S.L. 442.3 Art. 4Minister to appoint Committee of the Central Co- operative Fund.

(1) The Minister shall appoint the Committee of the

Central Co-operative Fund, in accordance with the provisions of these regulations.

(2) (a) The Committee shall consist of eleven voting members who shall be composed of six independent members appointed by the Minister, two members each from amongst members of the two leading, eligible and recognised organisations and one member nominated by the joint consent of the two leading eligible and recognised organisations:

Provided that in the case of the one member nominated by the joint consent of the two leading and eligible and recognised organisations is not nominated within one calendar year from a request made by the Minister, then the Minister shall decide at this discretion on the appointment of this member:

(b) The six independent members shall be appointed by the Minister responsible for co-operatives for a period of three years. These members shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the provisions of these regulations and with the terms of their appointment, and may at the end of their term of office be re-appointed thereafter: Provided that a member of the Committee may at any time, by notice in writing to the Minister, resign from his appointment on the Committee.

(c) A member of the Committee appointed by the Minister may be removed from office by the Minister if such member -

(i) is, in the opinion of the Minister, guilty of serious misconduct in the performance of his duties;

(ii) is incapable of carrying out his duties; or

(iii) is in breach of any of the provisions of these regulations.

(d) Any other member of the Committee, other than a member referred to in paragraph (c), may be removed from office by a simple majority of the Committee members if such member -

(i) is, in the opinion of the Committee members, guilty of serious misconduct in the performance of his duties;

(ii) is incapable of carrying out his duties; or

(iii) is in breach of any of the provisions of these regulations.

(e) In the case of all the members not appointed by the Minister, these members shall, before taking up the appointment on the Committee, declare in writing under oath, to the Chair, that at the time of appointment they are not subject to any pending criminal proceedings, have not been convicted of a serious criminal offence, have not been interdicted for any period and have not been declared bankrupt or insolvent. Should any of the afore-mentioned disqualifications result, the said prospective members shall not be eligible to take up their appointment on the Committee.

(f) The Minister shall appoint the Chair of the Committee from amongst one of the six independent members appointed by the Minister.

(g) None of the six independent members appointed by the Minister shall be appointed or shall remain a member of the Committee if that person is -

(i) involved, directly or indirectly in any activity or function of the Committee that can give rise to any conflict of interest; or

(ii) involved, directly or indirectly in any activity or function of the Committee that can prejudice the work undertaken by the Committee; or

(iii) if they offer or are engaged in any other kind of service to any co-operative registered with the Board, or to founding members in the process of setting up a co-operative, or any recognised organisation, or the Co-operatives Board.

(h) All the members shall be persons of integrity and good moral character who shall work independently and will not divulge any information, whether financial or of any other nature to third parties, and when exercising their functions under regulation 3 shall respect and apply the principles of good administrative behaviour laid down in article 3 of the Administrative Justice Act.

(i) All the members are expected to have extensive knowledge in a field related to their appointment including, but not limited to co-operatives, financial management, legal, regulatory and accountancy.

(j) The members of the Committee, other than those appointed by the Minister, shall be appointed for a period of three years. These members shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the provisions of these regulations and with the terms of their appointment, and may at the end of their term of office be re-appointed thereafter: Provided that a member of the Committee may at any time, by notice in writing to the Committee, resign from his appointment on the Committee.

(3) (a) A Secretary shall be appointed by the Minister and shall be responsible for performing administrative duties to support the Committee. The Secretary shall not have voting rights in the Committee.

(b) The duties of the Secretary shall include the following:

(i) to convene and attend meetings of the Committee;

(ii) to maintain correctly and up-to-date all the Fund’s records, papers and registers, and to conduct its correspondence;

(iii) to perform any other duties as may be specified by the Committee.

(4) (a) Observers who are not part of the Committee may be invited to attend Committee meetings or parts thereof, upon the request of the Chair, but shall not have voting rights in any decisions taken by the Committee.

(b) Observers shall be considered to be any other individual not forming part of the Committee and who, on the basis of their own expertise and, or past or present experience, are considered able to actively contribute towards the promotion of the co-operative movement.

(5) A member of the Committee shall be paid such honorarium as the Minister may, from time, to time determine. Such honorarium shall be paid out of the Central Co-operative Fund.

(6) When a vacancy occurs for whatever reason in respect of a member of the Committee in terms of sub-regulation (2), such vacancy shall be filled by another appointment at the earliest opportunity.

(7) Any member of the Committee who absents himself for three consecutive meetings of the Committee without a valid reason shall be considered as having resigned from the Committee. In this case the procedure for the filling of a vacancy on the Committee shall be as described in sub-regulation (7).

(8) Any member of the Committee who, directly or indirectly, may have a conflict of interest or an interest, otherwise than as a member of the Committee, in any matter being raised or discussed by the Committee, shall withdraw from the meeting during the discussion or until the matter in question is decided upon by the Committee. Any disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Committee.

(9) The members of the Committee and any employees engaged by the Committee, and any other person authorised to act for or on behalf of the Committee shall, at all times, treat any and all information by applicants during the course of their duties as confidential.