The controversy over the Malta Community Chest Fund's (MCCF) legal position could help the voluntary sector become stronger and more accountable, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.
Dr Gonzi referred to the current debate over whether the MCCF should enrol with the Commissioner of Voluntary Organisations if it is to continue receiving State benefits, such as airtime on the State television station PBS.
The very debate, on whether the money donated to MCCF during the annual charity fundraiser L-Istrina had been legitimately collected, was criticised as being an attack against the fund.
Speaking in an interview on Radio 101, Dr Gonzi spoke about the "treasure of voluntary work", describing it as one of the ingred-ients of Malta's success as many people dedicated their time to helping others.
Voluntary work in Malta had grown so much because it had been given the space to do so, he said.
The Voluntary Organisations Act had been introduced to regulate and strengthen the sector. However a balance had to be found to ensure the sector was not strangled by excessive bureaucracy, he said.
Dr Gonzi then referred to the controversy, adding that it could only strengthen the sector.
However, he stopped short of taking a position on the matter, which erupted after the fundraising marathon when complaints arose that the MCCF had received preferential treatment by receiving State benefits even though it had not registered with the Commissioner.
The Commissioner, Kenneth Wain, has stressed that according to the law that he was assigned to uphold, an organisation was to be registered if it was to receive sponsorships or other financial aid from the government. For this to happen, the MCCF's statute would first have to be changed.
The MCCF however said it was not prepared to enrol as a voluntary organisation "just to satisfy the whim of whoever has a different opinion".
The MCCF followed the advice of the Attorney General Silvio Camilleri who has insisted that it could not enrol according to the law since it was partly State-owned and would first have to make changes to its statute.
In an opinion piece appearing in The Times today, Prof. Wain says that to resolve the "difference of interpretation", the MCCF could declare itself a State organisation. However, it would then be obliged to conform to the law requiring it to benefit only those voluntary organisations that were enrolled with the Commissioner and this could be a major restriction for it to achieve its goals.
However, he hopes this will not happen and that it enrols with the commissioner as a voluntary organisation - which it can do, he holds, if its administrators declare they will act independently of the State or the MCCF changes parts of its statute. That way it would qualify for state benefits and could distribute the proceeds from its activities to whichever organisation it liked.
A similar issue as the MCCF debate emerged 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.