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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2014 3 News President to reform non-transparent Community Chest Fund Karmenu Vella's grilling set for 29 September CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 MaltaToday understands that the MCCF, a mainstay of the national charity effort, has been replete with problems over its financing and over-commitments, but the non-transparent manner in which the fund has been run in the last decade makes it difficult to con- firm. The Community Chest Fund, which is operated by the Office of the President of the Republic, en- joys blanket exemptions in receiv- ing grants and financial aid with- out being enrolled with the Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations (CVO). Its statute makes MCCF a state organisation, as opposed to a vol- untary organisation. Since it is ad- ministrated by the State, according to law, the MCCF could not be reg- istered with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations. The exemptions, granted by so- cial policy ministers under whom the CVO falls, has allowed the MCCF and church organisations to accept monies and government grants without being regulated or legally accountable – an observa- tion which Commissioner Kenneth Wain said has created a "deficit of public accountability which dam- ages the [voluntary] sector as a whole." For the past four years, Wain was at the forefront in calling for better regulation of the MCCF by chang- ing its statute in order to allow reg- istration with the CVO. Amid rumours of mismanage- ment and calls for proper due dili- gence in the commitment of funds, having the MCCF registered as a voluntary organisation would increase transparency, especially since money is collected through fundraising activities. Although the MCCF has pub- lished various statements of ac- counts, the accounts were never placed in the public domain. Welcoming the news that the MCCF is set to undergo a reform, Wain told MaltaToday that Presi- dent Coleiro Preca had met him soon after her appointment as head of state. "The President expressed the wish that the issue must be re- solved. I knew that she was looking into setting up a foundation, but as yet I don't know the details," Wain said. For the prospective foundation to be registered with the CVO, the board of administrators must be independent: if state representa- tives sit on the board, their post should be in the nature of an ob- server. "I encouraged her plans to change the composition of the MCCF. I was supportive of the idea and the way it will be constituted to allow MCCF to enrol as a voluntary or- ganisation and make its identity more clear," he added. Tiff with Abela office According to Coleiro Preca's predecessor, George Abela, the Community Chest Fund collected a staggering €15 million during the last five years, €10 million of which was utilised by NGOs and individ- uals in need. In 2013, the MCCF collected €3.4 million during the Yuletide fund raising campaign l-Istrina, work- ing out at an average of €22 across Malta's 153,000 households. In 2010, under Abela's presidency, the MCCF was involved in a public tiff with Kenneth Wain over the Commissioner's call for the fund to enrol as an NGO and render its operations public as a voluntary organisation. Abela's office said it would not enrol the fund as an NGO "just to satisfy the whim of whoever has a different opinion." The MCCF had informed the commissioner that it had legal advice from the Attorney General that it did not have to enrol once it was partly state-run but NGO Commissioner Kenneth Wain disagreed, preferring to stick to the legal advice he had, which ran contrary to that of the Attorney General. Catholic impasse Wain has complained that there is no legal assurance that the non- enrolled part of the voluntary sec- tor is operating honestly and with- in the financial laws of the country, even when organisations are in re- ceipt of public funds. Wain said the Catholic archdio- cese's own stand on the enrolment of its own organisations and chari- ties has frozen "desperately needed amendments" to the Voluntary Or- ganisations Act. Wain wants enrolment to the Of- fice of Voluntary Organisations to be compulsory, if the sector is to become accountable and transpar- ent. An analysis of the list of exemp- tions between 2009 and 2012 shows that successive social policy min- sters, namely John Dalli, Dolores Cristina, and Chris Said, awarded exemptions to the beneficiaries of the Community Chest Fund, oper- ated by the Office of the President of the Republic, but most notably to Church organisations. The CCF's beneficiaries, which in the main constitute Church organisations operating on a vol- untary basis, have constantly been exempted from registration for the regular Strina telethon on the Pub- lic Broadcasting Services, organ- ised every Christmas, and which amasses hundreds of thousands of euros in donations. At least 60 exemptions out of a total of 91 were awarded to church or religious lay organisations, as well as: parishes, the Maltese and Gozitan dioceses for the receipt of EU or national government funds, band clubs, and other charitable institutions and clerical charities that support the homeless, or- phaned children, the elderly and other vulnerable members of so- ciety. The government regularly dis- penses funds through such initia- tives like the Good Causes Fund, the Malta Arts Fund, Eco-Gozo, the Overseas Development Aid, NGO co-financing and project se- lection funds, among others. However, enrolment with the CVO is not mandatory, and organi- sations can appeal for a ministerial exemption to receive financial aid without being legally accountable for the monies received. MIRIAM DALLI EUROPEAN Commissioner-desig- nate Karmenu Vella will be facing a tough grilling at the hands of MEPs on Monday, 29 September, accord- ing to a draft calendar released by the European Parliament. The 'grilling' is given to prospec- tive Commissioners by MEPs, and Vella, awarded the Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, will be opening the sessions. Already there are indications of unrest associated with Commis- sion president Jean-Claude Junker's choice of commissioner to handle the environment, fisheries and maritime affairs portfolio. NGOs have expressed concern at an apparent 'downgrade' of the en- vironment (previously a standalone portfolio) as a key area of European policy. Questions have also been raised – among others, by BirdLife Europe – regarding the suitability of Vella himself for the post, given his government's track record in the area of wildlife protection. Vella's hearing will take place in the specific committees associated with his portfolio. Environment, fisheries and maritime policy are dealt with in two separate com- mittees: environment by the ENVI commission; fisheries and mari- time affairs by PECH. So the two committees will have to be brought together for a joint sitting. Once Vella has duly answered the committees' questions, the MEPs will remain in the chamber and discuss their assessment of the hearing: particularly, the group co- ordinators in those two commit- tees. "Normally, within 24 hours there has to be a letter by the committee chairs, addressed to the conference of committee chairs," Peter Agius, head of the European Parliament office in Malta, told MaltaToday on Sunday. Before the new Commission can take office the European Parlia- ment must officially approve the full Commission. Parliament is set to give this approval, or not, on 22 October. This would allow the new Commission to start work on 1 November. Incoming Commission President Juncker was already ap- proved by the European Parliament in a vote on 15 July. Fake Twitter account stirs 'unrest' among environmentalists Soon after Vella's appointment was announced by President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker, a sockpuppet account was set up – and removed over the weekend – posting con- troversial tweets on Twitter. "Someone has created a false ac- count and is impersonating me. @karmenuvellaeu is a fake ac- count tweeting maliciously. Please block," Vella said, through his offi- cial and verified Twitter account. The tweets sent out by the sock- puppet created a stir among envi- ronmentalists who believed that Vella's guiding principles would be that "a modern nature legislation should support and not oppose economic growth" and that "a modern nature legislation should consider more those it affects the most". Environmentalists tweeted back saying it was "very bad news" that changes to the Birds and Habitats Directives would promote eco- nomic development, farmers and hunters. The fake Twitter account has since been removed, but the short period it was online was enough to fuel concerns on how the directive would be reformed. Twitter sockpuppet account removed after Vella flags 'fake account tweeting maliciously'