ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF SECRETARIES ACT
Arrangement of Sections
Section
PART I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
PART II
THE ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF SECRETARIES
3. Continuation and renaming of Professional Secretaries Association of Zambia
4. Functions of Institute
5. Constitution of Institute
6. President and Vice-President of Institute
7. Meetings of Institute
PART III
THE COUNCIL OF THE INSTITUTE
8. Council of Institute
9. Functions of Council
10. Registrar and other staff
PART IV
REGISTRATION OF PROFESSIONAL SECRETARIES
11. Classes of membership
12. Prohibition of practising without registration
13. Application for registration as member
14. Determination of application for registration as professional secretary
15. Certificate of registration
16. Disqualification from registration
17. Title for registered professional secretary
18. Change in detail
19. Suspension and cancellation of registration
20. Re-registration
21. Prohibition of practising as professional secretary without practising certificate
22. Holding out as professional secretary
23. Practising certificate
24. Display of practising certificate
25. Renewal of practising certificate
26. Suspension and cancellation of practising certificate
27. Prohibition of transfer of certificate of registration or practising certificate
28. Duplicate certificate of registration or practising certificate
29. Registration of secretarial bureau
30. Register
31. Maintenance of non-practising professional secretary on register
32. Publication of copies of register
33. Offences regarding registered professional secretary
PART V
DISCIPLINARY MATTERS
34. Code of ethics
35. Professional misconduct
36. Initiation of disciplinary action
37. Professional Conduct Committee
38. Reference of matters to Professional Conduct Committee
39. Functions of Professional Conduct Committee in relation to complaint or information
40. Proceedings of Professional Conduct Committee
41. Sanctions for professional misconduct by Professional Conduct Committee
42. Disciplinary Committee
43. Functions of Disciplinary Committee
44. Proceedings of Disciplinary Committee
45. Powers of Disciplinary Committee
46. Sanctions for professional misconduct by Disciplinary Committee
47. Report by Disciplinary Committee
48. Rules relating to disciplinary proceedings
PART VI
INSPECTORS
49. Inspectors
50. Power of entry, search and inspection
PART VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS
51. False or misleading statement
52. Appeals
53. Guidelines by Institute
54. Regulations
55. Savings and transitional provisions
AN ACT
to continue the existence of the Professional Secretaries Association of Zambia and re-name it as Zambia Institute of Secretaries and re-define its functions; provide for the registration of professional secretaries; regulate professional secretaries’ conduct; constitute the Council of the Institute and provide for its functions; and provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.
[9th December, 2022]
Act 19 of 2022.
PART I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
This Act may be cited as the Zambia Institute of Secretaries Act.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
"associate" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Anti-Corruption Act;
"Chairperson" means a person appointed as Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee under section 42;
"chairperson" means a person appointed as chairperson of a Professional Conduct Committee under section 37;
"certificate of registration" means the certificate of registration issued under section 15;
"code of ethics" means the code of professional ethics adopted and published by the Institute for the purposes of this Act;
"constitution" means the constitution of the Institute adopted in accordance with section 5;
"Council" means the Council of the Institute constituted under section 8;
"council member" means a person elected or nominated as a council member under section 8;
"Disciplinary Committee" means the Disciplinary Committee constituted under section 42;
"Higher Education Authority" means the Higher Education Authority established under the Higher Education Act, 2013;
"Institute" means the Zambia Institute of Secretaries established under section 3;
"Law Association of Zambia" means the Law Association of Zambia established under the Law Association of Zambia Act;
"legal practitioner" has the meaning assigned to the words "practitioner" in the Legal Practitioners Act;
"legally disqualified" means the absence of legal capacity as provided in section 4 of the Mental Health Act;
"practising certificate" means a practising certificate issued under section 23;
"President" means the person elected as President of the Institute in accordance with section 6;
"Professional Conduct Committee" means a Professional Conduct Committee constituted under section 37;
"professional misconduct" means the conduct referred to under section 35;
"professional secretary" means a person who has obtained a qualification in shorthand and typewriting and possesses a secretarial certificate, diploma in secretarial studies or degree in secretarial studies and includes typist, stenographer, legal secretary, personal secretary, senior personal secretary, executive assistant secretary, administrative assistant and principal executive assistant;
"register" means the register of professional secretaries registered under this Act;
"Registrar" means the person appointed as Registrar under section 10;
"relative" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Anti-Corruption Act;
"secretarial bureau" means an office, organisation or institution that provides a secretarial service;
"Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority" means the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority established under the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Act;
"Vice-Chairperson" means the person appointed as Vice-Chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee under section 42;
"vice-chairperson" means the person appointed as vice-chairperson of a Professional Conduct Committee under section 37;
"Vice-President" means the person elected as Vice-President of the Institute under section 6; and
"Zambia Qualifications Authority" means the Zambia Qualifications Authority established under the Zambia Qualifications Authority Act.
PART II
THE ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF SECRETARIES
3. Continuation and renaming of Professional Secretaries Association of Zambia
(1) The Professional Secretaries Association of Zambia registered under the Societies Act, shall continue to exist as if established under this Act and is renamed as the Zambia Institute of Secretaries.
(2) The Institute is a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, capable of suing and being sued in its corporate name, and with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to do the acts and things that a body corporate may, by law, do or perform.
(3) The First Schedule applies to the Institute.
The functions of the Institute are to—
(a) register and regulate professional secretaries;
(b) issue practising certificates to members;
(c) register students pursuing secretarial courses;
(d) represent, co-ordinate and develop the secretarial profession and promote the profession’s interests;
(e) set and enforce professional standards of the secretarial profession;
(f) provide continuous professional development programmes to the members;
(g) promote the integrity and enhance the status of the secretarial profession;
(h) develop, promote and enforce internationally comparable practice standards in the Republic with respect to the secretarial profession;
(i) participate in the activities of bodies whose main purpose is the development and setting of practice standards for the secretarial profession;
(j) encourage and finance research into any matter affecting professional secretaries; and
(k) collaborate with higher education institutions, Government departments and other institutions to improve the quality of secretarial services.
(1) The Institute shall, by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members voting at a general meeting of the Institute, adopt a constitution and may, in a like manner, amend it.
(2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the constitution shall regulate the conduct of the affairs of the Institute.
(3) Subject to sub-section (1), the constitution may provide for the—
(a) meetings of the Institute, including the delivery and sufficiency of notices of the meetings, quorum, voting, adjournment and other matters of procedure or conduct of the meetings;
(b) election, qualifications and tenure of office of the President, Vice-President and other office bearers of the Institute;
(c) composition, functions, powers and procedures of the committees of the Institute;
(d) classes of membership and their rights, privileges and obligations; and
(e) any other matter as the membership may determine.
6. President and Vice-President of Institute
The Institute shall elect the President and Vice-President of the Institute in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.
(1) Subject to this Act, the Institute may regulate its own procedure.
(2) The meetings of the Institute shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.
(3) The validity of any proceedings, act or decision of the Institute shall not be affected by any person’s absence from a meeting of the Institute or by reason that a person not entitled to do so took part in the proceedings of the Institute.
PART III
THE COUNCIL OF THE INSTITUTE
(1) There is constituted the Council of the Institute which shall perform the functions of the Institute.
(2) The Council shall consist of the following part-time members elected in accordance with the provisions of the constitution—
(a) the President of the Institute as Chairperson;
(b) the first Vice-President for Southern Region as first Vice-Chairperson;
(c) the second Vice-President for Northern Region as second Vice-Chairperson;
(d) the Secretary;
(e) the Treasurer;
(f) the Publicity secretary;
(g) three other professional members; and
(h) the Registrar as an ex officio.
(3) A person shall not be elected as a council member if that person is—
(a) found guilty of professional misconduct under this Act;
(b) convicted of an offence under this Act;
(c) an undischarged bankrupt;
(d) legally disqualified;
(e) convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonest; or
(f) an employee of the Institute.
(4) The First Schedule applies to the Council.
(1) The functions of the Council are to perform the executive functions of the Institute.
(2) Despite the generality of sub-section (1), the functions of the Council are to—
(a) promote an understanding of professional ethics among members;
(b) ensure that the rules and guidelines for professional ethics developed by the Institute are responsive to the expectations of the members of the public and institutions served by a professional secretary;
(c) participate in the development of internal practice standard setting;
(d) make recommendations relating to the secretarial profession at a general meeting of the Institute;
(e) formulate and approve policies, programmes and strategic plans of the Institute;
(f) approve the annual work plans, activities and reports of the Institute;
(g) approve annual budgets estimates and financial statements of the Institute;
(h) monitor and evaluate the performance of the Institute against budgets and plans;
(i) advise the Minister on matters relating to secretarial practice;
(j) set, establish and monitor standards for members;
(k) develop and publish code of ethics, and the disciplinary code of conduct; and
(l) issue certificate of registration and practising certificate.
(3) The Council may, by direction in writing and on conditions that the Council considers necessary, delegate to the Registrar any of its functions under this Act.
(1) The Council shall appoint a Registrar on the terms and conditions that the Council may determine.
(2) The Registrar shall be—
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