Key Benefits:
7. Establishment of Board
There shall be a Board of the Authority, comprised of eight members, which shall be the governing body of the Authority.
8. Functions and duties of Board
The Board shall be responsible for the general control of the performance, management undertakings and affairs of the Authority, and without derogating from the generality of this provision, the Board shall-
(a) determine the general performance of the Authority;
(b) approve business plans of the Authority;
(c) determine and approve estimates of income and expenditure of the Authority;
(d) review the performance of top management officers of the Authority;
(e) monitor the deployment and utilisation of the movable and immovable property of the Authority; and
(f) do such other things as are provided by this Act or as may be necessary for the proper implementation of this Act.
9. Appointment of members of Board
(1) The Minister shall appoint the following persons to be members-
(a) a Chairperson of the Board from the private sector;
(b) representative of the ministry responsible for trade and industry;
(c) an Attorney from the private sector admitted to practise in the courts of Botswana;
(d) a person qualified in the field of accounting from the private sector;
(e) an expert in the field of information communications technology;
(f) an expert in the field of intellectual property; and
(g) a person from the private business sector.
(2) A Vice Chairperson of the Board shall be elected by the members from among their number.
(3) The Registrar General, appointed under section 23, shall be an ex-officio member.
(4) The Minister shall cause the appointments of the members to be published, by notice, in the Gazette.
10. Appointment of Secretary of Board
(1) The Board shall, with the approval of the Minister, appoint a Secretary, who shall be suitably qualified and experienced.
(2) The Secretary shall be responsible for-
(a) taking the minutes of the meetings of the Board;
(b) keeping the records of all decisions of the Board; and
(c) keeping records of legal transactions of the Authority.
(3) The Secretary of the Board shall be accountable to the Registrar General and to the Board for his or her functions and responsibilities.
(4) The conditions of service, including the remuneration package of the Secretary, shall be set by the Board with the approval of the Minister.
(5) The Board may, in the absence of the Secretary, appoint another official of the Authority to perform the functions of the Secretary until the Secretary resumes office or the vacancy is filled, as the case may be.
11. Tenure of office of members
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, each member, with the exception of the ex-officio member, shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of his or her appointment.
(2) A person shall not be appointed to be a member for more than five years at a time, but shall be eligible for re-appointment for an aggregate period not exceeding 10 years.
(3) Any member may at any time resign from his or her office by giving three months notice, in writing, to the Minister.
12. Disqualification from appointment as member
A person shall not qualify for appointment as a member if he or she-
(a) has in terms of any law in force in any country-
(i) been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt or insolvent, and has not been rehabilitated or discharged, or
(ii) made an assignment to, or arrangement or composition with, his or her creditors, which has not been rescinded or set aside;
(b) has within a period of 10 years immediately preceding the date of his or her appointment been convicted-
(i) in Botswana, of a criminal offence, or
(ii) outside Botswana, of an offence which, if committed in Botswana, would have been a criminal offence, and sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to imprisonment for six months or more without the option of a fine, whether that sentence has been suspended or not, and for which he or she has not received a free pardon;
(c) is ofunsound mind;
(d) being a holder of a professional qualification, has been suspended or barred from practising the profession within or outside Botswana; or
(e) is an employee of the Authority.
13. Vacation of office and filling of vacancies
(1) A member shall vacate his or her office-
(a) upon the member's death;
(b) if the member becomes disqualified, under section 12, to hold office as a member;
(c) if the member's appointment is terminated in terms of subsection (4);
(d) upon giving three months written notice to the Minister of his or her intention to resign from office.
(2) As soon as possible after a vacancy occurs in the membership of the Board, the Chairperson shall notify the Minister, in writing, not later than two weeks of the vacancy occuring.
(3) If a member ceases to hold office for any reason, the Minister may, within three months of receiving the notice under subsection (2) appoint another person to take the place of the member, and the person so appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the term of office of the member in whose place he or she was appointed and shall be eligible for reappointment.
(4) The Minister may terminate the appointment of a member-
(a) if the member conducts himself or herself in a manner that is detrimental to the efficient and proper performance of the functions of the Board;
(b) if the member has been found to be physically or mentally incapable of performing his or her duties efficiently, and the member's medical doctor has issued a certificate to that effect; or
(c) if the member is absent from three consecutive meetings of the Board without the prior permission of the Chairperson or, if in any given year, attends less than half of the meetings of the Board.
(1) A member shall be paid out of the funds of the Authority such remuneration or allowances as the Minister may determine.
(2) Any other person not being an employee of the Authority, invited to attend a meeting of the Board, may be paid out of the funds of the Authority such remuneration or allowances as the Minister may determine.
