GOVERNANCE OF AGRICULTURAL BIORESOURCES AGENCY (ESTABLISHMENT) ORDER *

BIORESOURCES AGENCY (ESTABLISHMENT)

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 595.22

GOVERNANCE OF AGRICULTURAL

BIORESOURCES AGENCY (ESTABLISHMENT)

ORDER *

30th May, 2017

LEGAL NOTICE 149 of 2017.

The title of this Order is the Governance of Agricultural

Bioresources Agency (Establishment) Order.

(Regulation 2)

Swine and bovine slurries from registered farm holdings

Swine and bovine manure from registered farm holdings

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;

*This Order has been repealed by Legal Notice 284 of 2023.

BIORESOURCES AGENCY (ESTABLISHMENT)

(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;

to coordinate its activities with relevant

(f)

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;

enter into contracts, of acquiring, holding and

(f)

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

BIORESOURCES AGENCY (ESTABLISHMENT)

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 29 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 14(6) 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;

BIORESOURCES AGENCY (ESTABLISHMENT)

(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 deemed to be detailed with the Agency in accordance with article

33 of the Act.

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

role of the Management Board shall be exclusively advisory.

The Agency shall be governed by the provisions of the

Public Finance Management Act unless otherwise stated in the

Agreement between the Permanent Secretary and the Agency, in

which case the provisions of the Agreement shall prevail.