NGOs Commissioner blasts lack of transparency

NGOs Commissioner Kenneth Wain lambasted the previous government's lax discretion in granting funds to voluntary organisations.

Wain, the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations, voiced his dissatisfaction at the lack of transparency in the way the government approved funding to voluntary organisations in 2012.

In his overview, published in the 2012 annual report, Wain noted that 2012 saw an unprecedented number of ministerial exemptions to Church organisations and "other free-riders" despite his consistent complaints that these exemptions undermined credibility.

Wain said, "I am also dissatisfied with the government's lack of adequate transparency in the way it operates the schemes and policies intended for the voluntary sector, the operation of the NGO Projects Selection Committee, the Good Causes Fund, the Overseas Development Aid fund, Eco-Gozo, Public Broadcasting Services Ltd, etc."

He added that these "blanket exemptions" were related to ministerial funds, which were approved without explanation or justification in a letter of exemption.

"This way of doing things evidently goes against the intention for any law that provides for Ministerial exemption, namely that the tool should be used sparingly and responsibly, in exceptional and justified cases, on a case by case basis, and that the reason for the exemption should be communicated to the Commissioner, otherwise ministerial discretion is abused and the mechanism made a farce," Wain said.

Wain believes that government policy should not be to indiscriminately issue exemptions "but to insist that organisations applying for funding or other benefits enrol with the Commissioner before they are eligible to apply."

He said the government should set an example for the sector "but the contrary is the case. I have insisted that the administration of these funds should not be internal to the ministries as is presently the case and that such administration should be publicly accountable."

Ministers should set up independent and competent selection boards or committees with clear remits, clear instructions on eligibility and unambiguous conditions of application, including enrolment with the Commissioner and transparent selection processes in accord with clear criteria, Wain said.

Out of the 90-odd ministerial exemptions handed in 2012, only three organisations eventually applied for enrolment with the Office of the Commissioner for voluntary organisations, Wain pointed out.

Meanwhile, Wain also argued that the enrolment of NGOs with the Office should be mandatory.

In his 2012 overview, he called for two major amendments to the Voluntary Organisations Act, the first being mandatory enrolment and the second a change in the composition of the council leading the Office.

"The two fundamental changes to the VOA I am advocating, compulsory enrolment and the democratisation of the process for the appointment of the council, will require in-depth discussion with the government and with the council, but they are the way forward for the sector and for civil society as a whole," Wain said.

While noting that mandatory enrolment would "profoundly transform" civil society by guaranteeing accountability and transparency, Wain added that it "would strengthen the public image and credibility of the sector itself."

Wain explained that the composition of the council should follow the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) civil-society committee model.

"My recommendation is that the council be elected wholly or largely democratically by the voluntary sector itself with new representational criteria," Wain said, adding that he had advised the former administration to extend the present council's term by one year to see through the amendments to the VOA and oversee the completion of the first phase of the planned voluntary organisation centre in Valletta.

The Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations was set up by the VOA in 2007, with the task of strengthening the voluntary sector through various initiatives and the specific aim of promoting the work of NGOs as well as encouraging their role as partners with the government in various initiatives.

By the end of 2012, 761 organisations were enrolled with the Office, with Wain describing it as "satisfactory," considering that enrolment is not mandatory and the dispute with the Church over the enrolment of Church organisations remains unresolved.

In his 2011 report, Wain, an ethics professor, described the Church organisations saga as a "sore point" and registered his objection to the government's extension of benefits to non-registered Church organisations.