National Agency for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Substance Abusers Act (Act 25)

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  • Country: Mauritius
  • Language: English
  • Document Type: Domestic Law or Regulation
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NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE TREATMENT AND
NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION OF SUBSTANCE ABUSERS ACT 1996

Act No. 25 of 1996

Proclaimed by [
Proclamation No. 11 of 1996] w. e. f. 1 st December 1996

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section
1.
Short title 13. General Fund
2.
Interpretation 14. Execution of documents
3.
Establishment of the Agency 15 . Powers of the Minister
4.
Objects of the Agency 16 . Exemption
5.
Management of the Agency 17. Donations
6.
Terms of Office 18. Accounts of the Agency
7.
Meetings of the Board 19. Auditor
8.
Membership of the Board 20. Regulations
9.
Powers of the Board 21. Consequential amendment
10.
Executive Director 22. Transitional provisions
11.
Appointment of staff 23. Repeal
12.
Protection of officers 24. Commencement

1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the National Agency for the Treatment and Rehab
ilitation of
Substance Abusers Act 1996.

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NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE TREATMENT AND
2. Interpretation
In this Act—
“Agency” means the National Agency for the Treatment and Rehabilit
ation of Substance
Abusers established under section 3(1);

“Board” means the Board referred to in section 5(1);

“Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Board;

“member” means a member of the Board and includes the Chairperson;
“Minister” means the Minister responsible for the subject of Socia
l Security and National
Solidarity;
“substance” means a natural or synthetic product, whether licit or
illicit, which —
(a) has a potential for abuse or for dependence by individuals;
and
(b) has harmful effects on the physical and mental health of those
individuals.
3. Establishment of the Agency
(1) There is established for the purposes of this Act the National Ag
ency for the
Treatment and Rehabilitation of Substance Abusers.

(2) The Agency shall be a body corporate.

4. Objects of the Agency

The objects of the Agency shall be—

(a) to co-ordinate and facilitate efforts at national level towards th
e implementation
of programme for the prevention of substance abuse and the treatment and

rehabilitation of substance abusers;

(b) to complement existing facilities for—

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NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE TREATMENT AND
(i) the prevention of substance abuse and
(ii)the treatment and rehabilitation of substance abusers;
(c) to mobilize resources locally and overseas for treatment and rehab
ilitation of
substance abusers;
(d) to set up and manage institutions for the treatment and rehabilita
tion of
substance abusers;

(e) to provide after-care services for the rehabilitation of substance
abusers;

(f) to advise, guide and help voluntary social organizations engaged i
n the
prevention of substance abuse and in the treatment and rehabilitation of

substance abusers.
5. Management of the Agency

(1) The Agency shall be administered and managed by a Board.
(2) The Board shall consist of —

(a) a Chairperson;
(b) a representative of the Prime Minister’s Office;
(c) a representative of the Ministry of Social Security and National S
olidarity;
(d) a representative of the Ministry of Health;
(e) the Commissioner of Police or his representative;
(f) the Commissioner of Prisons or his representative;

(g) 4 members from non-Governmental organisations, and

who have wide experience in the prevention of
substance abuse, treatment or rehabilitation of
substance abusers;
(h)
a representative of employers who shall be
appointed by the Minister
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NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE TREATMENT AND
(i) a representative of trade unions who shall be
appointed by the Minister;

(j) 2 members who shall be appointed by the Minister.

(3) The Chairperson shall be appointed by the Minister after co
nsultation with
the Prime Minister.
(4) The Minister shall appoint the members referred to in subse
c­tion (2)(g) and
one of the members appointed shall be from the Island of Rodrigues.
6. Terms of office
(1) The Chairperson shall hold office for 2 years and shall be
eligible for re-
appointment.
(2) The members specified in section 5(2) (g), (h), (i) and (j) shall hold office for
one year and shall be eligible for re-appointment.
7. Meetings of the Board

(1) The Board shall meet at least once a month and at such othe
r times as may
be determined by the chairperson

(2) Seven members of the Board shall constitute a quorum
.
8. Membership of the Board

(1) A person who is an office-bearer of a political party or a
member of the
National Assembly or a Local Authority shall not be qualified to be a me
mber of the
Board.
(2) A member shall cease to be a member if he becomes an office-
bearer of a
political party or a member of the National Assembly or of a local autho
rity.
9. Powers of the Board

The Board shall do such things as are requisite and advantageous in furt
herance of the
objects of the Agency and may in particular —
(a) receive funds from the Government and raise funds from other sourc
es for
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NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE TREATMENT AND
the prevention of substance abuse, treatment and rehabilitation of subst
ance
abusers;
(b) allocate funds to non-governmental organisations involved in the p
revention
of substance abuse and the treatment and rehabilitation of substance abu
sers;
(c) set up such committees as it deems fit for the purpose of carrying
out its
objects;

(d) co-opt such persons as may assist it in carrying out its objects;
(e) compile information or data on any matter falling within the objec
ts of the
Agency; and
(f) charge fees for the treatment and rehabilitation of substance abusers.
10. Executive Director
(1) There shall be a Director who shall be the chief executive of
the Agency.
(2) The Director shall be responsible for the execution of the pol
icy of the Board
and the control and management of the Agency.
(3) The Director shall, unless otherwise decided by the Board, att
end every
meeting of the Board.
(4) The Director may take part in the deliberations of the Board.
but he shall have
no right of vote.

11. Appointment of staff

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Board may employ, on such ter
ms and
conditions as it thinks fit, such officers as may be necessary for the p
roper carrying
out by the Agency of its objects.
(2) Any appointment under subsection (1) shall be subject to the
approval of the
Minister.
(3) All officers employed by the Board shall be under the administra
tive control of
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NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE TREATMENT AND
the Director.

12. Protection of officers

No liability, civil or criminal, shall attach to any officer
in respect of any act which is
done or omitted by the officer in good faith in the execution or purport
ed execution of the
duties of the Agency under this Act.

13. General Fund

(1) The Agency shall establish a General Fund —

(a) into which all money received by the Agency shall be paid;
and

(b) out of which all payments required be made by
the Agency shall be effected.
(2) The Agency may, in carrying out its objects, charge to the
General Fund all
remuneration, salaries, fees, working expenses and other charges properl
y arising.
14. Execution of documents

No document shall be executed by or on behalf of the Agency unless it is
signed by —
(a) the Chairperson or, in his absence, by a member designated by the
Board;
and
(b) the Director or, in his absence, by another officer of the Agency design
ated
by the Board.
15. Powers of the Minister

The Minister may give such directions of a general character to the Boar
d, not
inconsistent with this Act, as the Minister considers necessary in the p
ublic interest and
the Board shall comply with these directions.
16. Exemptions

(1) The Agency shall be exempt from the payment of income tax.

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NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE TREATMENT AND
(2) No stamp duty or registration fee shall be payable in respect of
any document
signed or executed by the Agency or under which the Agency is a benefici
ary.
17. Donations

Article 910 of the Code Napoleon shall not apply to any donation receive
d by the Agency.
18. Accounts of the Agency

(1) The Board shall on or before 31 October in every year, submit
to the Minister a
report together with an audited statement of accounts on the operations
of the
Agency in respect of the preceding 12 months ending on 30 June of the sa
me year.
(2) The report of the Board shall be laid before the National Asse
mbly.
19. Auditor

The auditor to be appointed under section 5(1) of the Statutory Bodies (Accounts and
Audit) Act shall be the Director of Audit.
20. Regulations
The Minister may make such regulations as the Minister thinks fit for th
e purposes of this
Act.
21. Consequential amendments

Subject to section 22(4), the Statutory Bodies (Accounts and Au
dit) Act is amended in
Part II of the Schedule by adding the following item —
National Agency for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Substance Abuser
s.

22. Transitional provisions
(1) The rights and liabilities of the Trust Fund for the Treatm
ent and
Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts shall vest in the Agency.
(2) Any proceedings, judicial or otherwise, started by or against the
Trust
Fund for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts shall be deeme
d to have
been started by or against the Agency.
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NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE TREATMENT AND
(3) For the purposes of this section, the Trust Fund for the Tr
eatment and
Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts means the Trust Fund for the Treatment an
d
Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts established under the Treatment and Rehab
ilitation of
Drug Addicts (Trust Fund) Act 1986.
(4) For the purposes of the Statutory Bodies (Accounts and Aud
it) Act, the
period extending from the commencement of this Act to 30 June next follo
wing shall
be the first financial year of the Agency.
(5) Section 7(1) of the Statutory Bodies (Accounts and Audi
t) Act shall not
apply in relation to the first financial year of the Agency.
23. Repeal

The Treatment and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts (Trust Fund) Act 1986
is hereby
repealed.
24. Commencement

Proclaimed by [
Proclamation No. 11 of 1996] w. e. f. 1 st December 1996

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