15. Each Member of the Commission shall contribute to the budget in accordance with Article12 of the Convention.

16.Staff Assessment Levy paid by an employee of the Commission shall be regarded by the Commission as payment towards the annual budget contribution for the year.

17.On approval of the budget for a financial year, the Executive Secretary shall send a copy thereof to all Members of the Commission notifying them of their contributions and requesting them to remit their contributions due. A Member of the Commission that fails to pay its contributions for two consecutive years shall not, during the period of its default, have the right to participate in the taking of decisions in the Commission.

18.All contributions shall be made in Namibian dollars or the equivalent amount in United States dollars.

19.Except in the first financial year, a new Member of the Commission whose membership becomes effective during the first six months of the financial year shall be liable to pay the full amount of the annual contribution which would have been payable had it been a Member of the Commission when assessments were made under Article 12 of the Convention. A new Member, whose membership becomes effective during the last six months of the financial year, shall be liable to pay half of the amount of the annual contribution referred to above. In the first financial year all Members whose membership becomes effective during the first nine months of the year shall be liable to pay the full amount of the annual contributions. A Member whose membership becomes effective during the last three months of the first financial year shall be liable to pay half the amount of the first annual contribution;

20.Where contributions are received from new Members the contributions of existing Members shall be adjusted in accordance with Regulation 26.

21.Except in the first financial year when contributions shall be paid within 90 days of the end of the first Commission meeting, contributions shall be due for payment on the first day of the financial year (i.e. the due date) and shall be paid not later than 60 days after that date. The Commission has the authority to permit extensions to the due date of up to 90 days for individual Members who are unable to comply with this regulation due to the timing of the financial years of their governments. However, in the case referred to in Regulation 19, contributions by a new Member shall be made within 90 days following the date on which its membership becomes effective. If payment is made after the due date in United States dollars, the net payment received by the Commission shall be equivalent to the amount of Namibian dollars payable on the due date.

22.The Executive Secretary shall report to each meeting of the Commission on the receipt of the contributions and the position of arrears.

PART VI: FUNDS

23. There shall be established a General Fund for the purpose of accounting for the income and expenditure of the Commission and Compliance and Scientific Committees and any subsidiary bodies established pursuant to the Convention;
 

24. Contributions paid by Members under Regulation 15 and miscellaneous income to finance general expenditure shall be credited to the General Fund;
 

25.Any cash surplus in the General Fund at the close of a financial year that is not required to meet undischarged commitments in terms of Regulation 12 shall be divided in proportion to the contributions made by existing Members under Regulation 15 in the current financial year and used to offset such Members’ contributions for the ensuing financial year. This provision shall not apply at the end of the first financial year when surplus funds other than those resulting from contributions by new Members may be carried over into the following financial year;

26. Where contributions are received from new Members after the commencement of the financial year and such funds have not been taken into account in formulating the budget, appropriate adjustment shall be made to the level of the assessed contributions of existing Members and such adjustments recorded as advances made by such Members;

27. Advances made by Members shall be carried to the credit of the Members that have made such advances.

28. Trust and Special Funds may be established by the Commission for the purpose of receiving funds and making payments for purposes not covered by the regular budget of the Commission.

PART VII: SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FUND

29. A Special Requirements Fund shall be established for the purposes identified in article 21 of the Convention, including:

(a) assisting developing States Party members and, where appropriate, territories and possessions, with human resources development, technical assistance and transfer of technology in relation to conservation and management of highly migratory fish stocks in the Convention Area and development of fisheries for such stocks; and

(b) building capacity for activities in key areas such as effective exercise of flag State responsibilities, monitoring, control and surveillance, data collection and scientific research relevant to highly migratory fish stocks on a national and/or regional level.

30. The Special Requirements Fund shall be financed from voluntary contributions and such other sources as the Commission may identify. The fund will be administered by the Executive Secretary, in accordance with the same financial controls as regular budget appropriations.

31. The Executive Secretary shall establish a process for notifying the members of the Commission annually of the level of available funds in the Special Requirements Fund, which shall include a timeline and a format for the submission of applications for assistance.

32. In accordance with the provisions of Article 21, paragraph 4, of the Convention, developing States Parties, and, where appropriate, territories and possessions, will be eligible to receive assistance from the Special Requirements Fund.

33. Those eligible, in accordance with Regulation 32, may submit an application for assistance from the fund. An application may also be submitted by an appropriate subregional or regional organization or arrangement on behalf of one or more of those eligible. Any application should specify how it relates to the purposes identified in Regulation 29 and include a description of the desired outputs of the project or expenditure and an itemization of anticipated costs.

34. The Commission shall consider the applications for assistance. The Commission shall be guided by the purposes of the fund, the provisions of the Convention, the financial needs of the applicant and the availability of funds. Assistance shall be provided on an impartial basis. Consideration of applications shall also include an assessment of whether any existing sources of assistance are available. Decisions by the Commission on assistance from the fund shall take into account the size of the fund and the need for cost-effectiveness.

35. The Executive Secretary shall submit an annual report to the Commission on the status of the fund, including a financial statement of contributions to an disbursements from the fund. Recipients of assistance shall be required to provide to the Executive Secretary a report on the purpose and outcome of each approved project and a summary of expenditures.

PART VIII: OTHER INCOME

36.  All income other than contributions to the budget under Regulation 15 and that referred to in Regulation 38 below, shall be classified as Miscellaneous Income and credited to the General Fund. The use of Miscellaneous Income shall be subject to the same financial controls as activities financed from regular budget appropriations.

37. Voluntary contributions above and beyond Members’ budget contributions may be accepted by the Executive Secretary provided that the purposes for which the contributions are made are consistent with the policies, aims and activities of the Commission. Voluntary contributions offered by non-Members may be accepted, subject to agreement by the Commission that the purposes of the contribution are consistent with the policies, aims and activities of the Commission.

38. Voluntary contributions shall be treated as Trust or Special Funds under Regulation 28.

PART IX: CUSTODY OF FUNDS

39. The Executive Secretary shall designate a bank or banks in Namibia in which the funds of the Commission shall be kept and shall report the identity of the bank or banks so designated to the Commission.

40. The Executive Secretary may make short-term investments of moneys not needed for the immediate requirements of the Commission. Such investments shall be restricted to securities and other investments issued by Namibian institutions or Government bodies with current ratings, provided by a rating body approved by the Commission’s auditor, indicating a strong capacity to pay. The details of investment transactions and income derived shall be reported in the documents supporting the budget.

41. With regard to moneys held in Trust or Special Funds for which use is not required for at least 12 months, longer-term investments may be authorised by the Commission provided such action is consistent with the terms under which the moneys were lodged with the Commission. Such investments shall be restricted to securities and other investments issued by Namibian institutions or Government bodies with current ratings, provided by a rating body approved by the Commission’s auditor, indicating a strong capacity to pay.

42. Income derived from investments shall be credited to the Fund from which the investment was made.

PART X: INTERNAL CONTROL

43. The Executive Secretary shall:
 

a) establish detailed financial rules and procedures after consultation with the external auditor to ensure effective financial administration and the exercise of economy in the use of funds;

b) cause all payments to be made on the basis of supporting vouchers and other documents which ensure that the goods or services have been received and that payment has not previously been made;
 

c) designate officers who may receive moneys, incur obligations and make payments on behalf of the Commission; and
 

d) maintain and be responsible for internal financial control to ensure:
(i) the regularity of the receipt, custody and disposal of all funds and other financial resources of the Commission;
(ii) the conformity of obligations and expenditures with the appropriations adopted by the annual meeting; and
(iii) the economic use of the resources of the Commission.

44. No obligations shall be incurred until allotments or other appropriate authorizations have been made in writing under the authority of the Executive Secretary.

45. The Executive Secretary may propose to the Commission, after full investigation by him or her, the writing off of losses of assets, provided that the external auditor so recommends. Such losses shall be included in the annual accounts.
 

46. Tenders in writing for equipment, supplies and other requirements shall be invited by advertisement, or by direct requests for quotation from at least three persons or firms able to supply the equipment, supplies, or other requirements, if such exist, in connection with all purchases or contracts, the amounts of which exceed N$10,000 (Namibian dollars). For amounts less than $10,000, competition shall be obtained either by the above means or by telephone or personal enquiry. The foregoing rules,
shall, however, not apply in the following cases:
 

a) where it has been ascertained that only a single supplier exists and that fact is so certified by the Executive Secretary;

b) in case of emergency, or where, for any other reason, these rules would not be in the best financial interests of the Commission, and that fact is so certified by the Executive Secretary.

PART XI: THE ACCOUNTS

47. The Executive Secretary shall ensure that appropriate records and accounts are kept of the transactions and affairs of the Commission and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of the Commission’s moneys are correctly made and properly authorised and that adequate control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the Commission and over the incurring of liabilities by the Commission.

48. The Executive Secretary shall submit to the Members of the Commission, not later than 31 March immediately following the end of the financial year, annual financial statements showing, for the financial year to which they relate:
 

a) the income and expenditure relating to all funds and accounts;

b) the situation with regard to budget provisions, including:
i. the original budget provisions;
ii. the approved expenditure in excess of the original budget provisions;
iii. any other income;
iv. the amounts charged against these provisions and other income;

c) the financial assets and liabilities of the Commission;

d) details of investments;

e) losses of assets proposed in accordance with Regulation 45.

49. The Executive Secretary shall also give such other information as may be appropriate to indicate the financial position of the Commission. These financial statements shall be prepared in a form approved by the Commission after consultation with the external auditor.

50. The accounting transactions of the Commission shall be recorded in the currency in which they took place but the annual financial statements shall record all transactions in Namibian dollars.

51. Appropriate separate accounts shall be kept for all Special and Trust Funds.

52. The annual financial statements shall be submitted by the Executive Secretary to the external auditor in accordance with Article 12 of the Convention at the same time as they are submitted to Members of the Commission under Regulation 48.

PART XII: EXTERNAL AUDIT

53. The Commission shall appoint an external auditor who shall be the Auditor-General or equivalent statutory authority from a Member of the Commission and shall serve for a term of two years with the possibility of re-appointment. The Commission will ensure respect for the external auditor’s independence of the Commission, the Compliance Committee and the Scientific Committee, their subsidiary bodies and the Commission’s staff, fix the terms of office, appropriate funds to the external auditor and may consult him or her on the introduction or amendment of any financial regulations or detailed accounting methods as well as on all matters affecting auditing procedures and methodology.

54. The external auditor or a person or persons authorised by him or her shall be entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to all accounts and records of the Commission relating directly or indirectly to the receipt or payment of moneys by the Commission or to the acquisition, receipt, custody or disposal of assets by the Commission. The external auditor or a person or persons authorised by him or her may make copies of or take extracts from any such accounts or records.

55. If required by the Commission to perform a full audit, the external auditor shall conduct his or her examination of the statements in conformity with generally accepted auditing standards and shall report to the Commission on all relevant matters,
including:

a) whether, in his or her opinion, the statements are based on proper accounts and records;
 

b) whether the statements are in agreement with the accounts and records;

c) whether, in his or her opinion, the income, expenditure and investment of moneys and the acquisition and disposal of assets by the Commission during the year have been in accordance with these Regulations; and
 

d) observations with respect to the efficiency and economy of the financial procedures and the conduct of business, the accounting system, internal financial controls and the administration and management of the Commission.
 

56. If required by the Commission to perform a review audit, the external auditor shall review the statements and accounting controls in operation. He or she shall report to the Commission whether anything has come to his or her attention which would cause him or her to doubt whether:

a) the statements are based on proper accounts and records;

b) the statements are in agreement with the accounts and records; or

c) the income, expenditure and investment of moneys and the acquisition and disposal of assets by the Commission during the year have been in accordance with these Regulations.
 

57.  The Executive Secretary shall provide the external auditor with the facilities he or she may require in the performance of the audit.
 

58. The Executive Secretary shall provide to the Members of the Commission a copy of the audit report and the audited financial statements within 30 days of their receipt.

59.  The Commission shall, if necessary, invite the external auditor to attend discussions on any item under scrutiny and consider recommendations arising out of his or her findings.

PART XIII: ACCEPTANCE OF ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

60. The Commission shall, following consideration of the audited annual financial statements and audit report submitted to its Members under the Regulations relating to External Audit, signify its acceptance of the audited annual financial statements or
take such other action as it may consider appropriate.

PART XIV: INSURANCE

61. The Commission may take out suitable insurances with a reputable financial institution against normal risks to its assets.

PART XV: GENERAL PROVISION

62. Subject to the provisions of the Convention, these Regulations may be amended by the Commission in accordance with its Rules of Procedure.

63. Where the Commission, the Compliance Committee or the Scientific Committee are considering matters that may lead to a decision which has financial or administrative implications, it shall have before it an evaluation of those implications from the
Executive Secretary.