Key Benefits:
3. Designation of National Plant Protection Organisation
The Minister shall designate a government unit dealing with plant health matters to serve as the National Plant Protection Organisation for Botswana.
4. Functions of National Plant Protection Organisation
The NPPO shall perform at least the following functions-
(a) implementation of the IPPC and the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures, including the following responsibilities-
(i) issuing phytosanitary certificates and import certificates,
(ii) carrying out surveillance of growing plants, including areas under cultivation and wild flora, and of plants and plant products in storage or in transit, for the purpose of reporting the occurrence, outbreak and spread of pests, and of controlling those pests,
(iii) inspecting consignments of plants and plant products and, where appropriate, inspecting other regulated articles, for the purpose of preventing the introduction and spread of pests,
(iv) carrying out pre-clearance inspections where requested,
(v) disinfesting or disinfecting consignments of plants, plant products and other regulated articles,
(vi) protecting endangered areas, and designating, maintaining and surveying pest free areas and areas of low pest prevalence,
(vii) providing justification to other countries concerning phytosanitary measures to be applied, either through pest risk analysis or by reference to applicable international standards,
(viii) notifying trading partners of relevant instances of non-compliance with import requirements,
(ix) ensuring the phytosanitary security of consignments after certification and before export,
(x) establishing auditing and trace-back procedures for plants, plant products and other regulated articles for phytosanitary certification,
(xi) establishing any minimum qualifications for and overseeing training and development of plant inspectors and other NPPO staff,
(xii) distributing information regarding regulated pests and the means of their prevention and control,
(xiii) proposing, reviewing, preparing and enforcing phytosanitary measures and other necessary legislation,
(xiv) notifying phytosanitary measures to other countries in accordance with international obligations,
(xv) providing information regarding import and export regulations in force, and technical requirements for plants, plant products and other regulated articles, on request of any interested international, regional or other national plant protection organisation;
(b) the enforcement of the present Act, as well as any other legislation relating to plant protection that the Minister may identify;
(c) the representation of Botswana in bilateral, regional and international forums related to phytosanitary matters;
(d) the development of pest diagnostic, investigative and „analy„tical capabilities as well as the establishment of laboratories and quarantine stations at such places as the NPPO may consider necessary;
(e) the establishment of procedures for accreditation of any quarantine station, official analyst, official laboratory or any other person or institution from the public or private sector involved in phytosanitary matters; and
(f) the performance of any other functions that the Minister considers necessary in order to achieve the objectives of this Act.
5. Appointment of plant inspectors
(1) The Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, and subject to the laws governing the Public Service, appoint such number of persons as may be necessary to be plant inspectors under this Act.
(2) A plant inspector shall, when discharging his or her duties or exercising his or her powers under this Act, comply with any direction which may be issued by the Minister or the Head of the NPPO.
6. Powers and duties of plant inspectors
(1) A plant inspector may-
(a) inspect plants, plant products or other regulated articles under cultivation, in storage or in transit, for the purposes of detecting and reporting the existence, outbreak or spread of pests listed in the First and Second Schedules;
(b) expose the roots of, remove the bark of, cut, peg, tag or mark any plant which he or she believes is likely to harbour pests;
(c) inspect consignments of plants, plant products or other regulated articles destined for import into or export from Botswana so as to determine whether they are affected, and, where necessary, verify the pest status of consignments by the taking of samples or otherwise; and
(d) open any container which he or she believes to contain any growing material or any plant liable to harbour pests.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (1), a plant inspector shall-
(a) ensure the disinfection or disinfestation of consignments of plants, plant products or other regulated articles destined for import into or export from Botswana, as well as their containers, packaging, storage places and transport facilities; and
(b) ensure that where waste is being disposed of from-
(i) an aircraft and other conveyances arriving in Botswana, and
(ii) premises which process or wash imported plants, plant products or other regulated articles,
no threat to plant resources in Botswana is caused;
(c) issue phytosanitary certificates where he or she is so authorised by the NPPO;
(d) inspect and certify exports of plants, plant products and other regulated articles from Botswana;
(e) at the invitation of an exporting country, carry out an inspection on the territory of the exporting country as a pre-clearance inspection;
(f) carry out detection activities and maintain up-to-date information on the pest status of Botswana;
(g) institute inquiries and request information or documentation upon suspicion that the provisions of this Act are being violated; and
(h) attend to such other matters as the NPPO may prescribe.
7. Enforcement by plant inspectors
(1) A plant inspector may without a warrant enter and inspect any land, area or premises where he or she suspects that a contravention of this Act has taken or is taking place.
(2) A plant inspector who suspects that any person, container or conveyance entering or moving within Botswana is harbouring a pest, may stop and without a warrant search such person, container or conveyance.
(3) Where the seal on a sealed container containing plants, plant products or other regulated articles is to be broken, a plant inspector must be present.
(4) A plant inspector may, in the performance of his or her functions under this section, be accompanied and assisted by a police officer.
(5) A plant inspector shall, when discharging his or her duties or exercising his or her powers under this Act, have in his or her possession and produce on request, an identity card in such form as may be prescribed, as evidence of his or her identity and his or her appointment by the Minister as a plant inspector.
(6) In the course of an inspection carried out under subsections (1) to (3), a plant inspector may, as he or she considers necessary, seize, destroy, detain, treat or otherwise dispose of any plant, plant product or any other regulated article, or order that any such action be taken, at the expense of the owner.
Any plant inspector who causes anything to be seized, detained, treated, disposed of or destroyed in accordance with this Act shall immediately provide a detention certificate in the form set out in the Third Schedule, and shall, as soon as practicable, notify in writing the owner or person in possession of the thing of, the steps taken and the reasons therefore.
9. Designation of laboratories and analysts
The Minister, on the advice of the Head of the NPPO, may designate one or more-
(a) laboratories to be official laboratories; and
(b) analysts to be official analysts and carry out analyses, under this Act.
