National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2014

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Disclosure of interests

15. The Act of 1990 is amended by inserting the following section after section 13:

“Disclosure of certain interests by members of Agency or committees of Agency

13A. (1) This section applies to a person who is a member of—

(a) the Agency,

(b) the Investment Committee of the Agency, or

(c) any committee established under section 5B,

and who has a material interest in any matter which falls to be considered by the Agency or the Investment Committee or any other committee of the Agency.

(2) A person to whom this section applies shall—

(a) disclose to the Agency, the Investment Committee or the committee concerned the fact of his or her interest and its nature in advance of consideration of the matter,

(b) neither influence nor seek to influence a decision to be made in relation to the matter,

(c) take no part in consideration of the matter,

(d) absent himself or herself from the meeting or the part of the meeting concerned during which the matter is discussed, and

(e) not vote on a decision relating to the matter.

(3) Where a material interest is disclosed pursuant to this section, the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Agency, the Investment Committee or the committee concerned and, for so long as the matter to which the disclosure relates is being dealt with by the meeting, the member by whom the disclosure is made shall not be counted in the quorum for the meeting.

(4) Where at a meeting of the Agency, the Investment Committee or any other committee of the Agency a question arises as to whether or not a course of conduct, if pursued by a person, would constitute a failure by the person to comply with the requirements of subsection (2), the question shall, subject to subsection (5), be determined by the person chairing the meeting, whose decision shall be final and, where such a question is so determined, particulars of the determination shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Agency, the Investment Committee or the committee concerned.

(5) Where at a meeting of the Agency, the Investment Committee or any other committee of the Agency, the person chairing the meeting is the member in respect of whom a question to which subsection (4) applies falls to be determined, then the other members attending the meeting shall choose one of the members present at the meeting to chair the meeting for the purpose of determining the question concerned.

(6) Where the Minister is satisfied, on being informed by the Agency, that a person who is a member of the Agency has contravened subsection (2), the Minister shall decide the appropriate action (including removal from office) to be taken in relation to that person and may, if he or she thinks fit, remove that person from office and that person shall then be disqualified for membership of the Agency, the Investment Committee or any other committee of the Agency.

(7) Where the Agency is satisfied that a person who is a member of the Investment Committee or any other committee of the Agency but not a member of the Agency has contravened subsection (2), the Agency shall decide the appropriate action (including removal from office) to be taken in relation to that person and may, if it thinks fit, remove that person from office.

(8) In this section and section 13B ‘material interest’ shall be construed in accordance with section 2 (3) of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 .

Disclosure of certain interests by members of staff of Agency

13B.(1) Where a function falls to be performed by a member of the staff of the Agency and the member of staff has a material interest in a matter to which the function relates, the member of staff shall—

(a) disclose to the Chief Executive the fact of his or her interest and its nature,

(b) not perform the function, and

(c) neither influence nor seek to influence a decision to be made in the matter nor make any recommendation in relation to the matter.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to functions relating to contracts or proposed contracts of employment of members of the staff of the Agency with the Agency.

(3) Where the Chief Executive is satisfied that a member of staff has contravened subsection (1), the Chief Executive shall decide the appropriate action to be taken.”