Fishermen Welfare Fund Act

Jurisdiction
Mauritius
Citation
Act 28 of 2000
Date
30 June 2017
Language
English
Type
Legislation
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Mauritius

Fishermen Welfare Fund Act

Act 28 of 2000

  • Commenced on 19 August 2000
  • [This is the version of this document at 30 June 2017.]

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Fishermen Welfare Fund Act.

2. Interpretation

In this Act—"Board" means the Board of the Fund referred to in section 5;"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Board;"employee" means any member of staff appointed by the Board under section 8(1);"fisherman" means any person registered as such under the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act;"Fund" means the Fishermen Welfare Fund established under section 3;"licensee" means a person who holds a licence under section 39 of the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act;"member" means a member of the Board and includes the Chairperson;"Minister" means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of fisheries is assigned.

3. Establishment of Fund

(1)There is established for the purposes of this Act the Fishermen Welfare Fund.
(2)The Fund shall be a body corporate.

4. Objects of Fund

The objects of the Fund shall be to—
(a)advance and promote the welfare of fishermen and their families;
(b)manage and optimise the financial and other resources of the Fund to further the social and economic welfare of fishermen;
(c)develop schemes and projects for the welfare of fishermen;
(d)set up schemes, including schemes in respect of loans or other financial assistance, for the benefit of fishermen who make contributions under section 11(2);
(e)do all such things as appear to be necessary and conducive to the promotion of the welfare of fishermen in general.

5. The Board

(1)The administration and control of the affairs of the Fund shall vest in a Board to be known as the Board of the Fishermen Welfare Fund.
(2)The Board shall consist of—
(a)a Chairperson appointed by the Minister;
(b)a representative of the Prime Minister’s Office;
(c)a representative of the Ministry responsible for the subject of finance;
(d)a representative of the Ministry responsible for the subject of fisheries;
(e)a representative of the Ministry responsible for Rodrigues;
(f)2 fishermen, each of whom shall be nominated by one of the 2 most representative organisations of fishermen;
(g)one fisherman from the bank fishermen community;
(h)one fisherman from Rodrigues nominated by the fishermen's associations of Rodrigues;
(i)one representative of the organisations of operators from the fishing industry, nominated by the organisation the members of which produce the highest tonnage of fish.
(3)The members referred to in subsection (2)(f), (g), (h) and (i) shall be appointed by the Minister.
(4)A member shall hold office for a period of 2 years, but shall be eligible for reappointment.
(5)A person shall cease to hold office if he becomes a member of the Assembly or a local authority, or the holder of an office in a political party.
(6)The members of the Board shall be paid such fees or allowances as the Minister shall determine.
(7)For the purposes of subsection (2), the expression "most representative organisations of fishermen" means those organisations of fishermen which according to the records of the Registrar of Associations or the Registrar of Co-operatives have the highest number of members.

6. Meetings of Board

(1)Subject to this Act and to section 37(6) and (8) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Act, the Board shall regulate its proceedings and meetings in such manner as it thinks fit.
(2)The Board shall meet at least once monthly at such time and place as the Chairperson considers appropriate.
(3)The quorum shall be 6.
(4)Notwithstanding subsection (3), no meeting shall be held unless it is attended by at least—
(a)one representative of Government; and
(b)one of the members referred to in section 5(2) (f), (g) and (h).
(5)The Board may set up such subcommittees as may be necessary for the discharge of its functions under this Act.

7. Powers of Board

(1)The Board may do all such things as appear requisite and advantageous for the furtherance of the objects of the Fund.
(2)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Board may invest any surplus remaining in the Fund in such manner as the Board may determine, regard being had to the need for an appropriate level of liquidity in the Fund.

8. Appointment of staff

(1)The Board shall, with the approval of the Minister, and on such terms and conditions as it may determine, appoint a Secretary to the Board and such other employees as are required for the discharge by the Board of its functions under this Act.
(2)Every employee shall be under the administrative control and direction of the Secretary.
(3)The Board may make provision in such form as it may determine, to govern the conditions of service of employees and, in particular, to deal with—
(a)the appointment, dismissal, discipline, pay and leave of, and the security to be given by, employees;
(b)appeals by employees against dismissal or other disciplinary measures; and
(c)the establishment and maintenance of provident and pension fund scheme and the contributions payable to, and the benefits recoverable from, those schemes.

9. Protection from liability

No liability, civil or criminal, shall attach to any member or employee in respect of any act done or omitted to be done in good faith in the exercise of his functions under this Act.

10. General Fund

Subject to section 11, the Fund shall establish a General Fund—
(a)into which all monies received by the Fund, including such grants as the Fund may receive from Government, shall be paid;
(b)out of which payments required to be effected by the Fund shall be met.

11. Contribution

(1)For the purposes of this Act, a licensee of a fishing vessel shall pay into the General Fund such contribution as may be prescribed.
(2)Any fisherman who wishes to benefit from any scheme set up under section 4(d) shall pay such contribution as may be prescribed into such special fund as the Fund may set up.
(3)Notwithstanding the contributions paid under subsection (2), the Fund may, out of the General Fund, pay into the special fund such amounts as it may consider necessary in order to meet the objectives of the special fund.

12. Execution of documents

No document shall be executed by on behalf of the Fund unless it is signed by—
(a)the Chairperson or, in his absence, by another member designated by the Board; and
(b)the Secretary.

13. Powers of Minister

(1)The Minister may, in relation to the exercise by the Board of its powers under this Act, after consultation with the Board, give such general directions to the Board as he considers necessary in the interest of fishermen and the Board shall comply with those directions.
(2)The Minister may require the Board to furnish such information with respect to its activities as he deems necessary, and the Board shall supply such information.

14. Donations

Article 910 of the Code Civil Mauricien shall not apply to the Fund.

15. Annual report and accounts

(1)The Board shall, not later than 6 months after the close of every financial year, furnish to the Minister an annual report, together with an audited statement of accounts and balance sheet, on the operation of the Fund in respect of the financial year ending on 30 June of the same year.
(2)The report of the Board shall be laid before the Assembly.

16. Exemptions

Notwithstanding any other enactment—
(a)the Fund shall be exempt from payment of any duty, rate, charge, fee or tax;
(b)no registration fee shall be payable in respect of any document under which—
(i)the Fund is the sole beneficiary; or
(ii)immovable property is acquired by the Fund.

17. Winding up

In case of winding up of the Fund, the net assets of the Fund shall accrue to Government.

18. Regulations

The Minister may, after consultation with the Board, make such regulations as he thinks fit for the purposes of this Act.
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History of this document

30 June 2017 this version
Consolidation
19 August 2000
Commenced