Governance of Agricultural Bioresources Agency

L.N. 149 of 2017

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ACT

(CAP. 497)

Governance of Agricultural Bioresources Agency

(Establishment) Order, 2017

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 36(1) of the

Public Administration Act, the Prime Minister has made the

following Order:-

The title of this Order is the Governance of Agricultural

Bioresources Agency (Establishment) Order, 2017.

(Regulation 2)

Swine and bovine slurries from registered farm holdings

Swine and bovine manure from registered farm holdings

€0.45

In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Act" means the Public Administration Act;

"the Agency" means

the

Governance

of

Agricultural

Bioresources Agency;

"agricultural bioresources" refers to manure and slurries and

other by-products that may from time to time be established by the

Agency in accordance with the Schedule, from the agricultural,

poultry, livestock, and the transformation industry;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Agriculture and

includes any person authorized by such Minister on that behalf;

"Permanent Secretary"

means

the

Permanent

Secretary

responsible for Agriculture.

There shall be an Agency, to be known as the Governance

of Agricultural Bioresources Agency, with a separate and distinct

legal personality, which shall update, co-ordinate and implement the

Agricultural Waste Management Plan prevalent at the time. The

Agency shall have an overall mission to sustainably manage

agricultural bioresources in a manner that supports the Maltese

agricultural sector.

(1)

In the execution of its functions, the Agency shall

have the following responsibilities

(a)

the registration of agricultural bioresources in the

Maltese Islands;

(b)

to declare, at any point in time, any agricultural

bioresource as having to be registered with the Agency for the

purpose of its better management including its collection,

treatment or disposal;

(c)

to ensure that the Maltese Islands are covered by a

system of treatment approaches leading to the production of

fertilisers, energy and other resource outputs as well as the

disposal of residual waste including export of untreated waste;

(d)

to encourage the minimization of organic waste

generation by the sector and optimize management options;

(e)

to contribute towards ensuring that local legislation

governing the disposal or discharge of agricultural bioresources

are complied with by all stakeholders;

(f)

to coordinate its activities with relevant authorities

involved in order to ensure compliance with legislative and

regulatory requirements;

(g)

to maintain dialogue with stakeholders; and

undertake educational activities aimed at better informing the

rural sector;

(h)

to regulate its own procedures as long as it does not

violate the provisions of any other relevant law.

(2) The Agency shall have the power to

(a)

enter into long term agreements with producers and

users of manure and providers of treatment and, or, disposal

facilities to safeguard the sustainability of disposal and

treatment operations;

(b)

enter into public-private partnerships to fulfil its

responsibilities;

(c)

establish fees for the services it provides;

(d)

create revenue streams from the sale of any

bioresources;

(e)

conduct applied research activities that will focus

at identifying potential technological mixes for the production

of marketable goods at the local and export level;

(f)

enter into contracts, of acquiring, holding and

disposing of any kind of property or rights for the purposes of

its functions, of suing and being sued, and of doing all such

things and entering into all such transactions as are conducive or

incidental to the exercise or performance of its functions under

this Order;

(g)

with the approval in writing of the Minister given

after consultation with the Minister responsible for finance,

borrow, secure or raise money by debentures, debenture stock,

or other security, for the carrying out of the functions of the

Agency under this Order;

(h)

undertake any other initiative or activity that is

complementary and conducive to the fulfilment of the

responsibilities of the Agency, which may also include the

direct involvement in the transport, treatment and exporting

activities.

(1)

The Minister responsible for the Agency shall be

the Minister responsible for agriculture.

(2) The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for

agriculture shall supervise the Agency in terms of article 39 of the

Act

Provided that the Permanent Secretary may be assisted in

such supervision by another Permanent Secretary in accordance with

the proviso to article 13(5) of the Act

Provided further that the Prime Minister may assign the

responsibility of the Agency to another Minister and its supervision to

the Permanent Secretary of that ministry.

(1)

The Agency shall, in consultation with the

Minister, establish and re-organise units, divisions and sections as

appropriate in order to exercise its primary functions in, inter alia,

agricultural bioresources management and in other supporting

functions.

(2) The operations of the Agency shall follow an Agreement

which is to be reached between the Permanent Secretary and the

Agency and which is to reflect the objects to be attained by the

Agency as set out by the Permanent Secretary.

(1)

Subject to the other provisions of this Order, the

executive conduct of the Agency, its administration and organisation

and the administrative control of its officers and employees, shall be

the responsibility of a Chief Executive Officer, who shall be

appointed by the Minister.

(2) The Chief Executive Officer shall be responsible for the

implementation of the objectives of the Agency in the exercise of its

functions and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, he

shall -

(a)

assume full responsibility for the overall

supervision and control of the units, divisions and sections;

(b)

assign to each unit, division and section such duties

which he considers necessary or expedient;

(c)

co-ordinate the workings of the units, divisions and

sections; develop the necessary strategies for the

implementation of the objectives of the Agency; and

(d)

perform such other duties as the responsible

Minister may assign to him from time to time.

(1)

Public officers deployed with the Agency shall be Deployment of

deemed to be detailed with the Agency in accordance with article 43 public

and recruitment

of the Act.

with the

Agency.

(2) Subject to the provisions of the Act and of any other

legislation, the Agency shall have authority to engage its own

employees.

The Minister may establish a Management Board to assist Establishment

the Chief Executive Officer in the discharge of his duties. The role of of

Board.

the Management Board shall be exclusively advisory.

The Agency shall be governed by the provisions of the Financial

Financial Administration and Audit Act unless otherwise stated in the arrangements.

Agreement between the Permanent Secretary and the Agency, in

which case the provisions of the Agreement shall prevail.

In the Fourth Schedule to the Public Administration Act, Amends the

immediately after the item "Aġenzija Żgħażagħ" there shall be added Fourth

to the Act.

the following

Agency

Agency Function

"Governance of

The registration of agricultural

Agricultural

bioresources and to promote

Bioresources

governance,

management,

and

Agency

utilisation

practices

that

are

technically

and

economically

feasible

and

environmentally

sound.".