Politicians have called on the Scottish government to publish details of payments given to the Scottish Asian Women's Association, in light of newspaper allegations that the charity spent less than 3 per cent of its income on good causes.
The Scottish Asian Women's Association (SAWA) was set up in 2012 by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, with Scottish government backing of £16,000 for a launch event, which was attended by the then-leader of the Scottish National Party Alex Salmond and then-deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon, according to the Herald Scotland.
Ahmed-Sheikh stepped down from her role as chair after being elected to the UK Parliament, as an SNP MP, in 2015. But yesterday, after revelations emerged about the small percentage of income spent on good causes during her time as chair of the charity, Labour and Tory MPs urged the government to publish full details of its financial involvement with the charity.
Murdo Fraser, a Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament, told Civil Society News this morning that “questions have to be asked about any charity which receives public money but puts barely a fraction back to good causes”.
"The Scottish government must reveal, in full, its decision-making process for awarding this cash,” he said. “Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh should also explain why this charity failed to deliver when it benefited so richly from taxpayers' cash."
The charity has not published its annual accounts online, but details published by Scottish charity regulator, OSCR, reveal that up to 2014, the charity’s total income since launch was £25,927. Its accounts for the year ending 2013 record total expenditure as £0, and just £2,507 the following year.
According to the Herald Scotland, during Ahmed-Sheikh’s time as chair, SAWA “made donations [to good causes] of just £700 - less than it spent on its website (£767) or its accountant (£744)”.
The newspaper also alleges that “between July 2012 and April 2015, SAWA spent 13.2 per cent of its income: 10.4 per cent on general bills to “generate voluntary income” and 2.8 per cent on donations”.
It also claims the charity was used as a vehicle for Ahmed-Sheikh’s political ambitions, saying that in May 2014 when she was standing in the European election, the charity posted on its Facebook page: “Remember to vote SNP on Thursday to get Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh elected and keep Ukip out of Scotland.”
This morning, Labour MP Jackie Baillie told Civil Society News: "The only tangible thing the Scottish Asian Women’s Association appears to have promoted is the public image of Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.
“For a charity with a high profile which got significant support from the SNP government serious questions need to be asked about what exactly they are spending the money on. This is important - if the SNP government are going to hand out large sums of money to charities they need to establish what those charites are going to do with the funding to promote their cause," she said.
Baillie also called for "clarification" about Alex Salmond's government support for SAWA, including "explanations as to whether ministers are satisfied with the use of taxpayer cash".
“The SNP government should also release all correspondence and documentation relating to these grants,” she said.
A spokesman for OSCR said this morning it has received the charity’s latest annual accounts and was currently reviewing the figures.
The SNP, the Scottish Parliament, SAWA and the Scottish Labour Party were approached for comment but did not respond by the time of going to press.
