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Bahamas Numbered Acts |
No. 32 of 2002 |
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AN ACT TO ESTABLISH AN EDUCATION LOAN |
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AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE FOR THE FUNCTIONS AND |
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POWERS OF THAT AUTHORITY AND FOR INCIDENTAL |
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MATTERS |
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(Date of Assent - 30th December, 2002) |
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Enacted by the Parliament of The Bahamas. |
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1.
This Act may be cited as The
Education Loan Authority Act, 2002 and shall come into force on
such date as the Minister may appoint
by notice published in the
Gazette.
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Short title and commencement. |
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2.
In this Act "Minister" means
the Minister responsible for Education.
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Interpretation. |
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3.(1)
There is established a body
corporate to be known as the Education Loan Authority.
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Establishment of Education Loan Authority. |
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(2)
The Schedule has effect with
respect to the constitution and proceedings of the Education Loan
Authority.
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Schedule. |
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4.(1)
The Education Loan Authority
is charged with the responsibility of raising moneys for the
educational loan guarantee scheme established
under the Educational
Guarantee Fund Act, 2001.
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Functions and powers of the Education Loan Authority. No. 24 of 2001. |
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(2)
In carrying out its functions
the Education Loan Authority shall have the power to do all acts as
appear to it to be requisite, advantageous
or convenient for or
incidental to its proper discharge and may carry on any activities
in that behalf alone or in association with
any other person.
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(3)
Without prejudice to the
generality of subsection (2), the Education Loan Authority shall
assume all existing liabilities incurred
by the Government of The
Bahamas prior to the commencement of this Act in relation to the
funding of the educational loan guarantee
scheme established under
the Educational Guarantee Fund Act, 2001.
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No. 24 of 2001. |
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5.(1)
The funds and resources of the
Education Loan Authority shall consist of -
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Funds and resources of The Education Loan Authority. |
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(a)
any moneys as from time to time
are provided by Parliament;
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(b)
any moneys as from time to time
are borrowed by the Education Loan Authority or raised by the
Education Loan Authority pursuant to
section 8;
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(c)
any moneys as from time to time
are advanced to the Education Loan Authority pursuant to section
10.
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(2)
Funds and revenues of the
Education Loan Authority shall be applied in the discharge of all
expenditure properly incurred in the carrying
out of the function
mentioned in section 4, in the repayment of any sums borrowed under
section 8, and any interests payable in respect
of those sums, in
the payment of interest on bonds and dividends on shares and stock
issued under section 11, for disbursements towards
the remuneration
and allowances to the officers, employees and members of the
Education Loan Authority, to repayment of any advance
made under
section 10 and the payment of any sums issued in fulfilment of any
guarantee given under section 10 as determined by the
Education
Loan Authority.
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6.
At the end of each financial
year, any moneys standing to the credit of the Education Loan
Authority and not required for any .current
purpose shall, after
consultation with the Minister of Finance, be paid into a reserve
fund.
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Surplus funds. |
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7.(1)
The Education Loan Authority
shall establish a reserve fund.
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Reserve Fund. |
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(2)
The management of the reserve
fund and the application thereof, shall be as the Education Loan
Authority may determine, but no part
of the fund shall be applied
otherwise than for the purpose of the Education Loan
Authority.
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8.(1)
The Education Loan Authority
may, with the prior approval of the Minister after the Minister has
consulted with the Minister of Finance,
borrow or raise capital
required by it for meeting its obligations or discharging its
function and may in respect of any borrowing
issue debentures,
debenture stock or raise capital by the issue of bonds, shares or
stock of such class and value and upon such terms
as the Education
Loan Authority may deem expedient.
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Borrowing and raising capital. |
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(2)
An approval given for the
purposes of subsection (1) may be either general or limited to a
particular borrowing or otherwise and may
be either unconditional
or subject to conditions.
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(3)
Notwithstanding subsection
(1), the Education Loan Authority may not borrow or raise capital
of an amount exceeding One Hundred Million
Dollars.
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(4)
The Education Loan Authority
may, with the prior approval of the Minister, make regulations to
provide for such matters in connection
with bonds, shares, stock,
debentures or debenture stock issued under this Act as may appear
necessary or expedient to the Education
Loan Authority, and, in
particular, for regulating the method of issue, transfer,
redemption, or other dealing with such bonds, shares,
stock,
debentures or debenture stock.
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9.
Notwithstanding subsection (4)
of section 8, the Education Loan Authority shall establish a
sinking fund for the redemption of any
security so issued and may
postpone a sinking fund contribution for such period or periods of
time as may be approved by the Minister
after the Minister has
consulted with Minister of Finance.
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Sinking fund. |
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10.(1)
Subject to subsection (3), the
Minister of Finance may make advances to the Education Loan
Authority for the purposes of enabling
the Education Loan Authority
to defray expenditure properly chargeable to its capital account,
including provision of working capital.
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Advances and guarantee of borrowings by the Government of The Bahamas. |
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(2)
Subject to subsection (3), the
Minister of Finance may guarantee, in writing on any such
conditions as he thinks fit, the repayment
of the principal of, and
the payment of interest and other charges on, any authorised
borrowings of the Education Loan Authority
made under section
8.
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(3)
No advance shall be made and
no guarantee shall be given under this section unless prior
approval thereof has been signified by the
House of Assembly in
accordance with section 17 of the Financial Administration and
Audit Act.
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Ch. 329. |
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(4)
Where a sum is paid pursuant
to a guarantee given under this section, the Minister of Finance
shall as soon as possible after the
end of each financial year
beginning with that in which the sum is issued and ending with that
in which all liability in respect
of the principal of the sum and
in respect of interest thereof is finally discharged, lay before
the House of Assembly a statement
relating to that sum.
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(5)
A sum required by the Minister
of Finance for making an advance and discharging a guarantee under
this section shall be charged on
and issued out of the Consolidated
Fund.
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11.(1)
The Education Loan Authority
shall make to the Minister of Finance at such times and in such
manner as the Minister of Finance may
direct, payments of any
amount as may be so directed in or towards repayment of an advance
made to the Education Loan Authority under
section 10 and of any
sums issued in fulfillment of a guarantee given under section 10
and payments of interest on what is outstanding for the time being
in respect of any sums so issued at such rate as the Minister
of
Finance may direct, and different rates of interest may be directed
with respect to different periods.
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Payment of, and interest on advances and sums issued to meet guarantee. |
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(2)
The Minister of Finance shall
lay before the House of Assembly a statement of any payments due
from the Education Loan Authority under
subsection (1) that is not
duly paid to him as required thereunder.
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12.(1)
The Education Loan Authority
shall keep proper accounts and other records in relation thereto,
and shall prepare in respect of each
financial year of the
Education Loan Authority a statement of accounts in such form as
the Minister may direct
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Accounts and audit. |
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(2)
The accounts of the Education
Loan Authority for each financial year shall be audited by an
auditor appointed by the Minister.
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(3)
Three months after the end of
each financial year the Education Loan Authority shall submit a
copy of the audited accounts to the
Minister together with a copy
of any report made by the auditor.
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(4)
The Minister shall lay a copy
of the audited accounts before each House of Parliament, together
with a copy of any report made by
the auditor on the
accounts.
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13.
The Minister may give written
directions to the Education Loan Authority concerning the
performance of its function, powers and duties,
either generally or
in relation to a particular matter, and the Educational Loan
Authority shall give effect to those directions.
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Directions. |
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SCHEDULE |
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A Body Corporate |
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1.(1)
The Education Loan Authority
shall be a body corporate established for public purposes having
perpetual succession and a common seal,
with power to purchase,
lease or otherwise acquire and hold and dispose of land and other
property of whatsoever kind.
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Incorporation. |
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(2)
The Education Loan Authority
may sue and be sued in its corporate name and may for all purposes
be described by such name, and service
upon the Education Loan
Authority of any document of whatsoever kind must be made by
delivering the document to or sending it by
prepaid registered post
addressed to the secretary of the Education Loan Authority at the
office of the Education Loan Authority.
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(3)
All property acquired or
becoming vested in the Education Loan Authority shall be held by
the Education Loan Authority in trust for
Her Majesty in right of
Her Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas for public
purposes.
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2.
The Education Loan Authority
shall consist of -
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Chairman and Members of the Education Loan Authority. |
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(a)
the following persons to be
appointed by the Governor-General after consultation with the
Minister, that is to say, a Chairman, a
Deputy Chairman and four
other members, being persons who have wide experience in, and have
shown capacity in financial or commercial
matters, education,
industry, law or administration; and
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(b)
the Educational Guarantee Fund
Act's Chairman of the Education Committee, ex-officio,
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Act No. 24 of 2001. |
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and paragraphs 1 and 3 to 12 of this Schedule shall have effect in relation to the Education Loan Authority, but subject, in the case of the Chairman of the Education Committee to the special provisions of paragraph 14. |
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3.
Subject to paragraphs 8 and 9,
a member of the Education Loan Authority shall hold office for such
period, not exceeding three years,
as the Governor-General may
direct in the instrument appointing such member, but such member
shall be eligible for re-appointment.
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Tenure of office. |
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4.
The Governor-General shall
appoint a Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Education Loan
Authority from among members and, if the Chairman
is absent or
unable to act, the Deputy Chairman shall act as Chairman during the
time such absence or inability continues.
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Chairman and Deputy Chairman. |
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5.
The Governor-General may by
instrument in writing appoint some suitable person as a member of
the Education Loan Authority to act
temporarily in the place of any
member of the Education Loan Authority in the case of the absence
or inability of such member to
act.
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Temporary appointment to Education Loan Authority. |
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6.(1)
A member of the Education Loan
Authority other than the Chairman may at any time resign his office
by instrument in writing addressed
to the Chairman, who shall
forthwith cause it to be forwarded to the Governor-General and from
the date of the receipt by the Chairman
of the instrument, the
member shall cease to be a member of the Education Loan
Authority.
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Resignation. |
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(2)
The Chairman of the Education
Loan Authority may at any time resign his office by instrument
addressed to the Governor-General and,
from the date of the receipt
by the Governor-General of the instrument, the Chairman shall cease
to be Chairman or a member of the
Education Loan Authority.
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7.
The Governor-General may by
instrument in writing revoke the appointment of any member of the
Education Loan Authority if the Governor-General
thinks it
expedient so to do.
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Removal. |
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8.
The appointment, removal,
death or resignation of a member of The Education Loan Authority
shall be notified in the Gazette.
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Publication. |
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9.
There shall be paid from the
funds of the Education Loan Authority to the Chairman and other
members of the Education Loan Authority
such remuneration, if any,
whether by way of honorarium, salary or fees, and such allowances,
if any, as the Minister may determine.
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Remuneration. |
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10.(1)
The seal of the Education Loan
Authority shall be kept in the custody of an officer of the
Education Loan Authority as the Education
Loan Authority may
approve, and may be affixed to instruments pursuant to a resolution
of the Education Loan Authority and in the
presence of the Chairman
or the Deputy Chairman and one other member.
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Seal. |
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(2)
All documents, other than
those required by law to be made under seal and all decisions of
the Education Loan Authority may be signified
under the hand of the
Chairman or Deputy Chairman.
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11.(1)
The Education Loan Authority
shall meet at such times as may be necessary or expedient for the
transaction of business, and such meetings
shall be held at such
places and times and on such days as the Chairman may
determine.
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Proceedings and meetings. |
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(2)
The Chairman, or in his
absence the Deputy Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the
Education Loan Authority.
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(3)
The Chairman, or in his
absence, the Deputy Chairman and three other members of the
Education Loan Authority shall form a quorum.
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(4)
The decisions of the Education
Loan Authority are by a majority of votes and, in addition to an
original vote, in any case in which
the voting is equal the
Chairman or the Deputy Chairman presiding at the meeting has a
casting vote.
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(5)
Minutes in proper form of each
meeting are to be kept by the secretary or any officer the
Education Loan Authority may appoint for
that purpose, and
confirmed by the Education Loan Authority at the next meeting and
signed by the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman
as the case may
be.
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(6)
The Education Loan Authority
may co-opt any one or more persons to attend any particular meeting
of the Education Loan Authority for
the purpose of assisting or
advising the Education Loan Authority in any matter with which the
Education Loan Authority is dealing,
but no co-opted person has the
right to vote.
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(7)
The validity of any
proceedings of the Education Loan Authority shall not be affected
by any vacancy amongst the members thereof or
by any defect in the
appointment of a member thereof.
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12.
The Education Loan Authority
is exempt from liability for any tax, duty , rate, levy or other
charge whatsoever.
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Exemptions. |
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13.
Subject to this Schedule the
Education Loan Authority has the power to regulate its own
proceedings.
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The Education Loan Authority to regulate own proceedings. |
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14.
The following provisions of
this Schedule shall not apply to the Chairman of the Education
Committee, that is to say, paragraph 3;
paragraph 5; paragraph 6;
and paragraph 7.
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Special provisions regarding the Chairman of the Education Committee. |
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15.(1)
The Education Loan Authority
may appoint and employ on such terms and conditions as it thinks
fit, any officer, servant or agent that
the Education Loan
Authority considers necessary for the proper carrying out of the
provisions of this Act.
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Staff. |
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(2)
Notwithstanding subsection
(1), the Minister may appoint and employ on such terms and
conditions as the Minister thinks fit, a chief
administrative
officer and a financial officer.
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16.(1)
Where a public officer holding
a pensionable office under the Government of The Bahamas, ceases to
be the holder of that office by
reason of his transfer with his
consent to the service of the Education Loan Authority and that
person subsequently retires from
the service of the Education Loan
Authority in such circumstances that, had he remained a public
officer, he would have been eligible
for pension under the Pensions
Act, then in any such case subsections (2) and (3) shall have
effect.
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Pension of persons transferred from public service to the Education Loan Authority. Ch. 35. |
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(2)
A pension payable to a person
mentioned in subsection (1) by the Education Loan Authority to
whose service he has been transferred
shall be calculated and
granted to him in respect of his total service under the Government
of The Bahamas and with the Education
Loan Authority taken together
and such service shall be reckoned as continuous for pension
purposes.
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(3)
There shall be payable out of
the Consolidated Fund upon the warrant of the Minister of Finance
to the Education Loan Authority a
contribution to every pension
paid in accordance with subsection (2), such amounts as would have
been payable to the person concerned
by way of pension under the
Pensions Act, if that person had retired from the public service
and if he has been granted a pension
under the Pensions Act upon
the date of his ceasing to be a public officer.
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Ch. 35. Ch. 35. |
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17.(1)
The Education Loan Authority
may, as regards any officer, servant or agent in whose case it may
be determined by the Education Loan
Authority, with the approval of
the Minister of Finance, to make provision for the payment on the
death, injury or retirement of
that officer, servant or agent,
pension, gratuity or other like benefit, pay or provide for the
payment of that pension, gratuity
or other like benefit to the
officer, servant or agent or to others by reference to their
service as may be determined.
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Pensions, etc. |
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(2)
Provision for pensions,
gratuities or other like benefits under this section may be either
by contributory or non-contributory arrangements
or partly by the
one or by the other.
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