May 28, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, May 27: Federal Minister for Social Welfare Ms Zubeida Jalal on Saturday asked the Non-profit Organizations (NPOs) to adopt the highest standards of transparency, disclosure and accountability.

She was speaking at the launch of “Gateway to Giving” a directory of 84 certified, effective and credible NPOs in Pakistan, published by the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP).

She said the call for good governance, transparency and accountability was a worldwide concern, not only for government’s across the globe but for nonprofit sector as well, as its role in social development is increasing day by day with their emergence as key player. “PCP’s certification and Gateway to Giving is a viable answer to that,” she remarked.

The certification regime has gone a long way in setting standards, bringing best international practices and bridging the information and credibility gap that surrounds the civil society sector.

She said certification was a credibility assurance mechanism and the government would continue to support this governance initiative. She urged donors to adopt certification as one of the yardsticks for determining their partnerships with NGOs. Zubeida Jalal said the notion and practice of philanthropy is deep-rooted in the society as it has been enjoined upon Muslims by Almighty Allah to give in various forms - be it zakat, sadaqas or fitranas.

The Executive Director PCP and former Federal Minister for Education Shahnaz Wazir Ali said the PCP’s directory of certified NPOs - “the Gateway to Giving” is a by-product of PCP’s unique government authorized Certification programme - the first of its kind to be implemented in South Asia.

The standard setting certification provides a system of voluntary evaluation of NPOs on standardized parameters by an external agency aimed at promoting international best practices of good governance, financial transparency, documentation, disclosure, accountability and organisational effectiveness and to bridge the information and credibility gap that exists between grant givers and grant seekers that often is an impediment in promotion of social development.

Explaining the significance of the directory, she said such information is invaluable. “We expect our directories to become a leading resource for people looking to channel efforts and contributions towards effective giving so that the impact on society is maximized”, she added. Sandra Nicoll of Asian Development Bank termed the publication of Gateway to Giving as a step in right direction and hoped it would go a long way in philanthropy promotion and bridging gaps between grant givers and seekers.