Grain Marketing Act [Chapter 18:14]

CHAPTER 18:14
GRAINMARKETING ACT
Acts 20/1966, 21/1967 (s. 31), 47/1972, 39/1973 (s. 53), 13/1977, 41/1977 (s. 16 (4) as read with s. 17 (b)),
9/1991; S.I. 566/1979.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Section
l. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
PART II
ESTABLISHMENT OFGRAINMARKETING BOARD
3. Establishment of Grain Marketing Board.
4. Board of the Grain Marketing Board.
5. Membership of Board.
6. Conditions of office of members.
7. Disqualification for appointment as a member.
8. Vacation of office by member.
9. Member may be required to vacate office or be suspended.
10. Filling of vacancies.
11. Meetings and procedure of Board.
12. Committees of the Board.
13. Right of certain officers to attend meetings, etc., of Board and committees.
14. Remuneration and expenses of members.
15. Members to declare interests.
16. Validity of decisions and acts of Board.
17. Execution of contracts and instruments by Grain Marketing Board.
18. Transaction of business of an urgent nature.
PART III
FINANCIAL PROVISIONSRELATINGTO GRAIN MARKETING BOARD
19. Trading reserve funds.
20. Revenue account.
21. Redemption of loans.
22. Accounts of Grain Marketing Board.
23. Reports of Grain Marketing Board.
24. Appointment of auditors and audit of accounts.
25. Powers of auditors.
PART IV
FUNCTIONS, DUTIES AND POWERS OF GRAIN MARKETING BOARD
26. Functions and duties of Grain Marketing Board.
27. Appointment of general manager.
28. Powers of Grain Marketing Board.
PART V
CONTROLLED PRODUCTSAND PRICES
29. Declaration of controlled products.
30. Restriction on movement of controlled products into or out of prescribed areas.
31. Fixing of prices.
PART VI
CONTROLS RELATINGTO DEALING WITH CONTROLLED PRODUCTS
32. Registration.
33. Sale or delivery of controlled products.
34. Acquisition and disposal of controlled products.
35. Controlled products exempted from Act.
PART VII
GENERAL
36. Exemption of Grain Marketing Board from liability.
37. Powers of Board to make deductions from payments due to producers, etc.
38. Powers of police officers and authorized persons.
39. Regulatory powers of Minister.
40. Offences and penalties.
41. Evidence and presumptions.
42. Acts and omissions of managers, agents or employees.
43. Minister may give directions on matters of policy.
SCHEDULE: Powers of Board.
AN ACT to provide for the establishment of a Grain Marketing Board and to prescribe the powers,
functions and duties of such Board; to regulate and control the prices and marketing of certain agricultural
products and their derivatives; and to provide for matters incidental to the foregoing.
[Date of commencement: 1st May, 1966.]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the Grain Marketing Act [Chapter 18:14].
2 Interpretation
In this Act—
“auditors” means the auditors appointed in terms of section twenty-four;
“Board” means the board of the Grain Marketing Board referred to in section four;
“controlled product” means any agricultural product or any product derived therefrom declared by the Minister,
in terms of section twenty-nine to be a controlled product;
“financial year” means the period of twelve months ending on the 31st March each year;
“Grain Marketing Board” means the Grain Marketing Board established by section three;
“member” means member of the Board;
“miller” means any person who carries on the business of milling or processing any controlled product;
“Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture or any other Minister to whom the President may from time to
time assign the administration of this Act;
“prescribed area”, in relation to a controlled product, means any area prescribed by the Minister under section
twenty-nine in which that product is a controlled product;
“producer” means any person who, by himself or his agents, grows any controlled product, so, however, that
if a member of any co-operative company or co-operative society registered in terms of any law relating
to such companies or societies is under an obligation to deliver any controlled product grown by him to
such co-operative company or co-operative society, the controlled product delivered to the Grain Marketing
Board by such member shall be deemed to have been delivered for the account of such cooperative
company or co-operative society, which shall, from the time of such delivery, be deemed to be
the producer of the controlled product thus delivered;
“receiving depot” means any place appointed by the Grain Marketing Board in terms of any rules made under
paragraph 2 of the Schedule to be a receiving depot;
“sell” includes—
(a) sell by auction;
(b) offer or attempt to sell;
(c) expose, display or advertise for sale;
(d) sell under an agreement in terms of the Hire-Purchase Act [Chapter 14:11];
(e) exchange or dispose of for any valuable consideration;
and the expressions “sale”, “seller”, “purchaser”, “buyer”, “purchase”, “acquire” and “buy” shall be construed
accordingly.
PART II
ESTABLISHMENT OFGRAINMARKETING BOARD
3 Establishment of Grain Marketing Board
There is hereby established a board to be known as the Grain Marketing Board, which shall be a body corporate
and shall be capable of suing and being sued in its corporate name and, subject to this Act, of performing all
such acts as a body corporate may by law perform.
4 Board of the Grain Marketing Board
The operations of the Grain Marketing Board shall, subject to this Act, be controlled by a board, to be known
as the Board of the Grain Marketing Board, appointed in terms of this Part.
5 Membership of Board
(1) The Board shall consist of not less than six and not more than nine members who shall be appointed by
the Minister after consultation with the President and in accordance with any directions the President may give
him.
(2) Members shall be appointed for their ability and experience in agriculture, business or administration or
their suitability otherwise for appointment as members.
(3) The Minister shall designate one member as chairman and another member as vice-chairman of the Board
and the vice-chairman shall exercise the functions of the chairman during any period that the chairman is unable
to do so.
(4) The Minister may appoint any person to the Board as an alternate to a member, and such person—
(a) shall act as a member only when the member to whom he is alternate is unable to exercise his functions
on the Board by reason of illness, absence from Zimbabwe, suspension from office or other cause;
(b) when acting as a member shall, subject to the conditions applicable to the member, exercise the functions
of the member to whom he is alternate:
Provided that an alternate to the member who has been designated as chairman or vice-chairman of the Board
shall not exercise the functions of chairman or vice-chairman, as the case may be.
6 Conditions of office of members
(1) Subject to this Part, a member shall hold office for such period not exceeding three years as the Minister
may fix on his appointment.
(2) On the expiry of the period for which a member has been appointed, he shall continue to hold office until
he has been reappointed or his successor has been appointed:
Provided that a member shall not continue to hold office in terms of this subsection for a period exceeding six
months.
(3) Subject to section fourteen a member shall hold office on such conditions as the Minister may fix for
members generally.
(4) A retiring member shall be eligible for reappointment as a member.
7 Disqualification for appointment as a member
The Minister shall not appoint a person as a member and no person shall be qualified to hold office as a
member who—
(a) is not a citizen of Zimbabwe ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe; or
(b) is, or is married to a person who is, engaged in any activity connected with a business which, in the
opinion of the Minister, is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge by that person of the duties of
the office of a member; or
(c) has, in terms of a law in force in any country—
(i) been adjudged or otherwise declared insolvent or bankrupt and has not been rehabilitated or
discharged; or
(ii) made an assignment to or arrangement or composition with his creditors which has not been
rescinded or set aside;
or
(d) has, within the period of five years immediately preceding the date of his proposed appointment, been
convicted—
(i) within Zimbabwe of a criminal offence; or
(ii) outside Zimbabwe of an offence, by whatever name called, which, if committed within Zimbabwe,
would have been a criminal offence;
whether or not such sentence has been suspended, and has not received a free pardon.
8 Vacation of office by member
A member shall vacate his office and his office shall become vacant—
(a) one month after the date he gives notice in writing to the Minister of his intention to resign his office or
after the expiration of such shorter period as he and the Minister may agree; or
(b) thirty days after the date he is sentenced by a court to imprisonment referred to in paragraph (d) of
section seven after conviction of an offence referred to in that paragraph:
Provided that, if, during the said period of thirty days, an application for a free pardon is made or
an appeal is filed, the question whether the member is to vacate his office shall not be determined until
the final disposal of such application or appeal, whereupon the member shall forthwith vacate his office
and his office shall become vacant unless he is granted a free pardon, his conviction is set aside or a
punishment other than imprisonment is substituted; or
(c) if he becomes disqualified in terms of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section seven to hold office as a member;
or
(d) if he is required in terms of section nine to vacate his office.
9 Member may be required to vacate office or be suspended
(1) The Minister may require a member to vacate his office if the member—
(a) has been guilty of improper conduct as a member; or
(b) has failed to comply with the conditions of his office fixed by the Minister in terms of subsection (3) of
section six; or
(c) is mentally or physically incapable of efficiently performing his duties as a member.
(2) The Minister, on the recommendation of the Board, may require a member to vacate his office if the Minister
is satisfied that the member has been absent without the permission of the Board from three consecutive
meetings of the Board, of which he has been given not less than seven days’ notice, and that there was no just
cause for the member’s absence.
(3) The Minister—
(a) may suspend from office a member against whom criminal proceedings are instituted for an offence in
respect of which a sentence or imprisonment without the option of a fine may be imposed; and
(b) shall suspend from office a member who has been sentenced by a court to imprisonment without the
option of a fine, whether or not suspended, pending determination of the question whether he is to vacate
his office;
and whilst that member is so suspended he shall not carry out any duties or be entitled to any remuneration as a
member.
10 Filling of vacancies
Subject to section five, on the death of or the vacation of office by a member, the Minister may appoint a person
to fill the vacancy.
11 Meetings and procedure of Board
(1) The Board shall meet for the dispatch of business and adjourn, close and otherwise regulate its meetings
and proceedings as it thinks fit:
Provided that the Board shall meet at least three times in every year.
(2) The chairman of the Board may himself at any time and shall, at the request in writing of not less than
four members, convene a special meeting of the Board.
(3) If, at a meeting of the Board, the chairman and the vice-chairman are both absent, the members present
may elect one of their number to preside at that meeting as chairman.
(4) A majority of members shall form a quorum at a meeting of the Board.
(5) All acts, matters or things authorized or required to be done by the Board may be decided by a majority
vote at a meeting of the Board at which a quorum is present.
(6) At all meetings of the Board each member present shall have one vote on every question before the Board
and, in the event of an equality votes, the chairman shall have a casting vote in addition to a deliberative vote.
(7) Any proposal circulated among all members and agreed to in writing by a majority of all members shall
be of the same effect as a resolution passed at a duly constituted meeting of the Board and shall be incorporated in
the minutes of the next succeeding meeting of the Board:
Provided that, if a member requires that such a proposal be placed before a meeting of the Board, this subsection
shall not apply to such proposal.
12 Committees of the Board
(1) For the better exercise of its functions, the Board may establish committees in which may be vested and
on which may be imposed such of the functions of the Board as the Board may direct:
Provided that—
(i) the vesting or imposition of any such functions in a committee shall not divest the Board of such functions;
(ii) the Board may amend or withdraw any decision of any such committee in the exercise of its functions.
(2) The procedure of any committee of the Board shall be fixed by the Board.
(3) The chairman of the Board may at any time and place convene a meeting of a committee of the Board.
(4) On the establishment of a committee the Board—
(a) shall appoint to that committee at least one member of the Board, who shall be the chairman of the
committee;
(b) may appoint to that committee, on such terms and conditions as the Board may fix, persons who are not
members of the Board.
13 Right of certain officers to attend meetings, etc., of Board and committees
Such officers of the Public Service as the Minister may designate shall be entitled—
(a) to attend meetings of the Board or of a committee of the Board; and
(b) to take part in the proceedings of the Board or of a committee of the Board;
as if they were members, but shall not have a vote on any question before the Board or the committee.
14 Remuneration and expenses of members
A member or an alternate member of the Board or a member of a committee of the Board shall be paid from
the funds of the Grain Marketing Board—
(a) such remuneration, if any, as the Minister, after consultation with the Minister responsible for finance,
may fix;
(b) such allowances as the Minister, after consultation with the Minister responsible for finance, may fix to
meet any reasonable expenses incurred by him in connection with the business of the Grain Marketing
Board.
15 Members to declare interests
(1) If a member or his spouse—
(a) tenders for or acquires or holds a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a contract with the Grain Marketing
Board; or
(b) knowingly acquires or holds a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a company or firm applying