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SCHEDULE 1 (section 11)

THE SWAZILAND ENVIRONMENT AUTHORITY

Meetings of the Board

1. (1) The Board shall meet at least once every three months at a time and a place decided by the Board.

(2) The Chairperson of the Board shall, within fourteen days of receipt of a written request to hold a meeting signed by any three members of the Board, convene a meeting of the Board.

(3) In the absence of the Chairperson, but subject to the quorum, the members present may elect one of them to act as Chairperson.

(4) The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be five members of whom at least two shall not be Public Officers.

(5) All decisions of the Board shall be made by a majority of the votes of the members present and where the votes are equally divided, the Chairperson, or in the absence of the Chairperson the acting Chairperson, shall have a second or casting vote.

(6) The Board may invite any person whose presence is in its opinion desirable to attend and participate in the deliberations of any meeting of the Board but that person shall not have the right to vote.

(7) The Board shall ensure that minutes are kept of the proceedings of every meeting of the Board and of every meeting of a committee constituted by the Board.

Committees of the Board

2. The Board may:

a. appoint committees consisting of persons chosen by the Board, upon terms determined by it, to advise it on the exercise of any of its functions and powers; and/or

b. seek advice from any person or consult any Public Body, in the discharge of its functions and any such person or public body shall give whatever advice or assistance as the Authority may reasonably require.

Validity of acts

3. The validity of any act or proceedings of the Board shall not be affected by any vacancy or absence among its members of any defect in the appointment of a member of the Board.

Disclosure of interests

4. (1) If a member of the Board or of a committee constituted by the Board, or the spouse of a member, has a direct or indirect personal interest in any matter coming before the Board or the committee for consideration, that member shall, not later than the first meeting held after the relevant circumstances have come to the member's knowledge, disclose the nature of the interest.

(2) A disclosure of an interest shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting and the member concerned shall:

a. not take part in any discussion or decision of the Board or the committee with respect to that matter; and

b. be disregarded for the purposes of constituting a quorum for any such discussion or decision.

Provision of information to the Minister

5. The Authority shall provide the Minister with whatever information concerning the state of the environment in Swaziland and the activities and proposed activities of the Authority, that the Minister may require, provided that the Authority shall not be required under this provision to provide the Minister with information that the Authority does not possess and cannot reasonably be expected to obtain.

Financial resources of the Authority

6. (1) The Authority shall be endowed with an initial capital of three million five hundred thousand Emalangeni which shall be paid by the Government out of the Consolidated Fund, without further appropriation other than this Act, by warrant under the hand of the Minister responsible for Finance.

(2) The funds and resources of the Authority consist of:

a. money appropriated by Parliament from the Consolidated Fund for the purpose of the Authority;

b. any money and property paid or provided to the Authority by way of grants, fees, subsidies, donations, gifts, charges, rent, interest and other income derived from the investment of the Authority's funds;

c. any money derived from the disposal of or dealing with real or personal property held by the Authority;

d. all other moneys lawfully received by or made available to the Authority.

Financial management of the Authority

7. The Authority shall perform its functions in accordance with prudent commercial principles and must ensure as far as possible that its revenue is sufficient to meet its expenditure.

Bank accounts and financial powers

8. (1) The Authority shall open and maintain such bank accounts as are necessary for the performance of its functions.

(2) The Authority may, to the extent that it thinks it necessary to carry out its functions:

a. borrow money by way of loan, advance or overdraft;

b. obtain and provide credits;

c. pay commission;

d. give, take or arrange security.

Estimates

9. (1) The Board shall, during the course of each financial year, cause estimates of the Authority's profit and loss, capital expenditure, and cash flow and balance sheet projections in respect of the next financial year to be prepared and to be submitted to the Minister by a date specified by the Minister. In respect of the first financial year the Authority shall prepare and submit estimates to the Minister not later than twelve weeks from the coming into force of this Act.

(2) The estimate shall be made in the form and shall contain the information directed by the Minister in consultation with the Minister responsible for Finance.

(3) If the Minister approves the estimates, the Minister shall cause them to be submitted to the Minister responsible for Finance by a date specified by that Minister.

(4) If it becomes necessary to revise these estimates, the revised estimates shall be submitted to the Minister responsible for Finance at least one month before the beginning of the next financial year of the Authority.

Accounts and records

10. The Board shall ensure that proper accounts and records of the transactions and affairs of the Authority are kept and shall do everything necessary to ensure that:

a. all moneys received are properly accounted for;

b. all payments our of its funds are correctly made and properly authorised; and

c. adequate control is maintained over its property and over the incurring of liabilities by the Authority.

Annual financial statements

11. (1) The Authority shall cause financial statements to be prepared in respect of each financial year.

(2) The financial statements referred to in subparagraph (1) must:

a. present fairly the financial transactions of the Authority during the financial year to which they relate;

b. present fairly the financial position of the Authority at the end of the financial year; and

c. be audited and certified in the manner required by the Minister responsible for Finance.

Auditors and auditing

12. (1) The Board shall obtain the consent of the Minister and the Minister responsible for Finance before appointing the auditors of the Authority, and shall dismiss the auditors if directed to do so jointly by the Minister and the Minister responsible for Finance.

(2) Without prejudice to subparagraph (1), the Minister, in consultation with the Minister responsible for Finance, may direct the Director of Audit to examine and audit the accounts of the Authority in accordance with Section 20 of the Finance and Audit Act, 1967 (as amended).

Annual report

13. (1) The Authority shall, within four months after the end of its financial year, prepare and submit to the Minister and to the Minister responsible for Finances, an annual report containing:

a. a copy of its annual audited accounts for the financial year as well as any report by the auditors on its management and accounting practices;

b. a report on the operations of the Authority during the preceding financial year; and

c. any other information as the Minister may direct in writing.

(2) The Minister, within six months of the end of the Authority's financial year, shall lay the annual audited accounts of the Authority before Parliament

Partnerships and joint ventures

14. The Authority may enter into an agreement with another person or body to establish a partnership or joint ventures provided that this may only be done to achieve a purpose that is, or for purposes that are, consistent with the functions of the Authority under this Act and for the attainment of the purpose of the Act.

Tendering

15. (1) Subject to subparagraph (2), the Authority shall not enter into any contract for the supply of goods or materials or for the execution of work or for the rendering of services, to or for the benefit of the Authority, which is estimated by the Authority to involve an expenditure exceeding E100, 000.00, unless the Authority has published its intention to enter into such a contract and the contract is awarded in accordance with a competitive tendering process.

(2) The Minister may permit the Authority to dispense with the process of competitive tendering if the Minister, taking account of the importance of promoting free competition for public sector contracts, is satisfied that the special circumstances pertaining to the contract mean that adopting a competitive tendering process would be inappropriate.

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