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Fiji Sessional Legislation |
FIJI
SUBSTANCE ABUSE ADVISORY COUNCIL ACT 1998
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
Part I-PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and
commencement
2.
Interpretation
Part II-SUBSTANCE ABUSE ADVISORY COUNCIL
3. Establishment of
Council
4. Membership of
Council
5. Term of appointment of
members of the Council
6. Deputy
Chairperson
7. Minister may appoint
another person to act
Part III-FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF COUNCIL
8. Functions of
Council
9. Powers of
Council
10.
Committees
11. Specialist
advice
12. Directions
Part IV-ADMINISTRATION
13.
Meetings
14. Chief Executive Officer
and other staff
15. Exemption of
liabilities
Part V-FINANCE
16. Funds of the
Council
17. Substance Abuse
Account
18. Imprest
Accounts
19.
Remuneration
20. Payment of
remuneration
21. Borrowing power
Audit
22.
Audit
23.
Investment
24. Income may be carried
forward to subsequent years
25. Annual
estimates
26. Assessment of aggregate
expenditure figure
Part VI-MISCELLANEOUS
27. Donations and
bequests
28. Annual
Report
29. Regulations
________
ACT NO 25 OF 1998
I assent.
[L.S.]
K.
K. T. MARA
President
[19 June 1998]
AN ACT
TO ESTABLISH THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE ADVISORY COUNCIL, TO DEFINE ITS FUNCTIONS AND POWERS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS
ENACTED by the Parliament
of Fiji-
Part 1-PRELIMINARY
Short title and commencement
1.
– (1) This Act may be cited as the Substance Abuse Advisory Council Act
1998.
(2) This Act shall come into
force on a date appointed by the Minister and published in the
Gazette.
Interpretation
2.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires-
"beer" means the product of the alcoholic fermentation of liquid that-
(a) on analysis is found to contain more than 1.7 percent of alcohol by volume; and
(b) is derived from a mash of malted grain or hops or any extract thereof, or other harmless vegetable bitters,
and includes any other malt liquor or fermented beverage made in imitation of beer or malt liquor that, on analysis, is found to contain more than 1.7 percent of alcohol by volume;
"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Council appointed under subsection 4(2) and includes the Deputy Chairperson or a person elected to preside at a particular meeting of the Council;
"committee" means a committee or body appointed by the Council under section 10;
"co-operate" means to co-operate with any person or body, in Fiji or elsewhere, with the same or similar functions as those of the Council;"
"Council" means the Substance Abuse Advisory Council established under section 3;
"financial year" means a period of 12 consecutive months commencing on the 1st day of January in every year;
"fortified wine" includes any spirit-based drink of a strength not exceeding 40 percent of proof spirit;
"liquor" means beer, wine, fortified wine or spirits or any other fermented, distilled or spirituous liquor;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for education;
"spirits" means alcoholic drinks produced by distillation (with or without the addition of any other alcoholic drink, colouring substances, flavouring substances, water, or sugar) of a strength exceeding 40 percent proof spirit;
"substance" means-
(a) any liquor, psychoactive pharmaceutical or illicit drug;
(b) any volatile substance such as petrol, certain fluorocarbons and anabolic steroids; and
(c) any other chemical that changes the mental state and may be abused by a person to achieve that effect;
"Substance Abuse Account" means the Substance Abuse Advisory Council Account established under section 17.
Part II-SUBSTANCE ABUSE ADVISORY COUNCIL
Establishment of Council
3.
(1) There shall be established a Council, to be called the Substance Abuse
Advisory Council.
(2) The
Council-
(a) shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession;
(b) shall have a common seal;
(c) may sue and be sued in its corporate name;
(d) shall, subject to this Act, be capable of holding real and personal property for the purposes of performing its functions and exercising its powers under this Act; and
(e) shall be capable of doing all such acts and things as bodies corporate may by law do and which are necessary or expedient for the purpose of performing and exercising its powers under this Act.
Membership of Council
4.-(1)
The Council for the first 3 years shall consist of 6 members
being-
(a) the Permanent Secretary responsible for Education or his or her representative;
(b) the Permanent Secretary responsible for Health or his or her representative;
(c) the Permanent Secretary responsible for Finance or his or her representative;
(d) the Permanent Secretary responsible for Regional Development or his or her representative;
(e) a nominee of the Fiji Council of Churches, to be appointed by the Minister;
(f) a nominee of the Fiji Council of Social Services, to be appointed by the Minister.
(2)
The Minister shall appoint a member of the Council, other than a representative,
as Chairperson who shall hold office for one
year but is eligible for
re-appointment.
(3) The powers of
the Council shall not be affected by any vacancy in its
membership.
(4) After 3 years, the
membership of the Council shall be increased to 9 persons, the additional 3
persons being persons, other than
public officers, appointed by the
Minister.
Term of Appointment of members of the Council
5.-(1)
Subject to this section, a member of the Council appointed under subsection (1)
(e)
or
(f)
or subsection (4) of section 4-
(a) shall hold office for a term of 3 years;
(b) is eligible for re-appointment; and
(c) may, by written notice given to the Minister, resign from the Council.
(2)
The office of a member appointed under subsection (1)
(e)
or
(f)
or subsection (4) of section 4 becomes vacant if the member-
(a) becomes bankrupt;
(b) is convicted in Fiji of an offence punishable by imprisonment, or elsewhere of an offence which, if committed in Fiji, would be punishable by imprisonment;
(c) is removed by the Minister under subsection (3); or
(d) resigns, retires or dies.
(3)
The Minister may remove a member appointed under subsection (1)
(e)
or
(f)
or subsection (4) of section 4 from office if the member-
(a) becomes incapable of performing his or her duties;
(b) is negligent in the performance of his or her duties; or
(c) engages in improper conduct.
(4)
Whenever there is a vacancy among the members of the Council appointed under
subsection (1)
(e)
or
(f)
or subsection (4) of section 4, the vacancy shall be filled in the manner in
which the original appointment was made for the balance
of the term of the
member replaced.
Deputy Chairman
6.
(1) The Council shall, at its first meeting in each financial year, elect one of
its members to be the Deputy
Chairperson.
(2) The Deputy
Chairperson shall hold office for a financial year but is eligible for
re-appointment.
(3) At the first
meeting of the Council after a vacancy occurs in the office of Deputy
Chairperson, the Council shall elect one of
its members to be Deputy Chairperson
for the remainder of the financial
year.
(4) Where the Chairperson is
absent or unable to act or the office is vacant, the Deputy Chairperson shall
have and may exercise all
the powers and duties of the
Chairperson.
(5) No act done by a
Deputy Chairperson acting as the Chairperson shall in any proceedings be
questioned on the ground that the occasion
for his or her so acting had ceased
or had not risen.
Minister may appoint another person to act
7.-(1)
Where the Minister is satisfied that a member of the Council appointed under
subsection (1)
(e)
or
(f)
or subsection (4) of section 4 is incapacitated by illness, absence, or other
sufficient cause from performing the duties of the
office, the Minister may
appoint another person, or in the case of nominees appoint another nominee to
act in the place of that member
during the period of
incapacity.
(2) No appointment
made under subsection (1), or act done by a person while acting as a member of
the Council, or act done by the
Council while a person is acting as such, shall
in any proceedings be questioned on the ground that the occasion for the
appointment
had not arisen or had ceased.
Part III-FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF COUNCIL
Functions of Council
8.-(1)
With respect to liquor, the functions of the Council are-
(a) to encourage, promote, sponsor and co-operate in research into-
(i) the use of liquor in Fiji;
(ii) public attitudes in Fiji towards the use of liquor;
(iii) problems associated with or consequent upon the misuse of liquor in Fiji; and
(iv) means of minimising the harmful effects of liquor;
(b) to encourage, promote, sponsor and co-operate in the dissemination, to the public or any class or persons, of information relating to any problem that is or may be associated with or consequent upon the misuse of liquor;
(c) to devise, promote, sponsor, conduct, encourage and co-operate in the preparation and conduct of, educational programmes to the public or to any class of persons (including persons attending schools or other educational institutions, and persons who may, for any reason, be at special risk in respect of liquor-related problems) designed to discourage; the misuse of liquor, and to encourage its responsible use;
(d) to encourage and promote the treatment, care and rehabilitation of persons adversely affected by the misuse of liquor, whether by themselves or others;
(e) with respect to any of the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c), to make recommendations to the Government, Ministries, departments, authorities in the fields of health, education, social welfare, and industry, and any other public or private body, association, or person;
(f) to make recommendations to the Minister or any other person as the Council thinks fit with respect to the advertising of liquor, whether generally or through any particular media, and the need to regulate or in any way restrict any such advertising;
(g) to consider and report to the Attorney-General upon any matter relating to the law governing the sale and consumption of liquor or any proposed change thereto, or to the use or misuse of liquor, as may be referred to the Council by the Attorney-General.
(2)
With respect to substances other than liquor, the functions of the Council
are-
(a) to encourage, promote, sponsor, and co-operate in research into-
(i) the use and abuse of substances in Fiji;
(ii) public attitudes in Fiji towards the use of substances;
(iii) problems associated with or consequent upon the abuse of substance in Fiji; and
(iv) means of minimising the harmful effects of substance abuse;
(b) to encourage, promote, sponsor and co-operate in the dissemination, to the public or to any class of persons, of information relating to any problem that is or may be associated with or consequent upon the abuse of substances;
(c) to devise, promote, sponsor and, conduct, and to encourage and co-operate in the preparation and conduct of, educational programmes for the public or for any class of persons (including persons attending schools or other educational institutions, and persons who may, for any reason, be at special risk in respect of substance abuse problems) designed to discourage the abuse of substances;
(d) to encourage and promote the treatment, care and rehabilitation of persons adversely affected by the abuse of the substances, whether by themselves or others;
(e) with respect to any of the matter referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c) to make recommendations to the Government, Ministries, departments, authorities in the fields of health, education, social welfare, and industry, and any other public or private body, association, or person;
(f) to consider and report to the Attorney-General, upon any matter relating to the law governing the sale and use of substances or any proposed change thereto, and to the penalties relating to the use or abuse of illegal substances, referred to the Council by the Attorney-General.
(3)
Without limiting its functions under subsections (1) and (2), the Council shall
have the following further functions-
(a) to encourage, promote, sponsor and co-operate in the preparation, publication, and dissemination to interested bodies, associations and persons of research papers, theses and other reports relating to any matter with which the Council is concerned;
(b) to obtain, monitor, analyse, collate, and disseminate to the interested bodies, associations or persons in Fiji information from overseas relating to any matter with which the Council is concerned;
(c) to encourage, promote, sponsor, and co-operate in the preparation and publication of a bibliography of literature relating to any matter with which the Council is concerned.
(4)
With the approval of the Minister, the Council may undertake and perform any
other activity necessary to achieve its
function.
(5) In performing its
functions under this Act, the Council shall have regard to the desirability of
working with and securing the
co-operation of any person or body directly or
indirectly associated with liquor or other substances.
Powers of Council
9.-(1)
The Council shall have all powers, rights, and authority necessary to carry out
its functions.
(2) Without
limiting subsection (1), the Council may-
(a) make grants from its Substance Abuse Account to a body or association approved by the Council, to engage in any activity in any field with which the Council is concerned;
(b) charge reasonable fees for any material published by it or made available by it to the public.
(3)
The Council may require a Government Ministry, department, statutory body,
commercial organisation or other non-governmental organisation
to supply
statistics and data necessary to enable it to prepare a report and recommend
action.
Committees
10.-(1)
The Council may appoint advisory committees, technical committees or other
committees to advise it on matters it may refer to
such
committees.
(2) A committee may,
at the request of the Council or on its own initiative, furnish the Council with
reports on any matter of which
the committee has special knowledge or
experience.
(3) A person may be
appointed to be a member of a committee, notwithstanding that he or she is not a
member of the Council.
(4) A
committee shall in all matters be subject to the control of the Council, and
shall carry out all directions, general or special,
of the Council in relation
to the Council or the affairs of the
Committee.
(5) Subject to the
provisions of this Act, a committee appointed under this section may regulate
its own procedures.
Specialist advice
11.-(1)
The Council or a committee may invite a person or any Government officer or a
representative of any organisation who, in its opinion,
possesses expert
knowledge or is otherwise able to advise the Council in the exercise of its
functions, to attend any of its meetings
or to advise the Council on any matter
with which it is concerned.
(2) A
person attending a meeting under this section may, if invited, take part in any
discussion at the meeting, but shall not have
any voting rights.
Directions
12.-(1)
The Minister may, after consulting the Council, give to the Council general or
special written directions regarding the policy
to be followed by the Council in
the performance of its duties and functions under this Act on matters appearing
to the Minster to
affect the public interest of
Fiji.
(2) The Council shall give
effect to the directions given under subsection (1).
Part IV - ADMINISTRATION
Meetings
13.-(1)
The first meeting of the Council shall be held on a day to be fixed by the
Chairperson.
(2) Subsequent
meetings of the Council shall be held at such times and places as the Council or
the Chairperson may decide.
(3)
The Chairperson or any 2 members of the Council may call a special meeting of
the Council.
(4) At all meetings
of the Council, the quorum shall be not less than 4 members, of whom at least 3
must be members specified in paragraphs
(a),
(b),
(c) and (d) of section 4
(1).
(5) Any question arising at a
Council meeting shall be decided by a majority of the members
present.
(6) Any member of the
Council may demand a secret ballot to decide any question, but otherwise voting
shall be carried out by a show
of
hands.
(7) A resolution in writing
signed, or assented to, by letter, telegram or facsimile, by all the members of
the Council shall be as
valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a
meeting of the Council.
(8) The
Chairperson shall preside at all meetings at which he or she is
present.
(9) Where in any meeting
of the Council, the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson are absent, the
members present shall elect one
of the members present to act as Chairperson of
that meeting.
(10) At any meeting,
the Chairperson, shall have a deliberative vote and, in the case of an equality
of votes, a casting vote.
(11) The
Chairperson may adjourn a meeting if he or she considers it
appropriate.
(12) Subject to this
Act, the Council may regulate its own procedure.
Chief Executive Officer and other staff
14.-(1)
The Council shall appoint and employ-
(a) a Chief Executive Officer with the approval of the Minister; and
(b) other staff necessary to enable the Council to perform its functions.
(2)
The Minister shall, from time to time, determine the number of persons that may
be appointed under this section regarding any
specified duty or class of
duties.
(3) The Chief Executive
Officer shall-
(a) be responsible for the administration of the day to day management of the affairs of the Council;
(b) be responsible for the supervision of other staff of the Council;
(c) act as Secretary to the Council;
(d) carry out any directions of the Council; and
(e) carry out other duties as the Council may assign.
(4)
The Chief Executive shall devote the whole of his or her service to the Council
and shall not occupy any other office or employment,
whether remunerated or not,
except, with the approval of the Council, as a member of a Government board,
Committee or Commission.
(5) The
Council may subject to the contract of service of that person dismiss any person
appointed under this section for reasonable
cause except in the case of the
Chief Executive officer who may be dismissed by the Council only after
consultation with the Minister.
Exemption of liabilities
15.
No person who is-
(a) a member of the Council;
(b) a member of any committee appointed under section 10;
(c) invited to assist the Council under section 11; or
(d) the Chief Executive Officer or a member of the staff, of the Council;
is
liable, either under the criminal or civil law, for any act or omission in the
performance of functions under this Act whether
on ground of want of
jurisdiction or mistake of law or fact or on any other ground except where the
act was done or omitted to be
done in bad faith or negligently.
Part V-FINANCE
Funds of the Council
16.
The funds of the Council shall
comprise-
(a) in the first 3 years, money received by the Council from the Ministry responsible for the administration of this Act;
(b) in subsequent years, all money received by the Council out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose of this Act;
(c) all interest or dividends, on any investment made under section 23;
(d) all money received by the Council by way of donations or bequests;
(e) with the approval of the Minister, all moneys received by the Council by way of fees or charges for services provided;
(f) all money borrowed under section 21; and
(g) all accumulations of money belonging to the Council.
Substance abuse account
17.-(1)
All money payable to the Council shall be paid to the credit of an account to be
called the Substance Abuse Advisory Council
Account to be kept at such bank as
the Council may determine.
(2) All
money received by or on behalf of the Council shall be properly accounted for
and paid in to the Substance Abuse Account daily
or as soon as is
practicable.
(3) Every withdrawal
or payment of money made by the Council from its Substance Abuse Account shall
be authorised by a prior resolution
of the
Council.
(4) Where the Council
authorises the withdrawal or payment of money from the Substance Abuse Account,
that withdrawal or payment of
money shall be by a cheque signed by such persons
as the Council, from time to time, authorises.
Imprest Accounts
18.-(1)
The Council may by resolution establish an imprest account to be kept at the
bank at which the Substance Abuse Account is kept
or such other bank as the
Council approves.
(2) The Council
shall from time to time fix the maximum amount that may be held at any time in
an imprest account and shall specify
the persons who may operate
it.
(3) Money in the imprest
account shall be available only for the payment of casual wages or for any
emergency expenditure.
(4) A
statement of any payment out of the imprest accounts shall be submitted to the
Council at its next ordinary meeting after the
payment was made.
Remuneration
19.-(1)
A person employed under this Act is entitled to be paid remuneration by way of
salary, allowances, travelling allowances or
any other expenses, to be fixed by
the Minister on the recommendation of the Public Service
Commission.
(2) Members of the
Council appointed under subsection
(1)(e)
or
(f)
or subsection (4) of section 4 and
members of a committee appointed under section 10 (other than a Permanent
Secretary or other public
officer) may be paid such allowances as the Council,
with the approval of the Minister, may from time to time
determine.
Payment of remuneration
20.
All salaries, allowances, and other expenditure payable or incurred under or in
the administration of this Act are to be paid out
of the Substance Abuse
Account.
Borrowing power
21.
The Council shall not borrow any money or mortgage or charge any of its property
without the prior written consent of the Minister
responsible for Finance in
consultation with the Minister.
Audit
22.-(1)
All moneys belonging to the Council (including all moneys standing to the credit
of the Council in any bank) are deemed to be
public funds for the purposes of
the Audit Act.
(2) The
Auditor-General shall have the same powers and duties as the Auditor-General has
in respect of public accounts under the Audit Act to inspect and audit all
accounts and records of the Council.
Investment
23.
The Council may, with the approval of the Minister, invest-
(a) in Fiji Government securities;
(b) by way of deposit at any bank; or
(c) in any other manner as the Council thinks fit.
Income may be carried forward to subsequent years
24.
The Council may not expend in any financial year the whole of its income
received in that year, but may accumulate any part of its
income in any
financial year and expend it, with the approval of the Minister, as it sees fit
for any of its functions in any subsequent
financial year.
Annual estimates
25.-(1)
The Council shall, on or before
30th
June in each year, prepare an annual estimate of its proposed expenditure for
the next financial year.
(2) The
estimate prepared under subsection (1) shall be sent to the Minister for
approval and when approved shall-
(a) in the first 3 years justify funding of the Council by the Ministry as provided by section 16(a);
(b) in subsequent years from the basis of a submission to the Minister responsible for finance for inclusion in an Appropriation Bill.
(3)
The Council may, at any time during a financial year for which an estimate has
been approved, cause a revised or supplementary
estimate to be prepared and
submitted to the Minister for approval, and subsection (2) shall then
apply.
(4) The Council shall in
the preparation of its annual estimate in respect of a financial year, advise
the Minister of any money that
is likely to be received by the Council during
that financial year by way of interest or dividend on money invested by the
Council
under section 23.
Assessment of aggregate expenditure figure
26.-(1)
In respect of each financial year, the Minister, acting with the concurrence of
the Minister of Finance, after considering the
annual estimate submitted by the
Council under section 25 in respect of that year, and after consultation with
the Council, shall
assess the aggregate expenditure figure for that year, being
an amount that, in the opinion of he Minister, would be reasonable for
the
Council to expend during that financial year in the performance of its
functions.
(2) Where the Council
carries forward any amount to a subsequent financial year, the Minister may, in
determining the estimate for
that year, take into account any money that, in the
Minister's opinion, is likely to be received by the Council during that year
by
way of interest or dividend on any investment made under section
23.
Part VI -MISCELLANEOUS
Donations and bequests
27.-(1)
Any money payable to the Council under the terms of a will or trust, whether for
a general or specific purpose of the Council,
unless the terms of the will or
trust otherwise provide, shall be paid to the Council without the executor or
trustee being concerned
as to its
application.
(2) A receipt given
by the Council and signed by the Chairperson and one other member shall be
sufficient discharge to an executor
or trustee in respect of money paid as
described in subsection (1).
Annual Report
28.-(1)
The Council shall furnish the Minister, as soon as practicable after the end of
each financial year, with a report on the administration
of the affairs of the
Council and a statement of the accounts of the expenditure of the Council duly
audited under section 22.
(2) The
Minister shall, as soon as practicable after the receipt of the report under
subsection (1), cause a copy of the report to
be laid before each House of
Parliament.
Regulations
29.
The Minister, in consultation with the Council, may make regulations to carry
into effect the provisions of this
Act.
Passed by the House of
Representatives this Twelfth day of May, in year of our Lord One Thousand, Nine
Hundred and Ninety-Eight.
Passed
by the Senate this Fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord One Thousand,
Nine Hundred and Ninety-Eight.
__________________
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