Consortium for development of civil society says NGOs should be financed by taxpayers

Four nongovernmental organizations that formed a consortium for the development of the civil society in Moldova propose amending the law so that the interested tax payers can ask that a part of the taxes they pay are transferred to one or more NGOs, Info-Prim Neo reports. “It is a clear mechanism whereby the citizens participate and direct a certain income to the organizations that they consider act in the service of the public,” Sergiu Ostaf, the executive director of the Resource Center of the Human Rights Nongovernmental Organizations of Moldova (CreDO), told a news conference. Under the proposed project, at the end of every year, the salary earners can ask the employer to demand that the State Tax Service transfer a part of the paid taxes to the accounts of the selected nongovernmental organizations. “There will be a transparent scheme for managing the accounts,” said the director of the Resource Center “Young and Liberals”, Antonita Fonari. The authors say that the project is revolutionary for Moldova and represents a practical exercise of the citizens’ right to get involved in public affairs”. They also say that this mechanism will stimulate the civilian activism of the people on the one hand and the more active involvement of the NGOs in solving social problems on the other hand. Over 8,000 NGOs officially work in Moldova, but very few of them are active, said the president of “Eco-Tiras” Association, Ilia Trombitski. Asked what impact the initiative will have on the state budget given that a part of the money will not be transferred to it but to NGOs, the authors said that the sum is insignificant for the budget, but it will stimulate the nongovernmental organizations. Presently, the nongovernmental organizations are regarded as an additional, secondary segment to the state sector, the project authors consider. The grants remain the main source of financing for the NGOs. The mechanisms for financing public programs implemented by the nongovernmental sector from foreign financing are imperfect and hinder the sustainable development of the civil organizations, the authors say. The consortium for the development of the civil society in Moldova consists of the Resource Center “Young and Liberals”, CReDO, Contact Center and “Eco-Tiras” Association.