VO Commissioner investigates Stivala claims against e-NGOs

Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations Jesmond Saliba is investigating MDA president Michael Stivala’s claims of financing abuse against specific e-NGOs in a number of cases.

Stivala has submitted documents that he says substantiate his claim that some developers use voluntary organisations to damage their rivals.

In a Times of Malta interview last Sunday, Stivala alleged that “almost all” NGOs take such money “almost all the time”. However he declined to enter into specifics as he said he did not have “100 per cent proof”.

Stivala’s claims prompted anger among civil society and voluntary organisations, and led to several denials from e-NGOs.

On Wednesday, VO Commissioner Saliba gave the Malta Developers Association president a 48 hour deadline to back up his claims.