Professor Kenneth Wain has resigned from the post of Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations, stating in his resignation letter that the Voluntary Organisations Act of 2007 urgently needed changes and hence he proposed to introduce long-overdue amendments.
In a statement announcing the resignation, the Education Ministry said it is committed to introduce these changes since it shares the view that the Voluntary Organisations Act lacked important elements to safeguard the public interest in the operation of Voluntary Organisations, namely in the spheres of protection against money laundering and abuse of financing of terrorism, appropriate use of funds and the requirement of mandatory enrolment.
While the above-mentioned issues were rightly addressed, it was felt that the amendments made to the Act of 2007 still required further amendments in order to avoid misuse of funds, tax abuse and abuse against Voluntary Organisations and the Voluntary Sector.
Another important factor, which had to be addressed by the Ministry, was not to repeat the 2007 Act's omissions and mistakes. Thus, the Bill, including the 2018 amendments, had to undergo a rigorous process, which included continuous input from the Attorney General's Office, the FIAU and the Inland Revenue Department among others, to make sure that the mentioned Bill is well rounded and provides for a long-term regulatory framework for Voluntary Organisations and the Voluntary Sector in general. In terms of taxation issues, clearance by the Inland Revenue was obtained on 25 January 2018 and scrutiny by the Attorney General’s office was finalized after a number of exchanges on 16 April 2018.
Moreover, the evolution of the Bill involved a continuous process over the past ten months which initiated from the very start of the current legislature. Besides, the Ministry was always available to and supportive of the Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations both in terms of human resources planning, capacity building, and good governance.
Finally, the Ministry said it is confident that the mentioned Bill will start the Parliamentary process in the coming weeks.