enjoy the same benefits as enrolled organisations.
"We believe that legal registration and enrolment are both useful and necessary for transparency and accountability of NGOs in Malta. It is also important if there is to be a genuinely level playing field, particularly in the area of public fundraising.
"This is an issue of national interest. The MCCF and the Church command huge goodwill. However, if we want to continue to base our accountability purely on goodwill, then we could discard the Voluntary Organisations Act", which they said would not be in the best interest of the sector or the country in the long run.
The MCCF failed to reply to questions sent by The Sunday Times yesterday.
cperegin@timesofmalta.com