Statistics Act, 1999 (Act No. 6 of 1999)5. Duties and powers of Minister |
| (1) | The Minister must— |
| (a) | on the recommendation of the Statistician-General, prioritise the work programme of Statistics South Africa, in accordance with the purpose of official statistics and the statistical principles contemplated in section 3 and both having been advised in this regard by the Council; |
| (b) | monitor the performance of the Statistician-General of his or her functions— |
| (i) | as accounting officer of Statistics South Africa; and |
| (ii) | generally with regard to the financial affairs and organisational functioning of Statistics South Africa; |
| (c) | determine the specific performance criteria, referred to in section 12(3) of the Public Service Act, for evaluating the performance of the Statistician-General and monitor compliance with those criteria; |
| (d) | approve or disapprove the inception, variation or discontinuance of statistical collection by a Minister or an organ of state other than Statistics South Africa, as provided in section 14(1) and (2); |
| (e) | after consultation with the Cabinet, appoint the members of the Council as provided in section 8(3). |
| (2) | The Minister may— |
| (a) | subject to subsection (3), direct the Statistician-General to undertake any statistical collection; |
| (b) | subject to subsection (4) and on the recommendation of the Statistician-General, enter into an international agreement with the government of any other state or any international organisation relating to the purpose of this Act; |
| (c) | after consultation with the Cabinet, terminate the membership of a member of the Council as provided in section 9(3). |
| (3) | The Minister may not interfere with the power of the Statistician-General to decide, in respect of the activities of Statistics South Africa, on— |
| (a) | the manner in which, and the time when, a statistical collection is to be undertaken; |
| (b) | the form, extent and timing of the release of statistical information; or |
| (c) | whether a statistical collection should be discontinued. |
| (4) | The Minister may only enter into an international agreement in terms of subsection (2)(b) if authorised in accordance with the applicable law by the national executive which, in terms of section 231(1) of the Constitution, is responsible for the negotiating and signing of international agreements. |