OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA 6 Year No. 38 ADDIS ABABA - 27th June , 2000 CONTENTS Proclamation No. 208/2000 Board of Trustee for Public Enterprises Establishment Proclamation Page 1338 PROCLAMATION NO . 208/2000 A PROCLAMATION TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEE FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES WHEREAS , it has become necessary that the mandates of the Board of Trustee for Privatized Public Enterprises should the liquidation of public enterprises upon their dissolution ; WHEREAS , it is necessary to establish the Board of Trustee anew so that its designation reflects the scope of its NOW , THEREFORE , in accordance with Article 55 ( 1 ) of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia , it is hereby proclaimed as follows : Short Title This Proclamation may be cited as the “ Board of Trustee for Public Enterprises Establishment Proclamation No. 208 / 2000 . ” Unit Price The African Law Archive No.38 27 June , 2000- Page 1339 Definitions In this Proclamation unless the context requires otherwise : 1 ) “ Enterprise ” means a public enterprise privatized in accordance with Proclamation No. 87/1994 or Proclamation No.146 / 1998 or converted into a share company or that dissolved in accordance with Proclamation No.25 / 1992 and includes a public enterprise restituted to its former owner in accor dance with Proclamation No. 110/1995 ; 2 ) “ Agency ” means the Ethiopian Privatization Agency ; 3 ) “ Supervising Authority ” means the Supervising Authority of Public Enterprises . 3. Establishment The Board of Trustee for Public Enterprises ( hereinafter “ the Board ' of Trustee ” ) is hereby established as an autonomous public agency having its own legal personality . 2 ) The Board of Trustee shall be accountable to the Prime minister . Head Office The Board of Trustee shall have its head office in Addis Ababa and may have branch offices elsewhere , as necessary . 5. Objectives The objectives of the Board shall be to : 1 ) collect receivables , takeover debts not transferred to the buyer , to the share company or to the former owner upon privatization , conversion , or restitution of an enterprise ; and follow up Court cases related to such enterprises . 2 ) liquidate enterprises upon their dissolution . 6. Powers and Duties The Board of Trustee shall have the powers and duties to : 1 ) take over documents relating to receivables and debts of an enterprise transferred to it in accordance with Proclamation No.146 / 1998 and : ( a ) reconcile receivable and payable accounts with the concerned third parties ; ( b ) collect receivables and take appropriate measures for their collection ; ( c ) submit debts to the Government to be settled ; ( d ) investigate receivables and debts that cannot be collected and settled and recommend their write off to the Government ; 2 ) notwithstanding the provisions of Sub - Article ( 1 ) ( c ) of this Article , directly settle debts decided by the court or to which specific delegation has been given by government directives ; The African Law Archive - No.38 27 June , 2000 – Page 1340 3 ) dispose properties transferred to it in accordance with Proclamation No. 146/1998 and Sub - Article ( 7 ) of this Article , in accordance with directives of the Ministry of Finance on disposal of government properties ; 4 ) takeover and follow up court cases relating to assets and liabilities of an enterprise transferred to it ; settle disputes out of court ; 5 ) where the privatization modality applied by the Agency is an asset deal or where the restitution of an enterprise to its former owner is effected : ( a ) ensure , upon commencement of handover , that all , money deposited in the enterprise's bank account and cash on hand is transferred to and deposited in a special bank account opened for such purpose ; ( b ) reconcile the list of fixed assets , stock , raw materials and finished products transferred to the buyer or to the former owner with records of the enterprise ; cause the recording of transactions and the closing of accounts up to the date of handover and the auditing of same by external auditors ; 6 ) where an enterprise is dissolved in accordance with Article 39 ( 1 ) – ( 5 ) of Proclamation No. 25/1992 , perform the functions of liquidators as provided for in articles 41-45 of the same Proclamation ; 7 ) take up , following handover effected by the supervising authority , the outstanding work of ad hoc Board of trustees of dissolved public enter prises listed in the schedule attached to this Proclamation ; 8 ) preserve those documents of an enterprise which are transferred to it for ten years from the date of winding up ; allow interested persons to inspect the documents , dispose , through appropriate means , unused documents ; 9 ) where it finds it necessary , delegate the execution of specific tasks to appropriate institutions and employ the services of qualified consultants ; 10 ) own property , enter into contracts , sue and be sued in its own name ; 11 ) carry out other activities as are necessary for the attainment of its objectives . 7. Organization of the Board of Trustee The Board of Trustee shall have : a Board of Management ; a General Manager to be appointed by the Govern ment ; and 3 ) the necessary staff . 8. Members of the Board of Management Members of the Board of Management , including the chairperson , shall be designated by the Government , and their number shall be determined as may be necessary . The African Law Archive No.38 27 June , 2000 - Page 1341 9. Powers and Duties of the Board of Management The Board of Management shall have the powers and duties to : oversee and supervise the activities of the Board of Trustee ; 2 ) review and ensure that debt settlement proposals and recommendations of write off cases of receivables and payables are based on proper investigations ; 3 ) ensure that the process of liquidation of dissolved enterprises is carried out in the manner prescribed by law ; 4 ) approve the organizational structure and work programs of the Board of Trustee as well as the annual budgets and reports to be submitted to the government ; approve staff regulations of the Board of Trustee following the basic principles of the Federal Civil Service laws ; approve the empolyment and placement of officials of the Board of Trustee accountable to the General Manager ; 6 ) issue detailed disbursement rules applicable to authorized payments to be made out of the special Fund referred to in Article 13 of this proclamation . 10. Meetings of the Board of Management 1 ) The Board of Management shall meet once a month ; provided , however , that it shall meet at any time at the request of the chairperson . 2 ) There shall be a quorum where more than half of the members are present at a meeting of the Board of Management . Decisions of the Management Board shall be passed by majority votes and , in case of a tie , the chairperson shall have a casting vote . 4 ) Without prejudice to the provisions of this Article , the Board of Management may draw up its own rules of procedure . Powers and Duties of the General Manager 1 ) The General Manager shall be the chief executive officer of the Board of Trustee and shall , subject to the General directives of the Board of Managment , direct and administer the activities of the Board of Trustee 2 ) Without prejudice to the generality stated in Sub Article ( 1 ) of this Article , the General Manager shall : ( a ) participate in the meetings of the Board of Management as a member . ( b ) exercise the powers and duties of the Board of Trustee specified under Article 6 of this Proclamation ; ( c ) employ and administer employees of the Board of Trustee in accordance with the staff regulations approved by the Board of Manag ment ; ( d ) prepare and submit to the Board of Management the budget and work program of the Board of Trustee ; and implement same upon approval ; ( e ) effect expenditure in accordance with the approved work program and budget of the Board of Trustee ; ( f ) represent the Board of Trustee in all its dealings with third parties ; ( g ) prepare and submit the Board Management the operational and fmancial reports of the Board of Trustee . put chiva The African Law Archive - No.38 27 June , 2000-- Page 1342 3 ) The General Manager may delegate part of his powers and duties to the officials and other employees of the Board of Trustee to the extent necessary for the efficient performance of the activities of the Board of Trustee ; provided , however , that in the case of an official who acts on behalf of the General Manager for more than 30 days , prior approval of the Board of Management shall be required . Budget The Budget of the Board of Trustee shall be allocated hy the Government . Special Fund 1 ) Special Fund of the Board of Trustee is hereby established . 2 ) The Fund shall have the following financial sources : ( a ) deductions from the proceeds of privatization in percentages to be fixed by the Government ; ( b ) collections in accordance with Article 6 ( 1 ) ( b ) of this Proclamation ; ( c ) proceeds from disposal of property in accor dance with Article 6 ( 3 ) of this Proclamation ; ( d ) money transfers and deposits in accordance with Article 6 ( 5 ) ( a ) of this Proclamation ; ( e ) budgetary appropriations to be made hy the Government as may be necessary . 3 ) The fund shall be utilized for the disbursement of the following payments ; ( a ) settlement of debts in accordance with Sub Articles ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) of Article 6 of this Proclamation ; ( b ) remunerations of consultants employed in accordance with Article 6 ( 9 ) of this Proclamation ; ( c ) court charges and advocate fees related with cases handled by the Board of Trustee ; ( d ) costs related with liquidation activities to be carried out pursuant to Article 6 ( 6 ) of this Proclamation . 4 ) Disbursements made from the fund in accordance with Sub - Article ( 3 ) ( d ) of this Article shall be refunded from proceeds of the sale of properties of the dissolved enterprise . 5 ) Without prejudice to the provisions of Sub - Articles ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) of Article 6 of this Proclamation , any disbursement from the fund shall require the approval of the Board of Management . 6 ) The Fund shall have accounts separate from the budgetary accounts of the Board of Trustee ; and separate reports shall be submitted thereon . 14. Books of Accounts 1 ) The Board of Trustee shall keep complete and accurate books of accounts . 2 ) The books of accounts and financial documents of the Board of Trustee shall be audited annually by the Auditor General or by an auditor designated by 15. Duty to Cooperate 1 ) The Board and the Managment of an enterprise shall have the duty to cooperate in providing detailed handover notes on financial and legal cases transferred to the Board of Trustee . The African Law Archive No.38 27 June , 2000- ~ Page 1343 2 ) The new owner or management of an enterprise shall have the duty to cooperate in : ( a ) the preservation of documents and files to be transferred to the Board of Trustee in their original place and condition until the Board of Trustee takes over and removes them ; and ( b ) the collection , from staff debtors , of receivables transferred to the Board of Trustee . 16. Repealed Law The Board of Trustee for Privatized Public Enterprises Establishment Proclamation No. 17/1996 is hereby repealed . 17. Transfer of Rights and Obligations The rights and obligations of the Board of Trustee for public Enterprises established under proclamation No. 17/1996 are hereby transferred to the Board of Trustee . 18. Effective Date This Proclamation shall enter into force as of the 27th day of June , 2000 . Done at Addis Ababa , this 27th day of June , 2000 . PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA wArchi / The African Law Archive SCHEDULE AD HOC BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR DISSOLVED PUBLIC ENTERPRISES Name of the Board of Trustee Board of Trustee for Industrial Corporations Board of Trustee for State Farms Corporation Board of Trustee for the Ethiopian Retail Trade Corporation and the Ethiopian House hold and Office Furniture Enterprise Board of Trustee for the National Hotels Cor Board of Trustee for the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical and Medical Supplies Corporation Board of Trustee for Mining Corporation Board of Trustee for Freight Transport Corporation Board of Trustee for Passenger Transport Cor poration The African Law Archive