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National Productivity Board (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 14/1991

Read the first time on 11th March 1991.

An Act to amend the National Productivity Board Act (Chapter 200 of the 1985 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the National Productivity Board (Amendment) Act 1991 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 3

2. Section 3(2) of the National Productivity Board Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended by deleting the words “a common seal with” in the second line.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 4, and new section 4A

3. Section 4 of the principal Act is repealed and the following sections substituted therefor:

“Constitution of Board

4.—(1) The Board shall consist of —

(a)	a Chairman;
(b)	the Executive Director;
(c)	not more than 3 members representing the interests of the Government;
(d)	not more than 3 members representing the interests of employers;
(e)	not more than 3 members representing the National Trades Union Congress; and
(f)	not more than 3 members representing the professional and academic interests associated with productivity.

(2) The First Schedule shall apply to the Board, its members and proceedings.

Common seal

4A.—(1) The Board shall have a common seal and such seal may, from time to time, be broken, changed, altered and made anew as the Board thinks fit.

(2) All deeds, documents or other instruments requiring the seal of the Board shall be sealed with the common seal of the Board in the presence of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman and one other member of the Board or the Executive Director, who shall sign every deed, document or other instrument to which the common seal is affixed and such signing shall be sufficient evidence that the seal was duly and properly affixed and that the seal is the lawful seal of the Board.

(3) The Board may, by resolution or otherwise in writing, appoint an employee of the Board or any other agent either generally or in a particular case to execute or sign on behalf of the Board an agreement or other instrument not under seal in relation to any matter within the functions of the Board.”.

Amendment of section 6

4. Section 6 of the principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after paragraph (c), the following paragraphs:

“(ca)	to promote the development and upgrading of skills and expertise of persons in employment;
(cb)	to control and administer the Skills Development Fund in accordance with the Skills Development Levy Act [Cap. 306];”.

Amendment of section 7

5. Section 7 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting paragraph (a) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(a)	charge such amounts as the Board may from time to time determine for the use of facilities or services provided by the Board;”;

(b)

by deleting the word “and” at the end of paragraph (h);

(c)

by deleting the full-stop at the end of paragraph (i) and substituting a semi-colon, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraphs:

“(j)	with the written approval of the Minister, form or participate in the formation of companies;
(k)	with the written approval of the Minister, enter into any joint ventures or arrangements for the purpose of sharing profits or otherwise for the purposes of this Act;
(l)	make or guarantee loans to persons employed by the Board for purposes specifically approved by the Board;
(m)	raise loans from the Government or, with the approval of the Minister, from any source;
(n)	carry out such functions as may, by any written law, be conferred on the Board; and
(o)	do such other acts as appear to the Board to be incidental or necessary to the discharge of its functions under this Act.”.

Repeal of section 8

6. Section 8 of the principal Act is repealed.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 10

7. Section 10 of the principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor:

“Executive Director of Board

10.—(1) The Board shall, with the approval of the Minister, appoint an Executive Director of the Board on such terms and conditions as the Board may think fit.

(2) The Executive Director shall —

(a)	be responsible to the Board for the proper administration and management of the functions and affairs of the Board in accordance with the policy laid down by the Board; and
(b)	not be removed from office without the consent of the Minister.

(3) If the Executive Director is temporarily absent from Singapore or temporarily incapacitated by illness or for any other reason temporarily unable to perform his duties, another person may be appointed by the Board to act in place of the Executive Director during such period of absence from duty.”.

Amendment of section 11

8. Section 11 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting subsections (1) and (2) and substituting the following subsection:

“(1) The Board may —

(a)	appoint such number of employees on such terms as to remuneration or otherwise as the Board may determine and may terminate their service or exercise disciplinary control over them in accordance with their terms of service; and
(b)	engage and remunerate for their services such persons or agents as the Board considers necessary for carrying out its functions and duties.”;

(b)

by deleting the word “officers” wherever it appears in subsection (3) and substituting in each case the word “employees”, and by renumbering the subsection as subsection (2); and

(c)

by deleting the words “officers and” in the marginal note.

Amendment of section 13

9. Section 13 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by deleting the word “directors” and substituting the word “members”; and
(b)	by deleting the words “Directors and officers” in the marginal note and substituting the words “Members and employees”.

Repeal of sections 16 to 20 and re-enactment of sections 16 and 17

10. Sections 16 to 20 of the principal Act are repealed and the following sections substituted therefor:

“Financial provisions

16. The financial provisions set out in the Second Schedule shall apply to the Board.

Annual report

17.—(1) As soon as practicable after 1st April but not later than 30th September of each year, unless expressly authorised in writing by the Minister, the Board shall prepare a report of its activities and operations in the preceding financial year and shall send a copy of such report to the Minister.

(2) The Minister shall as soon as practicable present a copy of every such report to Parliament.”.

Amendment of section 21

11. Section 21 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately after paragraph (f) of subsection (1), the following paragraph:

“(fa)

all moneys, dividends or income received from any transactions made pursuant to the powers conferred on the Board by this Act;”; and

(b)

by deleting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsection:

“(2) Subject to the terms of any trust or endowment, any money belonging to the Board and available for investment may be invested in such securities as trustees may by any written law be authorised to invest or, with the written approval of the Minister, in any other securities or investments.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 22

12. Section 22 of the principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor:

“Regulations

22.—(1) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make such regulations as it may consider necessary or desirable for the proper conduct of the business of the Board and the execution of its functions.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Board may make regulations with regard to the following matters:

(a)	the test of proficiency in courses conducted by the Board;
(b)	the management of the income and funds of the Board; and
(c)	subscribing members.”.

Repeal of sections 24 and 25 and re-enactment of section 24

13. Sections 24 and 25 of the principal Act are repealed and the following section substituted therefor:

“Symbol of Board

24.—(1) The Board shall have the exclusive right to the use of such symbol or representation as it may select or devise (referred to in this section as the Board’s symbol) and thereafter display or exhibit in connection with its activities or affairs.

(2) Any person who uses a symbol or representation identical with, or which so resembles, the Board’s symbol as to deceive or cause confusion, or to be likely to deceive or to cause confusion, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.”.

Repeal of Schedule, and new First and Second Schedules

14. The Schedule to the principal Act is repealed and the following Schedules substituted therefor:

“FIRST SCHEDULE

Section 4(2).

Constitution and Proceedings of the Board

Appointment of Chairman, Deputy Chairman and other members

1.—(1) The Minister shall appoint the Chairman and the other members of the Board.

(2) The Minister may appoint one of the members of the Board to be the Deputy Chairman; and the Deputy Chairman may, subject to such directions as may be given by the Chairman, exercise all or any of the powers exercisable by the Chairman under this Act.

Term of office of members

2. The Chairman and every other member of the Board shall, unless their appointment is revoked or they resign during their term of office, hold office for a term of 3 years or such shorter period as the Minister may determine.

Temporary Chairman or Deputy Chairman

3. The Minister may appoint any member of the Board to be a temporary Chairman or temporary Deputy Chairman during the temporary incapacity from illness or otherwise, or during the temporary absence from Singapore of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman, as the case may be.

Revocation of appointment

4. The Minister may, at any time, revoke the appointment of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman or any member of the Board without assigning any reason.

Vacation of office

5. The office of a member of the Board shall be vacated if the member —

(a)	becomes in any manner disqualified for membership of the Board;
(b)	has been absent, without leave of the Board, from 3 consecutive meetings of the Board; or
(c)	resigns from his office.

Disqualification from membership

6. No person shall be appointed or shall continue to hold office as a member of the Board if he —

(a)	is of unsound mind;
(b)	is an undischarged bankrupt or has made any arrangement or composition with his creditors; or
(c)	is convicted of an offence involving dishonesty, fraud or moral turpitude and has not received a free pardon.

Disclosure of interest by members

7.—(1) A member of the Board who is in any way, directly or indirectly, interested in a transaction or project of the Board shall disclose the nature of his interest at the first meeting of the Board at which he is present after the relevant facts have come to his knowledge.

(2) A disclosure under sub-paragraph (1) shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Board and, after the disclosure, that member —

(a)	shall not take part in any deliberation or decision of the Board with respect to that transaction or project; and
(b)	shall be disregarded for the purpose of constituting a quorum of the Board for such deliberation or decision.

(3) No act or proceedings of the Board shall be questioned on the ground that a member of the Board has contravened this paragraph.

(4) This paragraph shall apply to any member of a committee appointed in accordance with section 9(1) when any member of the Board is present at a meeting of the committee.

Salaries, fees and allowances payable to members

8. There shall be paid to the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and other members of the Board out of the funds of the Board such salaries, fees and allowances as the Minister may, from time to time, determine.

Meetings of Board

9.—(1) The Chairman shall summon meetings as often as may be required but not less than once in 3 months.

(2) At every meeting of the Board, a quorum shall consist of 6 members.

(3) The Chairman or in his absence the Deputy Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Board.

(4) Where both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman are absent at a meeting, such member as the members present may elect shall preside at the meeting.

(5) Decisions at meetings of the Board shall be adopted by a simple majority of the votes of the members present and voting; and in the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman or in his absence the Deputy Chairman or the member presiding shall have a casting vote.

(6) The Executive Director shall not vote on any matter deliberated upon by the Board.

(7) The Board may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership.

(8) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board may make standing orders to regulate its own procedure, and, in particular, the holding of meetings, the notice to be given of such meetings, the proceedings thereat, the keeping of minutes and the custody, production and inspection of such minutes.

Validity of acts of members

10. The acts of a member of the Board shall be valid notwithstanding any defect that may afterwards be discovered in his appointment or qualifications.

SECOND SCHEDULE

Section 16.

Financial Provisions

Financial year

1. The financial year of the Board shall begin on 1st April of each year and end on 31st March of the succeeding year.

Accounts of Board

2. The Board shall keep proper accounts and records of its transactions and affairs and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of its moneys are correctly made and properly authorised and that adequate control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the Board and over the expenditure incurred by the Board.

Auditor

3.—(1) The accounts of the Board shall be audited by the Auditor-General or such other auditor as may be appointed annually by the Minister in consultation with the Auditor-General.

(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as an auditor under sub-paragraph (1) unless he is an approved company auditor under the Companies Act [Cap. 50].

(3) The remuneration of the auditor shall be paid out of the funds of the Board.

Financial statements

4. The Board shall, as soon as practicable but not later than 31st July in every year, prepare and submit the financial statements in respect of the preceding financial year to the auditor who shall audit and report on them.

Auditor’s report

5.—(1) The auditor shall in his report state —

(a)	whether the financial statements show fairly the financial transactions and the state of affairs of the Board;
(b)	whether proper accounting and other records have been kept, including records of all assets of the Board whether purchased, donated or otherwise;
(c)	whether the financial statements are prepared on a basis similar to that adopted for the preceding year;
(d)	whether the financial statements are in agreement with the accounting and other records;
(e)	whether the receipts, expenditure, investment of moneys, and the acquisition and disposal of assets by the Board during the financial year have been in accordance with this Act; and
(f)	such other matters arising from the audit as he considers should be reported.

(2) The auditor shall send an annual report of his audit to the Board not later than 30th September in each year.

(3) The auditor may at any other time report to the Minister through the Board upon any matter arising out of the performance of his audit.

Powers of auditor

6.—(1) The auditor or any person authorised by him is entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to all accounting and other records relating, directly or indirectly, to the financial transactions of the Board.

(2) The auditor or a person authorised by him may make copies of or extracts from any such accounting and other records.

(3) The auditor may require any person to furnish him with such information in the possession of that person or to which that person has access as the auditor considers necessary for the purposes of his functions under this Act.

Penalty for obstruction

7. Any person who fails without any reasonable cause to comply with any requirement of the auditor under paragraph 6(3) or who otherwise hinders, obstructs or delays the auditor in the performance of his functions under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $100 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.

Presentation of audited financial statements and auditor’s report

8.—(1) As soon as the accounts of the Board and the financial statements have been audited in accordance with the provisions of this Act but not later than 30th September in each year, a copy of the audited financial statements signed by the Chairman and certified by the auditor, together with a copy of any report made by the auditor, shall be submitted to the Minister.

(2) Where the Auditor-General is not the auditor of the Board, a copy of the audited financial statements and any report made by the auditor shall be forwarded to the Auditor-General at the same time they are submitted to the Board.

(3) The Minister shall as soon as practicable cause a copy of the audited financial statements and of the report of the auditor to be presented to Parliament.”.