LegalizeFinance (African Development (Bank and Fund) and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018
PART 1 Preliminary and General
1. Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the Finance (African Development (Bank and Fund) and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018.
2. Definitions
2. In this Act—
“Bank” means the African Development Bank established by the Bank Agreement;
“Bank Agreement” means—
(a) the Agreement Establishing the African Development Bank, the text of which, for ease of reference, is set out in Schedule 1, and
(b) any amendments to that Agreement that are approved by Dáil Éireann pursuant to Article 29.5.2 of the Constitution;
“Fund” means the African Development Fund established by the Fund Agreement;
“Fund Agreement” means—
(a) the Agreement Establishing the African Development Fund, the text of which, for ease of reference, is set out in Schedule 2, and
(b) any amendments to that Agreement that are approved by Dáil Éireann pursuant to Article 29.5.2 of the Constitution;
“Minister” means the Minister for Finance.
PART 2 African Development Bank
3. Approval of terms of Bank Agreement
3. (1) The terms of the Bank Agreement are hereby approved.
(2) Where Dáil Éireann has approved, pursuant to Article 29.5.2 of the Constitution, an amendment to the Bank Agreement, the Minister shall, as soon as may be thereafter, cause notice of such approval to be published in Iris Oifigiúil.
4. Financial and other provisions: Bank
4. (1) Payments under the Bank Agreement in respect of subscription to the Bank, as and when such payments become appropriate to be made on behalf of the State, shall be made out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.
(2) Any moneys received on behalf of the State from the Bank shall be placed to the credit of the account of the Exchequer and shall—
(a) form part of the Central Fund, and
(b) be available in any manner in which the Central Fund is available.
(3) The Central Bank of Ireland shall act as a depository for the holdings in euro and other assets of the Bank.
(4) This section shall come into operation on the day on which the State becomes a member of the Bank in accordance with the terms of the Bank Agreement.
PART 3 African Development Fund
5. Approval of terms of Fund Agreement
5. (1) The terms of the Fund Agreement are hereby approved.
(2) Where Dáil Éireann has approved, pursuant to Article 29.5.2 of the Constitution, an amendment to the Fund Agreement, the Minister shall, as soon as may be thereafter, cause notice of such approval to be published in Iris Oifigiúil.
6. Financial and other provisions: Fund
6. (1) Payments under the Fund Agreement in respect of subscription to the Fund, as and when such payments become appropriate to be made on behalf of the State, shall be made out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.
(2) Any moneys received on behalf of the State from the Fund shall be placed to the credit of the account of the Exchequer and shall—
(a) form part of the Central Fund, and
(b) be available in any manner in which the Central Fund is available.
(3) The Central Bank of Ireland shall act as a depository for the holdings in euro and other assets of the Fund.
(4) This section shall come into operation on the day on which the State becomes a member of the Fund in accordance with the terms of the Fund Agreement.
PART 4 Miscellaneous amendments
7. Amendment of International Finance Corporation Act 1958
7. The International Finance Corporation Act 1958 is amended—
(a) in section 1, in the definition of ‘the Agreement’, by inserting “, and any amendments to the agreement that are approved by Dáil Éireann pursuant to Article 29.5.2 of the Constitution” after “in the Schedule to this Act”, and
(b) in section 2—
(i) by designating that section as subsection (1), and
(ii) by inserting after subsection (1) the following subsection:
“(2) Where Dáil Éireann has approved, pursuant to Article 29.5.2 of the Constitution, an amendment to the Agreement, the Minister for Finance shall, as soon as may be thereafter, cause notice of such approval to be published in Iris Oifigiúil.”.
8. Amendment of section 851A of Taxes Consolidation Act 1997
8. Section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39 of 1997) is amended by inserting after subsection (9) the following subsection:
“(9A)Nothing in this section shall prevent the due disclosure in the course of duties of taxpayer information by an official of the Department of Finance to the Information Commissioner where the disclosure is required pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2014.”.
SCHEDULE 1
Section 2
Signed on the fourth day of August nineteen hundred and sixty-three, in Khartoum, Sudan, by twenty-three African Governments, and entered into force on the tenth day of September nineteen hundred and sixty-four when twenty member countries subscribed sixty-five per cent of the initial authorized capital stock.
Amended:
(1) On the seventh day of May nineteen hundred and eighty-two, following the entry into force of Resolution 05-79 adopted by the Board of Governors at Abidjan, Cte d’Ivoire on the seventeenth day of May nineteen hundred and seventy-nine.
(2) On the first day of September nineteen hundred and ninety-four, following the entry into force of Resolution B/BG/92/06 adopted by the Board of Governors at Dakar, Senegal on the thirteenth day of May nineteen hundred and ninety-two.
(3) On the second day of May nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, following the entry into force of Resolution B/BG/97/05 adopted by the Board of Governors at Abidjan, Cte d’Ivoire on the twenty-ninth day of May nineteen hundred and ninety-seven.
(4) On the thirtieth day of September nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, following the entry into force of Resolution B/BG/98/04 adopted by the Board of Governors at Abidjan, Cte d’Ivoire on the twenty-ninth day of May nineteen hundred and ninety-eight.
(5) On the fifth day of July two thousand and two, following the entry into force of Resolution B/BG/2001/08 adopted by the Board of Governors at Valencia, Spain on the twenty-ninth day of May two thousand and one.
NOTA BENE:
References in this Agreement to a particular gender shall be applicable to the other gender.
PREAMBLE
THE GOVERNMENTS on whose behalf this Agreement is signed,
DETERMINED to strengthen African solidarity by means of economic co-operation between African States,
CONSIDERING the necessity of accelerating the development of the extensive human and natural resources of Africa in order to stimulate economic development and social progress in that region,
REALIZING the importance of co-ordinating national plans of economic and social development for the promotion of the harmonious growth of African economies as a whole and the expansion of African foreign trade and, in particular, inter-African trade,
RECOGNIZING that the establishment of a financial institution common to all African countries would serve these ends,
CONVINCED that a partnership of African and non-African countries will facilitate an additional flow of international capital through such an institution for the economic development and social progress of the region, and the mutual benefit of all parties to this Agreement,
CHAPTER I
PURPOSE, FUNCTIONS, MEMBERSHIP AND STRUCTURE
ARTICLE 1
Purpose
The purpose of the Bank shall be to contribute to the sustainable economic development and social progress of its regional members individually and jointly.
ARTICLE 2
Functions
To implement its purpose, the Bank shall have the following functions:
a. To use the resources at its disposal for the financing of investment projects and programmes relating to the economic and social development of its regional members, giving special priority to:
i. Projects or programmes which by their nature or scope concern several members; and
ii. Projects or programmes designed to make the economies of its members increasingly complementary and to bring about an orderly expansion of their foreign trade;
b. To undertake, or participate in, the selection, study and preparation of projects, enterprises and activities contributing to such development;
c. To mobilize and increase in Africa, and outside Africa, resources for the financing of such investment projects and programmes;
d. Generally, to promote investment in Africa of public and private capital in projects or programmes designed to contribute to the economic development or social progress of its regional members;
e. To provide such technical assistance as may be needed in Africa for the study, preparation, financing and execution of development projects or programmes; and
f. To undertake such other activities and provide such other services as may advance its purpose.
In carrying out its functions, the Bank shall seek to co-operate with national, regional and sub-regional development institutions in Africa. To the same end, it should co-operate with other international organizations pursuing a similar purpose and with other institutions concerned with the development of Africa.
The Bank shall be guided in all its decisions by the provisions of articles 1 and 2 of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 3
Membership and Geographical Area
Any African country which has the status of an independent State may become a regional member of the Bank. It shall acquire membership in accordance with paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 of article 64 of this Agreement.
The geographical area to which the regional membership and development activities of the Bank may extend (referred to in this Agreement as “Africa” or “African”, as the case may be) shall comprise the continent of Africa and African islands.
Non-regional countries which are, or become, members of the African Development Fund, or which have made, or are making, contributions to the African Development Fund under terms and conditions similar to the terms and conditions of the Agreement Establishing the African Development Fund, may also be admitted to the Bank, at such times and under such general rules as the Board of Governors shall have established. Such general rules may be amended only by decision of the Board of Governors by a two-thirds majority of the total number of governors, including two-thirds of the governors of non-regional members, representing not less than three-fourths of the total voting power of the member countries.
ARTICLE 4
Structure
The Bank shall have a Board of Governors, a Board of Directors, a President, at least one Vice-President and such other officers and staff to perform such duties as the Bank may determine.
CHAPTER II
CAPITAL
ARTICLE 5 [^1]
Authorized Capital
a. The initial authorized capital stock of the Bank shall be 250,000,000 units of account. It shall be divided into 25,000 shares of a par value of 10,000 units of account each share, which shall be available for subscription by members. The authorized capital stock may be increased in accordance with paragraph 3 of this article.
b.The value of a unit of account shall be equivalent to one Special Drawing Right (SDR) of the International Monetary Fund or any unit adopted for the same purpose by the International Monetary Fund.
The authorized capital stock shall be divided into paid-up shares and callable shares. The proportion between the paid-up shares and the callable shares shall be determined by the Board of Governors from time to time. The callable shares shall be callable for the purpose defined in paragraph 4(a) of article 7 of this Agreement.
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 4 of this article, the authorized capital stock may be increased as and when the Board of Governors deems it advisable. Unless that stock is increased solely to provide for the initial subscription of a member, the decision of the Board shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the total number of Governors, representing not less than three-quarters of the total voting power of the members.
The authorized capital stock and any increases thereof shall be allocated for subscription to regional and non-regional members in such proportions that the respective groups shall have available for subscription that number of shares which, if fully subscribed, would result in regional members holding sixty percent of the total voting power and non-regional members holding forty percent of the total voting power.
ARTICLE 6
Subscription of Shares
Each member shall initially subscribe shares of the capital stock of the Bank. The initial subscription of each member shall consist of an equal number of paid-up and callable shares. The initial number of shares to be subscribed by a State which acquires membership in accordance with paragraph 1 of article 64 of this Agreement shall be that set forth in this respect in annex A to this Agreement, which shall form an integral part thereof. The initial number of shares to be subscribed by other members shall be determined by the Board of Governors.
In the event of an increase of the capital stock for a purpose other than solely to provide for an initial subscription of a member, each member shall have the right to subscribe, on such uniform terms and conditions as the Board of Governors shall determine, a proportion of the increase of stock equivalent to the proportion which its stock theretofore subscribed bears to the total capital stock of the Bank. No member, however, shall be obligated to subscribe to any part of such increased stock.
A member may request the Bank to increase its subscription on such terms and conditions as the Board of Governors may determine.
Shares of stock initially subscribed by States which acquire membership in accordance with paragraph 1 of article 64 of this Agreement shall be issued at par. Other shares shall be issued at par unless the Board of Governors decides in special circumstances to issue them on other terms.
Liability on shares shall be limited to the unpaid portion of their issue price.
Shares shall not be pledged nor encumbered in any manner. They shall be transferable only to the Bank.
ARTICLE 7
Payment of Subscriptions
a. Payment of the amount initially subscribed to the paid-up capital stock of the Bank by a member which acquires membership in accordance with paragraph 1 of article 64 shall be made in six instalments, the first of which shall be five per cent, the second thirty-five per cent, and the remaining four instalments each fifteen per cent of that amount.
b. The first instalment shall be paid by the Government concerned on or before the date of deposit, on its behalf, of the instrument of ratification or acceptance of this Agreement in accordance with paragraph 1 of article 64. The second instalment shall become due on the last day of a period of six months from the entry into force of this Agreement or on the day of the said deposit, whichever is the later day. The third instalment shall become due on the last day of a period of eighteen months from the entry into force of this Agreement. The remaining three instalments shall become due successively each on the last day of a period of one year immediately following the day on which the preceding instalment becomes due.
Payments of the amounts initially subscribed by the members of the Bank to the paid-up capital stock shall be made in convertible currency. The Board of Governors shall determine the mode of payment of other amounts subscribed by the members to the paid-up capital stock.
The Board of Governors shall determine the dates for the payment of amounts subscribed by the members of the Bank to the paid-up capital stock to which the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article do not apply.
a. Payment of the amounts subscribed to the callable capital stock of the Bank shall be subject to call only as and when required by the Bank to meet its obligations incurred, pursuant to paragraph 1(b) and (d) of article 14, on borrowing of funds for inclusion in its ordinary capital resources or guarantees chargeable to such resources.
b. In the event of such calls, payment may be made at the option of the member concerned in convertible currency or in the currency required to discharge the obligation of the Bank for the purpose of which the call is made.
c. Calls on unpaid subscriptions shall be uniform in percentage on all callable shares.
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