Key Benefits:
61. Enforcement of provisions
If a person alleges that any provision of this Act has been, is being, or is likely to be contravened in relation to him or her, or any other person or group of persons who have a substantial interest, that person may apply to the High Court for redress.
62. Public documents and register
(1) Any terms of reference, statement, report, decision or any other documents referred to under this Act shall be a public document.
(2) The competent authority shall maintain a register of public documents referred to under subsection (1), which shall be open for public inspection.
(1) No person appointed, employed or duly authorised by the competent authority or Board, shall disclose any information which the person acquired in the performance of any duty, or the exercise of any function under this Act, except for the purposes of the performance of a duty or the exercise of a function or when lawfully required to do so by a court.
(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding P2 000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both.
64. Conflict of interest by practitioner
(1) A practitioner shall not engage in a consultancy where the engagement in the consultancy may give rise to a conflict of interest.
(2) A practitioner shall, where a conflict of interest is likely to arise during the consultancy, disclose such interest to the competent authority.
(3) A practitioner who contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding P2 000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both.
65. Protection from personal liability
An officer, employee or agent of the competent authority shall not be subject to any liability, action, claim or demand, for an act done by the officer, employee or agent, bona fide for the purposes of carrying the provisions of this Act into effect.
(1) For the purposes of the administration of this Act, an officer of the competent authority who has been authorised by the Director, in writing, may, without previous notice and at any time -
(a) enter upon any land, premises or vessel for the purposes of undertaking investigations and inspections to ensure compliance with this Act;
(b) stop, search and seize any vehicle, vessel, boat or aircraft, which the officer believes to have been used in the commission of an offence or to contain anything which might provide evidence of the offence; or
(c) require the driver of the vehicle, the person in charge of the vessel, boat, or the pilot of the aircraft, referred to in paragraph (b), to furnish the officer with details of any licence, permit, authority or permission issued to him or her under this Act.
(2) A person authorised to act under subsection (1), if so required, shall produce evidence of the authorisation signed by the Director.
(3) Any person who wilfully obstructs a person authorised to exercise the powers under this section, or who gives information which he or she knows or ought reasonably to have known is false, commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding P100 000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both.
(4) Any power conferred by this section shall be construed as including power to search for the purpose of ascertaining the environmental impact of the activity.
67. Powers to require information
(1) A person duly authorised under section 66 may, for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act, require the owner or occupier of any premises to provide any information which may be required for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Any person who -
(a) refuses to give the information required under subsection (1); or
(b) gives information which is false or misleading,
commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding P100 000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both.
68. Trans-boundary environmental impact
(1) Where a proposed activity is likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact in another country, the competent authority shall consult the Minister.
(2) The Minister shall, through the Minister responsible for foreign affairs, inform the country concerned about the intended activity, by sending to that country's Minister responsible for foreign affairs, the terms of reference or a statement, and any other relevant information.
(3) This section applies to any country -
(a) in respect of which the Minister, having regard to any reciprocal provisions under the laws of that country, so directs; or
(b) that is a party to an international agreement or treaty to which Botswana is a party, where the parties to the international agreement or treaty are obliged to so inform one another.
Every person whose name has been entered in the register as a practitioner shall, as long as his or her name remains on the register, be entitled to adopt and use the word and title "Practitioner" or "Registered Practitioner" or such other style or title as may be approved by the Board, and to offer his or her services to the public for gain or reward based on fee scales provided in the conditions of engagement and such accepted fees as may be prescribed by the Board.
(1) Any person who is not a practitioner who -
(a) performs the work of a practitioner for gain;
(b) practises or carries on business under any name or style which contains the word "Practitioner";
(c) uses by way of advertisement, description, document, drawing or other means, any name, title, addition, description, letters, motto, emblem, symbol, badge, seal or other insignia which indicates or is calculated to lead persons to assume that he or she is a practitioner; or
(d) pretends or by any means whatsoever, holds himself or herself out to be a practitioner,
commits an offence.
(2) A practitioner who knowingly employs or engages in the capacity of a practitioner any person who was registered and -
(a) whose name has been removed from the register and has not been restored; or
(b) who has been suspended from practice in terms of this Act, during the period of suspension, save with the prior written consent of the Board, which consent may be given for such period and subject to such conditions as the Board may determine,
commits an offence.
(3) A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on a first conviction to a fine not exceeding P50 000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person shall be deemed to be performing the work of a practitioner for gain if he or she or a partnership of which he or she is a member or an employee including a director in relation to a company -
(a) performs the work of a practitioner for or in expectation of a fee, gain or reward, direct or indirect to himself or herself or to any other person; or
(b) holds himself or herself out as prepared in expectation of a fee, gain or reward, direct or indirect to himself or herself or to any other person, to perform the work of a practitioner.
(1) Without prejudice to the generality of section 70, it shall be lawful for -
(a) a person who is -
(i) in the bona fide employment of a practitioner, to perform the work of a practitioner under the direction and control of such practitioner, or
(ii) engaged by a practitioner to provide a specific service for such practitioner, to perform, in accordance with the instructions of such practitioner, the work of a practitioner, other than the supervision of such work;
(b) a body corporate, firm or partnership which carries on business which involves the performance of the work of a practitioner, to perform the work of a practitioner or to describe or hold itself out to be a practitioner where -
(i) the business of the body corporate, firm or partnership, in so far as it relates to the works of a practitioner, is under the direct control and management of a principal who is a practitioner and who does not act at the same time in a similar capacity for any other body corporate, firm or partnership, or
(ii) the business referred to in subparagraph (i) is carried on and is not personally conducted by the said principal, such business is being conducted under the direction of the said principal by an assistant who is a practitioner; or
(c) a person in the bona fide employment of a body corporate, firm or partnership referred to under paragraph (b) to perform the work of a practitioner under the direction and control of a principal or assistant referred to under paragraph (b).
(2) It shall be a defence to any charge of contravening subsection (1) (a) for a person to show that he or she performed the work of a practitioner for his or her employer whilst in the bona fide full time employment of his or her employer and that -
(a) his or her remuneration was by way of a wage or salary and not a fee or commission; and
(b) he or she was not employed solely to design or supervise the work of constructing a particular building or buildings or additions thereto.
Any person who contravenes the provisions of this Act for which no penalty is otherwise provided and is convicted of an offence shall be liable to a fine not exceeding P50 000, or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years, or to both.
The Minister may make regulations for any matter which under this Act is to be prescribed or for the better carrying out of the provisions of this Act, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such regulations may make provision for -
(a) guidelines governing environmental impact assessment issues;
(b) a list of activities, locations and thresholds or environmentally sensitive areas for which a statement is mandatory;
(c) qualifications to conduct an environmental impact assessment;
(d) content of project brief, environmental impact statement, strategic environmental assessment report, environmental management plan, terms of reference or any other report or document to be submitted to the competent authority;
(e) reviewing of the terms of reference, the statement, the monitoring programme and the evaluation report;
(f) the manner of holding public hearings;
(g) revoking or modifying an authorisation issued under this Act;
(h) the manner in which entry into premises may be achieved to investigate or evaluate an environmental impact, or to monitor and audit the environmental impact of an activity;
(i) the code of conduct of practitioners registered under this Act;
(j) fees charged by the practitioners for the provision of services;
(k) fees charged by the competent authority for the provision of services;
(l) forms to be used under the Act; and
(m) criteria for registration and certification.
The Environmental Impact Assessment Act (hereinafter referred to as "the repealed Act"), is hereby repealed.
Notwithstanding the repeal effected under section 74 any -
(a) application or process commenced; or
(b) determination, order or other ruling made,
under the repealed Act, immediately before the coming into operation of this Act shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the repealed Act.
(1) This Act binds the State.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this section the provisions of this Act, shall not apply to activities implemented by the Botswana Defence Force established under the Botswana Defence Force Act, Directorate of Intelligence and Security established under the Intelligency and Security Service Act, Botswana Police Service established under the Botswana Police Act and the Prison Service estalished under the Prisons Act or any other security organ of the state where national security may be compromised.
(3) The Minister may establish a special committee to be known as the Environmental Impact Special Committee to determine the environmental impact of the activities under subsection (2).
(4) The committee established under subsection (3) shall -
(a) be composed of such members of the committee as the Minister may determine;
(b) operate under such conditions as the Minister may determine; and
(c) in determining the environmental impact of an activity, apply such procedure as the Minister may, in writing, establish.
(5) The Environmental Impact Special Committee shall, in consultation with any of the security organs referred to under subsection (2), assess the activity implemented by such security organ and determine whether the provisions of this section or other provisions of this Act apply to such activity.
(6) The reports produced under this section shall, unless the Minister in consultation with the relevant security organ otherwise determines, be confidential.
