Prof. Kenneth Wayne was appointed as the first Commissioner for NGOs according to the Voluntary Organisations Act yesterday, by Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina, at the ministry in Valletta.

This means that the Voluntary Organisations Act has now come into force. “This law gives voluntary organisations and NGOs a legal status and regulates them, giving such organisations a focal point where to register themselves as well as receive certain benefits and incentives. It will also be possible for them to access EU funds,” said Minister Cristina.

“Prof. Wayne will be the first Commissioner to implement this law, and he has been selected because of his personal qualities of integrity, and competence as well as his experience in various public functions, and as a university lecturer,” she said. “The duration of his post shall be three years, and his role is to guide our voluntary organisations while working hand in hand with the board of appeal, the council and its chairman, which are to be appointed shortly according to law,” she added.

Prof. Wayne said that his new post “is a challenge I accept wholeheartedly. First of all we need to create the necessary social structures. It is not an isolated role as I shall be consulting with the council and the advisory committee, which creates a balance of powers and I am confident I can keep a positive dialogue going.”

The commissioner’s office will be situated in Block C, next door to the Education Department in Floriana.