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World Bank Loans Act 1974

CONSOLIDATED ACTS OF SAMOA 2009

WORLD BANK LOANS ACT 1974

Arrangement of Provisions

TITLE
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
3. Authority to borrow from the Bank and the Association
4. Power to issue instruments, including bonds
5. Repayment of principal and payment of interest
6. Implementation of obligations under agreements
7. Arbitration

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THE WORLD BANK LOANS ACT 1974
1974 No. 4

AN ACT to provide for the raising of loans and credits from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association and for related matters.

(28 August 1974)
(Commencement date: 28 August 1974)

1. Short title - This Act may be cited as the World Bank Loans Act 1974.

2. Interpretation - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Association" means the International Development Association.

"Bank" means the International Development for Reconstruction and Development.

"Enactment" includes every Act, Ordinance, Order, Proclamation, notice, rule, and regulation in force in Samoa, whether enacted or made in Samoa or in New Zealand, and every provision thereof.

"Government" means the Government of Samoa.

"Minister" means the Minister of Finance.

"Legislative Assembly" means the Legislative Assembly of Samoa.

3. Authority to borrow from the Bank and the Association - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Financial Powers Act 1964, or in any other enactment, Samoa may in such manner and on such terms and subject to such conditions as may be agreed between the Government and the Bank, or between the Government and the Association, borrow from the Bank or the Association from time to time such sums as may be required by Samoa.

(2) Any sums borrowed by Samoa under the powers conferred by subsection (1) for the requirements of Samoa shall be paid into such special fund as may be designated by the Minister, and shall be expended only for the purposes for which they are borrowed as specified in the relevant agreement concluded between Samoa and the Bank or between Samoa and the Association, and all such expenditures shall be charged on and be made from the fund designated by the Minister and shall be statutory expenditure.

(3) Any agreement between Samoa and the Bank or Samoa and the Association in respect of any sums borrowed under the powers conferred by subsection (1) shall be made in the name of Samoa and may be signed on behalf of Samoa by the Minister or by any person authorised in writing by the Minister for the purpose.

(4) The Minister shall submit to the Legislative Assembly a report on each loan or development credit as soon as possible after the relevant agreement has been signed on behalf of Samoa.

(5) Nothing in the provisions of this section shall affect or derogate from any other power to borrow money possessed by the Government.

4. Power to issue instruments, including bonds - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any enactment, the Government may issue bonds, promissory notes, or other instruments, on such terms and conditions as may be necessary, for the purpose of giving effect to the terms of any agreement which may be entered into by Samoa with the Bank in respect of any borrowing authorised by section 3(1).

(2) Any such bond, promissory note, or other instrument may be signed on behalf of the Government by the Minister or by any other person authorised in writing for the purpose by the Minister.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act 2001, it shall not be necessary to issue or register stock in respect of any loan from the bank, nor to set aside or pay any amount in any half year during the currency of such loan as a contribution to the National Loans Sinking Fund.

5. Repayment of principal and payment of interest - All principal, interest, and other money or charges repayable or payable in respect of sums borrowed by Samoa from the Bank or from the Association are hereby declared to be a charge on the public revenues of Samoa, and on the Treasury Fund, or on such other fund or account as the Minister may decide, and to be statutory expenditure, and to be payable out of any such fund or account at the time or times provided for in any agreement concluded with the Bank or the Association in respect of the sums so borrowed.

6. Implementation of obligations under agreements - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other enactment, any agreement concluded between Samoa and the Bank or between Samoa and the Association in respect of sums borrowed by Samoa from the Bank or from the Association, and any bond, promissory note, or other instrument issued pursuant to any such agreement, shall be valid and enforceable and have full force and effect in Samoa in accordance with its terms.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of subsection (1):

(a) No stamp duty or tax or duty shall be payable on such agreement or on any bond, promissory note, or other instrument issued pursuant to any such agreement;

(b) The principal of the loan or development credit obtained and the bonds issued hereunder shall be repayable and the interest and other money and charges thereon shall be payable without deduction for and free from liability for income tax or any other tax, and free from any currency or exchange control restrictions.

(3) The Public Finance Management Act 2001 shall not apply to any borrowing by Samoa from the Bank or from the Association in accordance with this Act.

(4) The Government shall not, except as may be otherwise agreed between the Minister and the Bank or between the Minister and the Association, create any lien on any of the assets of Samoa as security for any external debt unless it is expressly provided that such lien will ipso facto equally and rateably, and at no cost to the Bank secure the payment of the principal, interest, and other money and charges on any loan made by the Bank or on any bonds, promissory notes, or instruments issued pursuant to any such loan by the Government:

PROVIDED THAT:

(a) Any lien created on property at the time of purchase thereof, solely as security for the payment of the purchase price of such property; and

(b) Any lien arising in the ordinary course of banking transactions and securing a debt maturing not more than one year after its date,-

shall be excluded from the provisions of this subsection.

(5) In subsection (4), "lien" includes mortgages, pledges, charges, privileges, and priorities of any kind; and "external debt" means any debt payable in any medium other than currency that at the time in question is legal tender for the payment of any private or public debt in Samoa, whether such debt is payable absolutely or at the option of the creditor in such other medium.

7. Arbitration - If any dispute between the Bank or the Association on the one part and Samoa on the other part arises under any agreement concluded in the exercise of the powers conferred by this Act or under any bond, promissory note, or instrument issued pursuant to any such agreement, it shall be determined by arbitration in the manner provided for in the General Conditions applicable to the Loan Agreement or Development Credit Agreement that is the subject of the dispute, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary.

REVISION NOTES 2008

This law has been generally edited as provided for by section 5 of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008. The following general revisions have been made –

(a) References to Western Samoa have been amended to Samoa in accordance with an amendment to the Constitution of Samoa in 1997.

(b) The fines have been amended and are stated as penalty units as provided for by the Fines (Review and Amendment) Act 1998.

(c) All references to the male gender have been made gender neutral.

(d) Amendments have been made to conform to modern drafting styles and to use modern language as applied in the laws of Samoa.

(e) Amendments have been made to up-date references to offices, officers and statutes.

(f) Other minor editing has been done in accordance with the lawful powers of the Attorney General.

There were no amendments made to this law since the publication of the Western Samoa Statutes Reprint 1978-1996.

This law has been consolidated and revised by the Attorney General under the authority of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 and is an official version of this Act as at 31 December 2007. It is an offence to publish this Act without approval or to make any unauthorised change to an electronic version of this Act.

Revised and consolidated by Graham Bruce Powell
Under the supervision of Teleiai Lalotoa Sinaalaimaleula Mulitalo (Parliamentary Counsel)

REVISION NOTES 2008 No. 2

The commencement date is inserted under the assent date - under the Attorney Generals powers in the Publication and Revision of Laws Act 2008. By virtue of section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1974, in the absence of an expressed commencement date, the date of assent is the commencement date. There were no amendments made to this law since the publication of the Consolidated and Revised Statutes of Samoa 2007.

This law has been consolidated and revised by the Attorney General under the authority of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 and is an official version of this Act as at 31 December 2008. It is an offence to publish this Act without approval or to make any unauthorised change to an electronic version of this Act.

Revised and consolidated by the Legislative Drafting Division under the supervision of Teleiai Lalotoa Sinaalamaimaleula Mulitalo (Parliamentary Counsel)

REVISION NOTES 2009

The law was generally edited in accordance with the powers of the Attorney General provided for by Section 5 of the Revision & Publication of Laws Act 2008.

There were no amendments made to this law since the publication of the Consolidated and Revised Statutes of Samoa 2007.

This law has been consolidated and revised by the Attorney General under the authority of the Revision and Publication of Laws Act 2008 and is an official version of this Act as at 31 December 2009. It is an offence to publish this Act without approval or to make any unauthorised change to an electronic version of this Act.

Revised and consolidated by the Legislative Drafting Division under the supervision of Papalii Malietau Malietoa (Parliamentary Counsel).

The World Bank Loans Act 1974 is administered in the Ministry of Finance.