Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999)Chapter 6 : Public EntitiesPart 2: Accounting authorities for public entities50. Fiduciary duties of accounting authorities |
| (1) | The accounting authority for a public entity must— |
| (a) | exercise the duty of utmost care to ensure reasonable protection of the assets and records of the public entity; |
| (b) | act with fidelity, honesty, integrity and in the best interests of the public entity in managing the financial affairs of the public entity; |
| (c) | on request, disclose to the executive authority responsible for that public entity or the legislature to which the public entity is accountable, all material facts, including those reasonably discoverable, which in any way may influence the decisions or actions of the executive authority or that legislature; and |
| (d) | seek, within the sphere of influence of that accounting authority, to prevent any prejudice to the financial interests of the state. |
| (2) | A member of an accounting authority or, if the accounting authority is not a board or other body, the individual who is the accounting authority, may not-- |
| (a) | act in a way that is inconsistent with the responsibilities assigned to an accounting authority in terms of this Act; or |
| (b) | use the position or privileges of, or confidential information obtained as, accounting authority or a member of an accounting authority, for personal gain or to improperly benefit another person. |
| (3) | A member of an accounting authority must— |
| (a) | disclose to the accounting authority any direct or indirect personal or private business interest that that member or any spouse, partner or close family member may have in any matter before the accounting authority; and |
| (b) | withdraw from the proceedings of the accounting authority when that matter is considered, unless the accounting authority decides that the member's direct or indirect interest in the matter is trivial or irrelevant. |