The Maltese are very generous in their voluntary contributions towards solidarity initiatives aimed at helping people in need of support wherever they may be. Moreover, there is Malta's Overseas Development Aid (ODA), which has just provided 16 local charitable organisations with over €250,000 to help them carry out humanitarian projects in Africa, Asia and South America. It is therefore sad to note that, with regard to ODA, Malta is being accused of inflating its figures and is being seen as facing a challenge of transparency in this sector.
The criticism was levelled at Malta in a report published by Concord, the European Confederation for Relief and Development NGOs, which brings together 24 national associations and 18 international networks representing over 1,600 development NGOs from all 27 EU states, working together through what is known as the Aid Watch Initiative.
The report acknowledges that official figures show that, in 2009, Malta maintained ODA levels at 0.2 per cent of gross national income, the same figure as in 2008. It adds, however, that there are no traces of the 43 per cent ODA budget increase announced last year.
According to the report, national NGDOs are concerned about potential aid inflation, mainly through reporting as ODA expenses related to irregular migration and students from developing countries. "Unfortunately, detailed information has not been made available and the real extent of the problem remains unclear... A breakdown of aid figures has never been made available," claims Concord.
It appears that the government argues that Malta is not legally obliged to release detailed data on development-related spending. Yet, as has been observed by the Concord report, transparency and the right of access to public information is a basic civil right, which should not be ignored or shelved. The government also insists it would continue to credit Malta's immigration expenditure to its ODA so long as this was in line with criteria of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
On a positive note, the report says that over the past two years the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and SKOP, the National Platform of Maltese NGDOs, which describes itself as Malta's broadest network of voluntary and non-governmental organisations working in international development cooperation and humanitarian aid, have engaged in structured dialogue that has contributed to improvements in terms of collaboration and exchange of opinions. SKOP and its members are now hoping for further structured collaboration and the development of an equal partnership for development between the government and civil society.
Malta stands to benefit if it manages to coordinate its resources and expertise, for instance with regard to meeting the millennium development goals set by the United Nations in 2000 to eradicate global poverty by 2015. These concrete goals aim at halving the number of people suffering from extreme poverty/hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality/empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating disease (HIV/AIDS, malaria, etc.), ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.
One can only hope that Malta manages to convince all it is performing adequately in this commitment. It is not recommendable being perceived as not doing enough or, worse, of inflating figures when the government is known to share the same views of civil society in terms of addressing poverty.