| (1) | A member of the Board must disclose, at a meeting of the Board, or in writing to each of the other members, any interest in a matter that is being or will be considered by him or her, whether or not at a meeting of the Board, being an interest that— |
| (2) | A disclosure in terms of subsection (1) must be given as soon as practicable after the member concerned becomes aware of the interest. |
| (3) | A member referred to in subsection (1) may not perform a function in relation to the matter concerned unless— |
| (a) | the member has disclosed the interest in accordance with subsection (1); and |
| (b) | the other members of the Board have decided that the interest cannot be seen as affecting the member’s proper execution of his or her functions in relation to the matter. |
| (4) | A member of a committee of the Ombud Council established in terms of section 51(1)(a)(ii) of the Public Finance Management Act or section 187(1) of this Act must disclose, at a meeting of the committee, or in writing to each of the other members of that committee, any interest in a matter that is being or is intended to be considered by that committee, being an interest that— |
| (b) | a person who is a related party to the member has. |
| (5) | A disclosure in terms of subsection (4) must be given as soon as practicable after the member concerned becomes aware of the interest. |
| (6) | A person referred to in subsection (1) or (4) may not participate in the consideration of, or decision on, that matter by the Board or the committee, as the case may be, unless— |
| (a) | the person has disclosed the interest in accordance with subsection (1) or (4); and |
| (b) | the other members of the Board or that committee have decided that the interest cannot be seen as affecting the member’s proper execution of his or her functions in relation to the matter. |
(7)
| (a) | Each member of the Ombud Council’s staff and each other person involved in the performance of the functions or the exercise of the powers of the Ombud Council must make timely, proper and adequate disclosure of their interests, including the interests of a related party, that could reasonably be seen as interests that may affect the proper execution of their functions of office or a delegated power. |
| (b) | The Chief Ombud must ensure that paragraph (a) is complied with. |
| (8) | For the purposes of this section, it does not matter— |
| (a) | whether an interest is direct, indirect, pecuniary or non-pecuniary; or |
| (b) | when the interest was acquired. |
| (9) | For the purposes of this section, a person does not have to disclose— |
| (a) | the fact that that person, or a person who is a related party to that person, is— |
| (i) | an official or employee of the Ombud Council; or |
| (b) | an interest that is not material. |
| (10) | The Chief Ombud must maintain a register of all disclosures made in terms of this section and of all decisions made in terms of this section. |
[Section 193 to take effect on 1 April 2020, per Notice No. 1130 of 2019, GG 42677, dated 30 August 2019]
