NGOs call for their share of EU funds

NGOs are determined to make their voices heard at a forum tomorrow in a bid to achieve the level playing field they have been clamouring for and secure their share of much-needed EU funds.

They complain that government agencies are able to use public funds for co-financing (with the EU) of projects while NGOs are not allowed to. That, added to the fact that the agencies have comparatively huge budgets, puts non-governmental organisations at a disadvantage when seeking EU funding.

The forum, to be held at St James Cavalier, in Valletta, at 9.30 a.m., will discuss how Maltese NGOs can manage EU structural funds projects. It will be addressed by the Parliamentary Secretary at the Finance Ministry Tonio Fenech.

Malta will be receiving €805 million in EU structural funds between next year and 2013 but local NGOs are wondering whether they will have the opportunity to participate and use the funds to reach the socially excluded.

They want to be able to tap the European social funds projects fund (ESFP), set up to enable voluntary organisations, operating both at a national and community level, to access structural funds, Godfrey Kenely, chairman of the European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) told The Times.

The resultant projects, he said, would help create jobs, organise and engage communities, get people into work and prepare individuals for work.

However, it is up to EU member state governments to decide whether there is a need for something called a global grant (part of the ESFP). In most states this decision is taken by the Finance Ministry. The EAPN laments that the Maltese government is so far not considering the possibility of a global grant to be managed by NGOs.

Mr Kenely said he could not understand why government agencies can use public funds as co-funding while NGOs could not.

The issue is one of those addressed in a position paper submitted to the government by EAPN Malta, which represents 47 NGOs ranging from the Eden Foundation to the Jesuit Refugee Service.

"We cannot be expected to compete with the large government agencies that have annual budgets topping Lm1 million," Mr Kenely said.

"NGOs have to manage much smaller projects. In the UK such organisations have used structural funds most successfully with small NGOs making sure they reach the grassroots."

EAPN is also calling for the provision of support for NGOs to develop their capacity and create a system which simplifies access to money and the monitoring of structural fund projects that they manage.

The position paper proposes to simplify work for the NGOs which, under government procurement regulations, often need to subcontract the work involved.

Furthermore, the business sector would be encouraged to contribute to a special fund that would allow the NGOs to match EU funding.

The Community Chest Fund should also reconsider its remit for donations and contribute to such a fund, Mr Kenely argued.

"The system needs to be simple and to provide rapid access, making new and small organisations eligible to apply."