Act No. 13, 2003
(b)
MEDICINES AND RELATED SUBSTANCES
CONTROL ACT, 2003
must convene a special meeting of the Council, if the Minister requests, or
if at least three members of the Council request, him or her, in writing, to
do so.
(4) The chairperson must convene a meeting requested in terms of subsection
(3)(b) within 14 days after the date of receipt of the request and at such time and place as
he or she may determine.
(5) The chairperson, or in his or her absence, the vice-chairperson, or in the
absence of both the chairperson and the vice-chairperson, a member of the Council elected
by the members present, must preside at a meeting of the Council.
(6) Notwithstanding subsection (8), a majority of the members of the Council
constitutes a quorum at a meeting of the Council.
(7) A decision of a majority of the members of the Council present at a meeting
of the Council is the decision of the Council and, in the event of an equality of votes, the
person presiding has a casting vote in addition to his or her deliberative vote.
(8) Subject to subsection (6), a decision of the Council is not rendered invalid
by reason only of a vacancy on the Council or of the fact that a person who is not entitled
to sit as a member of the Council did so sit when the decision was taken, if that decision
was taken by the requisite majority of the members who were present at the time and
entitled to vote.
(9) The chairperson must cause a record to be kept of the proceedings of every
meeting of the Council and must cause that record to be submitted to the Minister as
soon as is practicable after a meeting of the Council.
Disclosure of interest
9.
(1) A member of the Council or of a committee must, within a period of
three months from the date of his or her appointment as a member of the Council or of a
committee, declare in writing to the Minister or to the Council, as the case may be, his or
her commercial interests related to the pharmaceutical or health care industry, which
interests include, but are not limited to, any consultancy for, research grants from, or
equity holding or directorship in, a pharmaceutical company, or any other payment or
benefit in kind.
(2) If a member of the Council or of a committee, or his or her spouse, is in any
way directly or indirectly interested in a matter, which is the subject of consideration by
the Council or a committee and which may cause a conflict of interests in the performance
of his or her duties as a member of the Council or as a member of any such committee, he
or she must fully disclose the nature of that interest as soon as is practicable after the
commencement of the meeting of the Council or of any such committee at which that
matter is a subject of consideration and that member of the Council or of any such
committee, may not take part in the consideration of, or vote on, a question relating to
that matter.
(3) If a member of the Council or of a committee fails to disclose a conflict of
interests as required by subsection (2) and is present at a meeting of the Council or of any
such committee, or in any way participates in the consideration of, or votes on, a question
relating to the matter referred to in that subsection, the proceedings in relation to that
matter must, as soon as the non-disclosure is discovered, be rendered invalid and thereafter
be reviewed by the Council or any such committee, as the case may be, in the absence of
the member of the Council or the member of any such committee.