The House of Representatives Interior Committee is preparing to approve the bill regulating the collection of donations from the public and the distribution of aid for charitable purposes, ahead of Eid Al Adha and blazing inflation.
The committee is expected to approve the 18.18 draft law, in the presence of the Minister of Interior Abdelouafi Laftit this Wednesday, as a unanimous decision for the controversial project within parliament is seen as infeasible to many, according to Hespress sources.
The text prohibits associations from appealing to public generosity but authorizes it, exceptionally, to a group of individuals if the objective is to help one or more persons in distress, provided that they obtain prior authorization in this sense issued by the authorities.
The state’s appeal to public generosity is subject to a set of conditions that must be respected in accordance with the provisions of this new bill, the nonconformity of which may lead to the individuals or organizations having to pay significant fines.
A non-NGO affiliated charity organizer, Mohamed Kilito, had started organizing donations for an animal refuge, which developed into a regular charity caravan, which collects clothing, food baskets, and other goods that benefit locals in remote areas, benefitting dozens of families across Morocco.
Kilito’s project was almost entirely organized on social media, namely on Instagram, where he and his team of friends announced their destinations and needs, and collected the goods intended for distribution.
“In banning social media-based charity actions, there will be significant collateral damage, which will be the people in need,” he told Hespress EN, considering that this draft law, in its current form, “is not aiming to organize or structure the charitable acts organized online, it only blocks help from vulnerable individuals and communities.”
This draft law, initially proposed back in 2018 by the previous Moroccan government, generalizes a ban on online charitable actions with the assumption that most are fraudulent, said Mehdi, adding that “today, we have the opportunity to tighten control over such donations without fully banning them.”
The draft law will require NGOs, who will be the only bodies allowed to organize virtual solidarity campaigns, to apply for a permit prior to launching the online call for funds and donations.
To obtain this authorization, issued by the administration within a period not exceeding 30 days, an application must be submitted 30 days before launching the appeal for donations, unless the purpose of the appeal for donations concerns a person in distress. In this case, the deadline is shortened to 24 hours.
This request for authorization must contain the objective of the appeal for donations, the methods of collection, the dates of the beginning and the end of the operation, the places where it will be organized, but also the estimated amount and the methods of its use according to the nature of the donations.
During the distribution of aid, the provisions of Law 08.09 on the protection of personal data must be respected at all stages, particularly the identity of the donors and beneficiaries of the aid.
At the end of the operation, the organizations must prepare a report, to be submitted to the administration, indicating the total amount of funds collected, including the estimated value of the donations in kind, within a period not exceeding 30 days after the end of the collection.
It will also be necessary to submit “all the documents and data that prove that the funds collected were used to achieve the objectives.”
If the amount collected exceeds MAD 1 million, a financial report approved by a chartered accountant or certified public accountant must be attached to certify the validity of the accounts.
The text, in addition to revising the definition of calls to public generosity and detailing the conditions of its validity, provides for heavier financial penalties than those currently in force.
In Morocco, charitable operations are currently governed by a law dating from 1971, which has become outdated to the radical change in charities’ mode of operation.
The current legislation provides for financial penalties ranging from MAD 200 to MAD 2,000 for violations of its provisions. In contrast, the current bill sets penalties for fraud between MAD 5,000 and MAD 500,000.
The revival of the 18.18 draft law coincides with the highly publicized charity scandal starring social-media famous Moroccan plastic surgeon Hassan Tazi, who is currently being prosecuted, along with seven other individuals, for fraud and falsification of medical bills and other charity scams.
“We understand the sentiment, but we are not all Dr Tazi,” argues Mehdi, adding that although control is needed, banning the organization of solidarity campaigns altogether is not the solution to counter fraud.
Mehdi is not the only organizer who is frustrated and disappointed by the Interior Ministry’s recent draft, as some opposition parties are also voicing their disapproval of the bill’s contents.
Even volunteers with a status and a registered non-profit organization are seeing the bill as a possible hindrance to solidarity calls and charitable acts. The draft bill defines calls for solidarity in its second article as any solicitation addressed to the public in order to obtain funds, products, or objects with the aim of financing activities, programs, or projects of a social and charitable purpose.
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