Cap. 549 Art. 32The Environment Fund and other funds.

(1) The Authority shall set up a fund, hereinafter referred to as the Environment Fund.

(2) The Environment Fund shall be administered by the

Authority.

(3) The Environment Fund shall be used to finance projects, programs and schemes related to, and costs intended to achieve and manage, the aims and objectives of this Act, studies, as well as works which may be needed for that purpose or to remedy any harm caused to the environment, as the Minister in consultation with the Authority may prescribe:

Provided that, without prejudice to the aforesaid, the Environment Fund shall not be used to finance other costs of the Authority: Provided further that the Authority may charge the Environment Fund for any services rendered by it to the Environment Fund.

(4) There shall be paid into the Environment Fund:

(a) any sums appropriated by Parliament for the purpose;

(b) any donations or grants made to the Environment Fund by individuals or institutions;

(c) sums received by the Authority for the purpose of being placed in the Environment Fund;

(d) such other sums or monies as may from time to time be provided by or under this or any other law or regulations: Provided that the Authority shall implement all relevant safeguards to ensure that the implementation of this sub-article does not result in any actual or perceived conflict of interests in the performance of its regulatory functions, and does not otherwise tarnish its reputation or public trust. Such safeguards shall include, inter alia and as deemed most relevant:

(a) appropriate functional and operational separation;

(b) internal administrative firewalling; and

(c) rejection of donations or grants offered to it, financially or in kind, which may introduce a likely or foreseeable conflict of interests.

(5) The Environment Fund shall keep a proper account of its revenue and expenditure and the Authority shall, without prejudice to the powers of the Auditor General and of the Minister responsible for finance under any law, each year cause the accounts of the Environment Fund to be audited by suitably qualified public auditors and accountants appointed by it with the concurrence of the Minister.

(6) The Environment Fund shall every financial year deliver to the Minister, through the Authority, a copy of its duly audited revenue and expenditure statement together with a report of its activities during the previous financial year. The Minister shall lay a copy of the revenue and expenditure statement which shall be included as a note to the audited financial statements of the Authority, and a copy of the audited report on the Table of the House within a month from the receipt of the said statements from the Authority.

(7) The revenue of the Environment Fund shall not be subject to tax under the Income Tax Act and the Environment Fund shall not be liable to tax under the Duty on Documents and Transfers

Act.

(8) The Minister after consulting the Authority may make regulations prescribing the procedure to be followed by the Authority and otherwise regulating the Environment Fund.

(9) The Authority may set up other funds and prescribe what shall be paid into such funds and how the said funds shall be administered and used. The provisions of sub-articles (4), (5), (6),

(7) and (8) shall apply mutatis mutandis to such other funds.

33.* (1) There shall be a Registration Board whose function shall be to evaluate applications for registration in the Register of Consultants eligible to carry out environmental assessments, audits, monitoring and studies as required by the Authority.

(2) The Board shall be composed of a minimum of three members and a maximum of five members, appointed by the Minister one of whom shall be appointed to chair the board.

(3) The members of the Board shall be independent members who are not involved in any way in the preparation of environmental or other assessments falling within the jurisdiction of the Board.

(4) The Board shall seek the opinion of the Authority, which shall make appropriate reference to applicable standards and regulations regarding the quality of assessments audits, monitoring, studies and associated environmental information required by the Authority to fulfil its function, following which it will assess applications for such registrations and approve those that meet the requirements for registration. The Board shall give reasons for its decisions.

(5) The decision of the Board to grant or to refuse an application for registration in the Register kept by the Authority shall be notified in writing to the applicant without delay.

(6) The Board may direct the Authority to update the Register at such regular intervals as it may deem fit by the inclusion of other disciplines in the Register, which disciplines might have in the meantime evolved.

(7) The decisions of the Board shall be final. An appeal shall lie to the Tribunal only on the grounds that the Board has, in its decision, wrongly applied the provisions of this Act or any regulations issued thereunder, or the decision of the Board constitutes an abuse of discretion or is manifestly unfair, and without prejudice to the aforesaid, the discretion of the Board may not, so long as it has been exercised properly, be queried by the

*not yet in force. Tribunal. An appeal from a partial decision of the Board may only be filed together with an appeal from the final decision of the Board.

(8) The decision of the Board shall be binding if it is supported by the opinion of a majority of its members, and the dissenting member or members, if any, may express his opinion separately; and all decisions of the Board shall be delivered in public and shall be published as soon as practicable after the sitting at which they are given.

(9) The Minister may, after consultation with the Board, make regulations to give better effect to the provisions of this article and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, he may:

(a) establish criteria that applicants are expected to meet in order to qualify for registration;

(b) establish the procedure to be followed by the Board;

(c) prescribe a tariff of fees for registration with the Board.

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