Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/414558
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2014 9 News President to meet NGOs on MCCF tax rebate TEODOR RELJIC PRESIDENT Marie Louise Coleiro Preca told MaltaToday that she plans to meet with NGOs next week to discuss a possible way forward. She was responding to complaints by NGOs who claimed that a newly announced tax rebate for companies which donate to the Malta Commu- nity Chest Fund is "discriminatory" – a criticism echoed by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, who said that the move "discourages people from donating to other NGOs". "The work NGOs do is immensely valuable to the country, and in fact I aim to meet the Commissioner for NGOs as soon as next week to dis- cuss ways in which we can organise ourselves better when it comes to the distribution of funds," President Coleiro Preca said. The Malta Community Chest Fund, which the President chairs, organises the annual charity tel- ethon l-iStrina during Christmas. Through this scheme, businesses which donate over €2,000 to the Malta Community Chest will be entitled to a tax rebate, with half of their donations qualifying as 'busi- ness expenses'. Finance Minister Edward Scicluna appealed to Maltese companies to "take on social responsibility" and donate to the MCCF, whose pro- ceeds largely go towards helping people living in poverty and financ- ing the treatment abroad of people suffering from serious illnesses. However, several voluntary NGOs are less than happy with this. SKOP – a national platform that represents 24 NGOs including the Malta Gay Rights Movement, the Malta Forum for Justice and Coop- eration, Moviment Graffiti, and the Christian group CAM Youths – led the charge in their criticism against the national fund. "We strongly condemn the govern- ment's decision to provide preferen- tial treatment to the Malta Com- munity Chest Fund over all other Maltese non-governmental organi- sations," SKOP's treasurer, Dominik Kalweit, said. Richmond Foundation CEO An- toinette Shah described this scheme as "discriminatory" to other NGOs, while in a joint statement, human rights NGOs Jesuit Refugee Serv- ices, aditus Foundation, and the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, strongly urged the government to extend the tax rebate to donations to all NGOs. "The rebate and other such initia- tives should ideally be extended to other entities, and we're willing to discuss ways in which we can dis- tribute these incentives in a produc- tive way," the President told Malta- Today yesterday. The President however added that such incentives need to be put "in context". "For example, a number of these NGOs function as service providers with the government – which means they contribute directly to the state," she said, adding that entities like the NGO Fund and the Good Causes fund also serve to lend NGOs a help- ing hand. "However I don't mean to imply that this is enough for NGOs. The social sector is a bottomless pit, so we will always need to find ways in which to shore up more funds to its benefit." The President pointed out that, "even the Malta Community Chest Fund, it must be said, contributes to the funds that are allocated to NGOs, and I hope that in the coming weeks we will be able to announce certain developments in this regard". President Coleiro Preca was speak- ing at a news conference announcing a fine art auction in aid of the MCCF. A record number of 85 pieces of art and ceramics will go under the ham- mer on November 21 at San Anton Palace in aid of the MCCF. The works, predominantly land- scapes and cityscapes by local vet- eran artists, will be on display for the public at the President's Palace in Valletta until November 21. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca: "The work NGOs do is immensely valuable to the country" ECJ ruling deals blow to 'benefit shoppers' EUROPEAN Union countries can cut benefits to unemployed immigrants from other member states, the EU's Court of Justice has ruled. EU nations are allowed to refuse some benefits to "economically in- active" foreign nationals who go to another country only to get social assistance, the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg said in a ruling yesterday in a case concerning two Romanians who received some aid in Germany. The ruling brings clarity about the rights of EU citizens and their fami- lies, the EU's executive arm in Brus- sels said. "The European Commission has consistently stressed that free move- ment is the right to free circulation, it is not a right to freely access the mem- ber states' social-assistance systems and the court confirms this," Mina Andreeva, a spokeswom- an for the Brussels-based authority, told reporters. The court said that under EU law, persons must have the resources to support themselves to stay in another member country, to prevent an abuse of the welfare system. Each individual case will have to be analyzed "without taking account of the social benefits claimed," the EU court said in a statement. Resolution on transfer of Pembroke land to Chinese embassy postponed again 'It is the customary practice of the Chinese side to first purchase the land and then proceed with the actual planning,' Chinese ambassador says MIRIAM DALLI A parliamentary committee has once again postponed a deci- sion on a resolution approving the transfer of an 11,115 square- metre site in Suffolk Street, Pem- broke, to the Chinese mission for the construction of a new embassy building. The request to postpone the de- cision a second time was made by the Nationalist Opposition who asked to present a letter by Chi- nese ambassador Cai Jinbiao to its parliamentary group. The Chinese government is set to pay €7,880,000 to acquire the land in question. Nationalist MP Tonio Fenech had asked the gov- ernment to provide the commit- tee with a copy of the plans for the construction of the new embassy. Planning parliamentary secre- tary Michael Falzon had agreed to seek further clarifications from the Chinese ambassador, albeit pointing out that "the deed is to effectively sell the land in ques- tion" and the government was not presented with any plans. Yesterday, Falzon explained that he had met the Ambassador and proceeded to read out a letter sent by Ambassador Cai. "Whilst expressing satisfaction at the progress we have jointly achieved so far, I wish to reiter- ate that the piece of land in ques- tion will be utilized for diplomatic purposes only, namely to build a new embassy, which will eventu- ally replace our current embassy complex at St Julian's, that is ag- ing year after year," the Chinese ambassador wrote. "The planning and construction of the new embassy will be done in full compliance with relevant Maltese laws and regulations, with thorough consideration for the environment, surrounding resi- dential areas and traffic f lows." In reply to the request for a preview of the layout of the new embassy, the ambassador wrote it was "the customary practice of the Chinese side to first purchase the land and then proceed with the actual planning". "Therefore there is no layout to be presented at this stage since the deed of the purchase is yet to be signed," he added. A local plan to accommodate the construction of a massive Chinese embassy in Pembroke was approved under the previous government. The process to locate the Chi- nese embassy in Pembroke had started in January 2012 when amendments for the local plan were issued for public consul- tation and finalised on 15 No- vember, 2012 when the amend- ment was approved by the MEPA board. The amendment deemed the site as being suitable for the develop- ment of an embassy, as it is locat- ed within extensive landscaped open areas and directly adjacent to a planned road that is to link Regional Road with Pembroke. In the local plan approved by the government in 2006, the area now earmarked for an embassy had been previously allocated for the development of three-storey high maisonettes and f lats on the con- dition that mature trees found in the area are safeguarded. According to these plans the embassy will be constructed within development zones, as the area was already scheduled for de- velopment since the 1990s, even though it has remained undevel- oped for the past two decades. The local plan stipulated that a maximum of 304 new housing units could be built in this zone, as well as in another area of the same size in Pembroke, which was also allocated for housing, in the local plan. In February 2007, MaltaToday reported that China had asked the government for a plot of land of up to 10,000 square metres in Pembroke – a prime site that has been earmarked for development by foreign powers since World War II. The land earmarked in the local plan changes – roughly the size of the existing Pembroke cem- etery – was significantly smaller than that envisaged in 2007, but still considerably larger than the present Chinese Embassy in St Julian's.