79 organisations call for retraction of new Legal Notices regulating public fundraising

79 organisations have called on the Government to retract recently published Legal Notices regulating public fundraising activities and charity shops until serious consultations with the sector have been conducted.

The organisations, including Dar tal-Providenza, Aditus, Alleanza kontra l-Faqar, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and several Catholic foundations and societies argued that the introduction of Legal Notices 371 and 390 of 2020 created “undue bureaucracy for which the organisations are not prepared.”

Among the documentation to be provided are OHSA certifications, lists of donors, genre of items sold, and a police conduct certificate for all administrators involved in the operation of the shop.

Other documentation includes: planning authority certification, access for persons with a disability, previous licences, a list of administrators, certificate of enrolment, contract of premises, employment contracts and ID cards of all volunteers and employees, and any tax or VAT exemption grants.

“These regulations that are being introduced without any consultation whatsoever with the voluntary organisations themselves (whereas article 39 1, 1a of the legislation promotes consultation) are going further than their declared scope and in certain aspects are introducing unnecessary duplication of work that is going to result in a huge loss in financial income that these organisations so badly need to continue to operate especially in this pandemic time (post-COVID).”

The 79 organisations said that the Legal Notices do not reflect the realities within which they operate and will put a huge strain on human resources and finances.

“If we truly believe in this sector, it would be a lot wiser to embark on serious consultatioins with all voluntary organisations for the best way forward to be found in this regard for the good of the voluntary sector, the organisations, employees, volunteers and beneficiaries,” they said.