Reference is made to your editorial A demand for answers (TMID, 4 March), on the subject of the new foundation created between The Eden Foundation and the Razzett tal-Hbiberija, and to a meeting wherein the Assocjazzjoni tal-Genituri of the Eden Foundation (“AGE”) criticised the said merger. Your editorial stated that “The commissioner responsible for NGOs should also investigate the situation and help find a solution that will bring peace of mind to the parents concerned.” I wish to reply to this remark.

The Assocjazzjoni tal-Genituri requested me to investigate the business of the new foundation in a letter dated 15 December 2008 enumerating a number of complaints against it. The association’s letter was forwarded to the Razzett tal-Hbiberija and The Eden Foundation (both enrolled organisations with my Office) on 5 January 2009 for their reactions to the complaints. These were duly received by my office on 11 February in the form of a joint reply sent by their legal advisor.

Having considered both the complaint and the answer, and on the basis of relevant research made by my office which has been following the dispute between the two sides from its beginning, I replied to the Assocjazzjoni tal-Genituri to inform it of my decision “not to proceed with any investigation since it is evident that there does not exist a blatant breach of the statute of either organisation or of the Voluntary Organisations Act or any regulations issued thereunder but there could have occurred breaches/wrongdoings which require careful and detailed analysis in front of an expert of the aforementioned Board of Appeal.”

The Voluntary Organisations Act does confer on the commissioner the power and responsibility to conduct investigations where there is an alleged abuse or breach of statute. It also gives the commissioner the power to decide in each case the appropriate course of action to follow.

From the facts and documentation collected by my office it emerged that conducting an investigation was not the most appropriate course of action since there was no blatant breach and the request received was more in the nature of a dispute where there were interests at stake.

It is in the commissioner’s discretion also to appoint an expert to look into the dispute or force mediation proceedings.

Yet, in this case, there already existed a series of negotiations between the parties which had led nowhere. For these reasons and because the points being raised by the Assocjazzjoni tal-Genituri (and the former administrators of Eden) were of a technical legal nature, the best alternative was to refer them to the Board of Appeal (which is a specialised adjudication body catered for in the Voluntary Organisations Act).

This is the proper forum to resolve a dispute of this kind and to give parents their “peace of mind”. Every parent currently benefiting from the assistance of Eden Foundation is able to institute proceedings in the Board of Appeal to determine the dispute.

Kenneth Wain

Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations

Floriana