Malta’s NGO Commissioner has conceded that his office is “grossly understaffed” and called on the government to make up its mind and implement the Voluntary Organisations Act seriously.
I have been struggling unsuccessfully with an unsympathetic government for more staff since day one of my appointment
Professor Kenneth Wain told The Times that processing the annual reports voluntary organisations are obliged to file with his office was beyond the capabilities of his “already-overstretched” staff of four full-time workers.
He was replying to questions concerning a recent Council of Europe anti-money laundering report, which found several shortcomings in the way Malta has implemented its Voluntary Organisations Act.
The report found that Prof. Wain’s office was understaffed, that scant attention was given to the threat of NGO funds being misused for terrorist purposes, and that the public was not sufficiently informed of the NGO Commissioner’s office.
It also argued that a register of NGOs should be publicly available online and that local NGOs should be forced to register with the NGO Commissioner’s office.
Proper implementation of Malta’s NGO Act has been hampered by Church organisations’ refusal – never clearly explained by the Church – to register with the Commissioner.
Enrolled organisations must provide the NGO Commissioner with an annual report of their activities and a copy of their audited accounts, with this information then made publicly available.
Prof. Wain had previously warned that allowing civil society organisations to raise money or receive public funds without undergoing the necessary scrutiny was unwise. He has not since changed his mind.
Allowing for unregistered organisations was a fundamental flaw in the Act as it currently stood, “because that means that for a sizable chunk of the voluntary sector there is no accountability or possibility of risk-assessment at all”.
Keeping tabs on registered organisations was also an uphill battle, Prof. Wain said. “I need qualified monitors to process the annual reports voluntary organisations are obliged to present annually, and I need qualified or trained staff to keep the up-to-date online register the report referred to.”
Getting the manpower was easier said than done, however. “I have been struggling unsuccessfully with an unsympathetic government for more staff since day one of my appointment as Commissioner,” he said.
Questions sent to Family Minister Chris Said about the Council of Europe report’s comments went unanswered.
Since its establishment in 2007, responsibility for the NGO Commissioner’s office has been passed on from one government minister to another – from Dolores Cristina, to John Dalli, Dolores Cristina again and now Chris Said.
The government has said that amendments to the Voluntary Organisations Act will iron out existing difficulties and render implementation of the Act more effective. The amendments, which were first raised in Parliament late last year, have yet to be made public.
Prof. Wain declined to comment on the amendments, although he voiced optimism that Dr Said was “keen to move matters on as quickly as possible.”
But legislative amendments would amount to little, he argued, unless they were accompanied by the necessary financial backing. “The government must decide whether it wants to implement the voluntary organisations law seriously. If it does it has to invest.”