.. GOVERNMENT GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA N$2.25 WINDHOEK -22 Deember 2001 CONTENTS Page GOVERNMENT NOTICE No. 249 Promulgation of Environment Investment Fund of Namibia At, 2001 (At No. 13 of 200 I), of the Parliament...:... Government Notie OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER No. 249 2001 PROMULGATION OF ACT OF PARLIAMENT The following At whih has been passed by the Parliament and signed by the President in terms of the Namibian Constitution is hereby published in terms of Artile 56 of that Constitution. No. 13 of 2001: Environment Investment Fund of Namibia At, 2001.
2 At No. 13, 2001 Government Gazette 22 Deember 2001 ACT To provide for the establishment of an Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia in support of sustainable environmental and natural resoures management in Namibia; to onstitute the Board to manage and ontrol the Fund, and to define its powers and funtions; and to provide for inidental matters. (Signed by the President on 6th of Deember 2001) ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS 1. Definitions PART II ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT FUND OF NAMIBIA 2. Establishment of Environmental Investment Fund ofnamibia 3. Moneys offund 4. Objets offund 5. Management and administration of Fund 6. Powers and funtions ofboard 7. Constitution of Board 8. Term of offie of member of Board 9. Vaation of offie and filling of asual vaanies 10. Committees ofboard 11. Tehnial Advisory Panel 12. Meetings and deisions of Board 13. Dislosure of interest 14. Payment of allowanes to members of Board and ommittees 15. Banking aount 16. Finanial year, aounts and auditing 17. Annual report of Fund 18. Estimate of inome and expenditure 19. Exemption from payment oftax, duty and other harges 20. Liquidation of Fund J PART III CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, STAFF OF FUND AND AUDITOR 21. Chief Exeutive Offier 22. Delegation and assignment 23. StaffofFund 24. Auditor 25. Alloation of moneys 26. Regulations 27. Indemnity 28. Short title and ommenement PART IV GENERAL
At No. 13, 2001 Government Gazette 22 Deember 200 I 3 Definitions BE IT ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republi of Namibia, as follows: 1. In this At - PART I PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS "auditor" means the auditor of the Fund appointed in terms of setion 24; "Board" means the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia Board referred to in setion 5; "Chief Exeutive Offier" means the Chief Exeutive Offier of the Fund appointed in terms of setion 21; "Fund" means the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia established by setion 2; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for environmental affairs; "Ministry" means the Ministry responsible for the administration of environmental affairs; and "this At", inludes any regulation made under setion 26. PART II ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTMENT FUND OF NAMIBIA Establishment of Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia 2. ( 1) There is established a fund to be known as the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia. (2) The Fund is a juristi person. Moneys of Fund 3. The Fund onsists of- () moneys appropriated by Parliament for the Fund; moneys olleted in respet of levies impmred under this At; moneys donated or aruing to the Fund from any soure; and interest and other inome derived from the investment of moneys standing to the redit of the Fund. _ -.. Objets of Fund 4. The objets of the Fund are to proure moneys for the maintenane of an endowment fund that will generate inome in perpetuity and to alloate suh inome to ativities and projets aimed at promoting-
4 Government Gazette 22 Deember 2001 At No. 13, 2001 () the sustainable use and management of environmental and natural resoures; the maintenane of the natural resoure base and eologial proesses; the maintenane of biologial diversity and eosystems for the benefit of all Namibians; and eonomi improvements in the use of natural resoures for sustainable rural and urban development. Management and administration of Fund 5. The Fund is managed and administered by the Board to be known as the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia Board. Powers and funtions of Board 6. The powers and funtions of the Board are to aountably, effiiently and properly manage and ontrol the affairs and properties of the Fund and, for that purpose and in furtherane of the objets of the Fund- () (e) to determine the riteria for aepting grants and donations made to the Fund; to deposit all moneys into the Fund's bank;ing aount opened with a bank or building soiety registered under the laws governing banking institutions and building soieties in Namibia; to invest moneys standing to the redit of the Fund with a banking institution or building soiety referred to in paragraph, the Post Savings Bank established in terms of the Posts and Teleommuniations At, 1992 (At No. 19 of 1992), or any other finanial institution as defined in setion 1 of the Finanial Institutions (Investment of Funds) At, 1984 (At No. 39 of 1984), taking into aount seurity, apital growth, and interest and dividends to be earned from suh investment; subjet to this At or any other law, to negotiate, o-operate or enter into agreements with any person, organisation or institution with regard to any matter whih is diretly or indiretly aimed at the ahievement of the objets of the Fund; to ondut a periodial strategi review of the Fund to ome up with a strategi plan to guide the future operations of the Fund; J (f) (g) to alloate moneys through grants, loans, bursaries, sholarships or other finanial aid to governmental and non-governmental organisations and institutions, private organisations and individual persons in aordane with setion 25; to utilize during the first five years of the Fund the inome and not the prinipal sum of the endowment fund, exept under speial irumstanes as determined by the Board in onsultation with the Minister, in whih ase not more than 10 per ent of the prinipal sum may be used in any one year;...
At No. 13, 2001 Government Gazette 22 Deember 2001 5 (h) (i) (j) to determine additional requirements for projets and ativities to qualify for grants, loans or any other aid; to employ persons as may be required and neessary to perform the funtions and ondut the affairs of the Fund; and to investigate and inquire into any misondut, mismanagement and maladministration by any person employed in terms of this At and to maintain disipline. Constitution of Board 7. (1) The Board onsists of five members who are, as far as pratiable, gender representative, and appointed by the Minister, as follows - () (e) a staff member employed in onnetion with the administration of environmental affairs in the Ministry; a staff member of the Ministry of Agriulture, Water and Rural Development designated by the Minister of that Ministry; a staff member of the Ministry of Mines and Energy designated by the Minister of that Ministry; a person representing ommunity based organisations having the sustainable environmental and natural resoures and ommunity based tourism management as their main objet; and a person, having expertise in finanial matters, representing finanial institutions. (2) A person is not eligible for appointment as a member, if he or she - () is not a Namibian itizen or the holder of a permanent residene permit issued under the laws relating to immigration; is a member of the National Assembly or of a regional ounil established under setion 2 of the Regional Counils At, 1992 (At No. 22 of 1992); is an unrehabilitated insolvent; is under the age of 21 years; or (e) has been onvited of an offene, other than a politial offene ommitted before the date of Namibia's independene, for whih he or she has been sentened to a term of imprisonment without the option of a fine for a period of 12 months or more. (3) For the purposes of appointment as members of the Board, the Minister must in writing invite the organisation:, and institutions referred to in subsetion (1) and (e) to nominate persons. - (4) If the nomination referred to in subsetion (3) is not reeived by the Minister within the period speified in the invitation referred to in that subsetion, the Minister may appoint suh person as the Minister thinks fit.
6 Government Gazette 22 Deember 2001 At No. 13, 2001 ( 5) The Minister must appoint one member as hairperson and another as viehairperson of the Board. (6) The Board may o-opt persons with speial or tehnial expertise to at in an advisory apaity. (7) After appointments and eletions in terms of subsetions ( 1) and ( 5), respetively, the Minister, by notie in the Gazette, must announe the names, positions and nationalities of the members of the Board. Term of offie of member of Board 8. Subjet to setion 9, a member of the Board holds offie for a term of three years and is eligible for re-appointment at the expiration of that term. Valltion of offie and filling of asual vaanies 9. (1) A member of the Board vaates offie, if the member - () (e) is onvited of an offene and sentened to imprisonment without the option of a fine; resigns from the Board after giving the Minister 30 days' written notie of suh member's intention to resign; has been absent for three onseutive meetings of the Board without permission of the hairperson of the Board; in the ase of a person appointed in terms of setion 7(1), or (), eases to be a staff member of the Ministry; is removed by the nominating body after giving the Minister 30 days' written notie of its intention to remove the member; or (f) is removed by the Minister under subsetion (2). (2) The Minister may remove a member of the Board from offie, if the member- is guilty of misondut; ) () fails to omply with or ontravenes this At; or is by reason of physial or mental illness or for any other reason inapable of ating as member of the Board. (3) If a member of the Board dies or vaates offie, the vaany must be filled for the unexpired portion of offie of that member in the manner ontemplated in setion 7. Committees of Board -... 10. (1) The Board may establish one or more ommittees of the Board to exerise suh powers and perform suh funtions as the Board, under subsetion ( 4 ), may delegate or assign. (2) A ommittee established under subsetion (1) onsists of suh members of the Board, and may inlude suh other persons not being members of the Board, as the Board may appoint to the ommittee.
At No. 13, 2001 Government Gazette 22 Deember 2001 7 (3) The Board must designate a member of the Board to be the hairperson of a ommittee. (4) The Board may delegate any power or assign any funtion onferred or imposed upon the Board by or under this At to a ommittee subjet to suh onditions as it may determine. (5) The Board is not divested or relieved of the power or funtion delegated or assigned under subsetion ( 4). ( 6) A deision by a ommittee in the exerise of a power delegated to it under subsetion ( 4 ), is subjet to the approval of the Board, and the Board may at any time vary or set aside any suh deision. (7) The Board may dissolve or reonstitute a ommittee at any time. Tehnial Advisory Panel 11. (1) The Board must establish a ommittee under setion 10 to be known as the Tehnial Advisory Panel to advise the Board on tehnial matters as required by the Board or this At. (2) The Tehnial Advisory Panel must - draw up and submit to the Board for its approval and publiation in the Gazette, a list of priorities and riteria for the funding of projets and ativities; assess and appraise proposals of tehnial nature under onsideration before the Board and make reommendations to the Board in onnetion therewith; and () monitor and evaluate progress and performane of ativities, projets, institutions, organisations and individuals reeiving money from the Fund and report to the Board. (3) The list and riteria referred to in subsetion (2) may be reviewed from time to time as the Board may determine. (4) The Board must- determine the onstitution of the Tehnial Advisory Panel and the terms and onditions for membership; and appoint the members of the Panel who must be seleted from experiened professionals and aademis in the fields of biologial siene, eonomis, management, natural resoure management, soial siene, agriulture, rural development and tourism, and who represent the Government, private setor and non-governmental organisations. - - Meetings and deisions of Board 12. ( 1) The first meeting of the Board must be held at a plae and time as the hairperson of the Board may determine and, subjet to subsetion (2), any meeting of the Board thereafter must be held at a plae and time as the Board may determine.
8 Government Gazette 22 Deember 2001 At No. 13, 2001 (2) The hairperson of the Board may at any time onvene a speial meeting of the Board. (3) The hairperson of the Board or, in the absene of the hairperson, the viehairperson, presides at all meetings of the Board. (4) The majority of the members of the Board or a ommittee form a quorum for any meeting of the Board or ommittee. (5) The deision of the majority of the members present at any meeting of the Board or a ommittee onstitutes a deision of the Board or ommittee, and in the event of any equality of votes the member presiding has a asting vote in addition to a deliberative vote. (6) The Board may determine rules of the Board governing meetings and proedure at meetings of the Board and ommittees. Dislosure of interest 13. (1) A member of the Board or ommittee must not take part in the deliberations or vote on any matter whih is the subjet of onsideration at a meeting of the Board or a ommittee if in relation to suh matter, the member has any interest, whether diret or indiret, whih preludes the member from performing the funtions of a member in a fair, unbiased and proper manner. (2) If at any stage during a meeting ofthe Board or a ommittee it appears that a member has or may have any interest whih may ause a 9onflit of interests to arise, that member must forthwith fully dislose the nature of suh interest and leave the meeting so as to enable the remaining members to disuss the dislosure and determine whether the member is preluded from taking part in the meeting by reason of a onflit of interests. (3) A dislosure by a member in aordane with subsetion (2), and the deision taken by the members in onnetion therewhith, must be reorded in the minutes of that meeting. (4) A deision on a matter taken by the Board or ommittee must be anelled and the matter be reonsidered at an ensuing meeting of the Board or ommittee, if a member of the Board or ommittee takes part in the deliberations or votes on the matter or fails to dislose fully the nature of his or her interest in the matter and leave the meeting in ontravention of subsetion (1) or (2). J ( 5) A member who ontravenes subsetion ( 1) or fails to omply with subsetion (2) ommits an offene and is liable to a fine not exeeding N$20 000 or to imprisonment not exeeding two years or to both suh fine and imprisonment. Payment of allowanes to members of Board and ommittees 14. (1) Members of the Board or ommittees who are not in the full-time employ of the State must be paid suh allowanes, inluding travel and subsistene allowanes as the Board, with the onurrene of the Minister, may determine. - (2) The expenses relating to the funtions of the Board must be defrayed from money of the Fund.
At No. 13, 2001 Government Gazette 22 Deember 2001 9 Banking aount 15. (1) The Board must open and maintain a banking aount in the name of the Fund with a banking institution or building soiety registered in terms of the laws governing banking institutions and building soieties in Namibia- into whih must be deposited all moneys aruing to the Fund in terms of this At or any other law; and from whih must be defrayed all expenditure in onnetion.with the performane of the funtions of the Board and be paid any amounts with whih the Fund is harged in terms of this At. (2) No payment ontemplated in subsetion (l) may be made as a harge to the Fund, exept by authority of the Board as expressed through the approved annual budget of inome and expenditures or other instruments issued by the Board. (3) The Board must apply any donation ontemplated in setion 3() in aordane with the terms and onditions, if any, as agreed upon by the donor and the Board. Finanial year, aounts and auditing 16. (1) The finanial year ofthe Fund ends on 31 Marh in eah year. (2) The Chief Exeutive Offier is the aounting offier of the Fund and is harged with aountability in respet of all moneys reeived and all payments made by the Fund. (3) The Chief Exeutive Offier must keep proper aounts of, and finanial information relating to, all affairs of the Fund so as to at all times present fairly and reflet orretly all the finanial transations and the finanial position of the Fund. ( 4) As soon as pratiable after the end of eah finanial year, the Board - must ause to be prepared- (i) (ii) finanial statements in respet of the finanial year onerned; and a report on the affairs and ativities of the Fund during the finanial year onerned; and must submit all finanial aounts and statements to the auditor for audit. Annual report of Fund 17. (1) As soon as pratiable but not later than six months after the end of eah finanial year of the Fund, the Board must submit to the Minister an annual report on the affairs and ativities ofthe Fund, whih must inlude- - - all finanial aounts and statements of the Fund duly audited and ertified by the auditor; and the report of the auditor relating to the aounts and statements referred to in paragraph. (2) The Board must submit suh other reports and partiulars relating to the affairs and ativities of the Fund as the Minister, at any time, may require.
10 Government Gazette 22 Deember 2001 At No. 13, 2001 (3) The Minister must lay on the Table of the National Assembly the annual report submitted to him or her in terms of subsetion (1), within 30 days from the date of reeipt, if the National Assembly is then in ordinary session, or, if the National Assembly is not then in ordinary session, within 14 days after the ommenement of its first ensuing ordinary session. (4) After the annual report having been laid on the Table of the National Assembly in terms of subsetion (3), a opythereofmust at all times be open to inspetion by interested persons at the head offie of the Fund. Estimate of inome and expenditure 18. The Board - must annually submit to the Minister an estimate of inome and expenditure during the ensuing finanial year, and suh other partiulars as the Minister may require; and may at any time during any finanial year submit to the Minister suh other supplementary estimates of inome and expenditure for that finanial year as are neessary. Exemption from payment of tax, duty and other harges 19. Despite anything to the ontrary in any law- no tax or harge on inome is payable by the F.und; and no transfer duty, stamp duty or other moneys is payable by the Fund. Liquidation of Fund 20. The Fund may not be liquidated exept by or under the authority of an At of Parliament. PART III CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, STAFF OF FUND AND AUDITOR Chief Exeutive Offier 21. (1) The Board must appoint a person approved by the Minister as Chief Exeutive Offier of the Fund, who - () subjet to the ontrol and diretions of the Board, is responsible for the day to day administration of the Fund; unless the Board deides otherwise, must attend meetings of the Board and may take part in disussions on any matter under onsideration before the Board; and serves as seretary to the Board performing suh administrative funtions as may be assigned to the seretary by the Board or any ommittee of the Board, and providing all tehnial support required by the Board or any ommittee ofthe Board. -..
At No. 13, 2001 Government Gazette 22 Deember 2001 OFNAMIBIAACT, 2001 11 (2) The remuneration and other onditions of servie of the Chief Exeutive Offier are determined by the Board. (3) The ChiefExeutive Offier is appointed for a term of three years, subjet to a six months probational period, and is eligible for re-appointment upon the expiration of that term. (4) Whenever the offie of the Chief Exeutive Offier beomes vaant or the Chief Exeutive Offier is for any reason unable to perform his or her funtions, the Board must designate any staff member of the Fund to at as Chief Exeutive Offier. (5) A person designated in terms of subsetion (4) has all the powers and performs all the funtions of the Chief Exeutive Offier. Delegation and assignment 0 22. ( 1) The Board may delegate or assign, either in general or in partiular, any power or funtion onferred or imposed upon the Board by or under this At to the Chief Exeutive Offier subjet to suh onditions and restritions as it may determine. (2) The Board is not divested or relieved of any power or funtion delegated or assigned under subsetion (1). (3) The Board may at any time- withdraw or amend a delegation or assignment made under subsetion ( 1 ); or set aside or vary any deision made in the exerise of a power delegated under subsetion (1 ). Staff of Fund 23. The Board may employ, upon suh terms and onditions as to remuneration and otherwise as the Board may determine, suh persons as the Board may onsider neessary to perform the funtions and ondut the affairs of the Fund. Auditor 24. ( 1) The Board, in onsultation with the Auditor-General, must appoint a person who is registered in terms of the Publi Aountants' and Auditors' At, 1951 (At No. 51 of 1951 ), as auditor of the Fund. (2) The auditor must undertake suh examinations of the affairs and ativities of the Fund as may be requested by the Minister or by the Board for the purposes of this At. Alloation of moneys PART IV GENERAL 25. Subjet to this At, the Board may alloate moneys as ontemplated in setion 6(f), for- the onservation, protetion and management of natural resoures, the onservation of biologial diversity, or the maintenane of eosystems;
12 Government Gazette 22 Deember 2001 At No. 13, 2001 () (e) (f) (g) the improvement in the management of natural resoures for the benefit of those whose livelihoods diretly depend on natural resoures or are most diretly affeted by proteted areas for the promotion of diversified sustainable rural development; the training and eduation of Namibians in environmentally sustainable praties and promoting general publi environmental awareness; the development and implementation of environmental poliies and strategies; the broadening of the knowledge base ofnamibia's environmental resoures through the prodution, monitoring, management, use, and dissemination of environmental information; the management and operations of onservanies, game parks and nature reserves delared or established under the Nature Conservation Ordinane, 1975 (Ordinane No.4 of 1975); and any other related ativities whih promote the objets of the Fund. Regulations 26. (1) The Minister, with the onurrene of the Minister offinane and on the reommendation of the Board, may make regulations relating to - the determination and imposition of levies payable by- (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) visitors to the national parks, reserves and other plaes of national importane and tourist attration, the amount of whih may differ between loal and foreign visitors and between ategories of persons; persons engaged in wildlife, forestry, wild plants or other natural resoures for ommerial purposes; persons engaged in any ativities on environmental and natural resoures management for ommerial purposes; or any other ategories of persons or soures of revenue deemed by the Minister to be in support of the objetives and purposes of the Fund; () (e) the exemption of any ategory of persons from paying levies when visiting ertain plaes where levies are payable; the form of any appliation for a grant, loan, bursary, sholarship or other assistane permitted to be made in terms of this At and the manner in whih suh appliation must be made; the fees payable for any appliation and the harges payable for any appliation form or any other douments; the alloation of moneys through grants, loans, bursaries, sholarships and other finanial aid to governmental and non-governmental organisations and institutions, private organisations and individual persons, and the onditions in respet of suh grants, loans bursaries, sholarships and other finanial aid; and...
-... At No. 13, 2001 Government Gazette 22 Deember 200 I 13 (f) generally, any matter neessary or expedient to ahieve the objets of this At. (2) A regulation made under subsetion ( 1) may presribe a penalty, not exeeding a fine ofn$2000 or imprisonment for a period of two years, or both suh fine and imprisonment, for any ontravention of or failure to omply with any provision thereof. Indemnity 27. A member of the Board or ommittee of the Board or any person employed in terms of this At is not personally liable for any damage or loss arising out of any at done in good faith under this At unless suh damage or loss is due to his or her wilful misondut, dishonesty, gross negligene or failure to omply with any provision of this At. Short title and ommenement 28. This At is alled the Environmental Investment Fund ofn amibia At, 2001, and omes into operation on a date to be determined by the Minister by notie in the Gazette. L