Rwanda
Prime Minister's Order establishing the Union of Beekeepers in Rwanda and Determining its Organization and Functioning
Prime Ministers Order 4 of 2015
- Published in Official Gazette 5 on 2 February 2015
- Assented to on 16 January 2015
- Commenced on 2 February 2015
- [This is the version of this document from 2 February 2015.]
Chapter One
General provisions
Article One – Purpose of this Order
This Order establishes the Union of beekeepers in Rwanda, referred to hereinafter as the “Union” and determines its organization and functioning.Article 2 – Legal personality of the Union and its supervising authority
The Union shall have a legal personality and administrative and financial autonomy.The internal rules and regulations of the Union shall determine the legal representative of the Union.The Union shall be under the supervision of the Ministry in charge of beekeeping.Article 3 – Membership of the Union
The Union shall comprise all beekeepers eligible to practice beekeeping in Rwanda, processors and traders of honey and bee products.Chapter II
Head Office and mission of the Union
Article 4 – Head Office of the Union
The head Office of the Union shall be in the City of Kigali, the capital of the Republic of Rwanda. The head office may be transferred elsewhere on the Rwandan territory, upon approval by the General Assembly of the Union.Article 5 – Mission and responsibilities of the Union
The mission of the Union is to enhance exchange of ideas between stakeholders in the beekeeping sector in order to contribute to its development.In particular, the Union shall be responsible for:1°sensitizing the beekeepers to use modern methods of beekeeping and technologies that increase the value of bee products;2°advocating for beekeepers cooperatives, processors and sellers of bee products to decision-making bodies on beekeeping related issues and to facilitate their participation in the decision-making bodies;3°conducting consultations with key stakeholders in beekeeping, including beekeepers, processors and traders of honey on improvement of the services of the union and to identify the constraints faced by each stakeholder group and agree on way forward;4°manufacturing good quality honey in collaboration with the Rwanda Bureau of Standards in order to ensure confidence among consumers;5°ensuring that beekeepers access markets for their products in order to generate income;6°providing technical advice on the matters of packaging and labelling of honey;7°facilitating beekeepers in the beekeeping profession in accessing credit;8°providing the appropriate support in collection of statistical information on beekeeping at national level;9°developing a website indicating the number of beekeepers and to disseminate relevant information to its members, stakeholders, financial institutions, markets and the general population;10°initiating and maintaining relationship between Rwanda beekeeping sector and regional beekeeping bodies, foreign countries and with other organizations;11°ensuring effective implementation of laws and regulations governing beekeeping in Rwanda.Chapter III
Organisation and functioning of the Union
Article 6 – Organs of the Union
The Union shall comprise the following management organs:1°General Assembly;2°Executive Committee;3°Permanent Secretariat.The General Assembly and the Executive Committee shall be at the national level, Province 1 and at the City of Kigali, District, Sector and Cell. It shall be the supreme organ of the Union.The Permanent Secretariat shall be at the National level, Province and the City of Kigali.Section One – General Assembly
Article 7 – Composition of the General Assembly
The General Assembly at the national level shall comprise the following:1°the members of the Executive Committee at the national level; and2°the members of the Executive Committees at the Province and the City of Kigali.The General Assembly at the level of the Province and the City of Kigali comprises:1°members of the Executive Committee at the Province and the City of Kigali;2°member of the Executive Committees at the District level.The General Assembly at the District level shall comprise:1°members of the Executive Committee at the District level;2°members of the Executive Committees at the Sector, level.The General Assembly at the Sector level shall comprise:1°members of the Executive Committee at the Sector level;2°members of the Executive Committees at the Cell level.The General Assembly at cell level shall comprise all beekeepers, service providers, processors and traders of honey who reside in the cell.Internal rules and regulations shall provide for the requirements of the members of the General assembly at the Cell level and responsibilities of each member.Article 8 – Responsibilities of the General Assembly
Responsibilities of the General Assembly at each level shall be the following:1°to consider and adopt the action plan and calendar of activities;2°to adopt the annual budget;3°to consider and adopt the Executive Committee annual report;4°to resolve any issues before it;5°to elect members of the Executive Committee and replace them where applicable;6°to oversee the functioning of the Permanent Secretariat and the Executive Committee;7°to adopt its internal rules and regulations.Article 9 – Meetings of General Assembly
At the cell level, ordinary General Assembly shall meet once (1) in six 6 months. At other levels, General Assembly shall meet once (1) a year.The General Assembly at each level shall be convened and chaired by the Coordinator or in case of his/her absence, by the Deputy Coordinator.Article 10 – Quorum
The quorum required for the General Assembly meeting to be held shall be a half (1/2) of its members.If the meeting fails to take place due to lack of quorum, it shall be reconvened within eight (8) days, and it shall be held regardless of the number of attendants.Decisions shall be taken at the majority vote of two thirds (2/3) of the members present.Article 11 – Extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly
The meeting of the General Assembly may be held in extraordinary session whenever considered necessary.The extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly shall be convened by the Coordinator, on his/her own initiative or upon a written request of a third (1/3) of the members of Executive Committee of the level requesting the meeting.The extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly shall consider only items on the agenda.Article 12 – Invitation of a resourceful person in the meeting of the General Assembly
The General Assembly at each level may invite to its meetings any person from whom it may seek advice on a certain issue on the agenda. The invited person shall not be allowed to vote or follow debates of other items on the agenda.Section 2 – Executive Committee
Article 13 – Election of the Executive Committee and its term of office
Members of the General Assembly at each level shall elect among its members an Executive Committee composed of nine (9) people.Members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by secret ballot at an absolute majority vote. Members of the executive committee shall be elected for a term of office of five (5) years renewable only once (1).Internal rules and regulations of the Union shall determine the mode of election of the members of the Executive Committee, procedure of their replacement and their respective responsibilities.Article 14 – Composition of the Executive Committee
At each level, the Executive Committee shall comprise:1°a Coordinator;2°a Deputy Coordinator;3°a secretary;4°a financial Advisor;5°a production advisor;6°an Advisor in charge of production, advertisements and advocacy;7°an Advisor in charge of culture and gender promotion;8°an Adviser in charge of information;9°an Advisor in charge of cooperation.Article 15 – Responsibilities of the Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall be responsible for all administrative acts of the Union.In particular, the Executive Committee shall be responsible for:1°ensuring the daily management of the Union;2°implementing decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly except those to be implemented by the General Assembly;3°establishing an efficient system for coordination of all structures of beekeeping sector;4°preparing all the necessary documents for the General Assembly to fulfil its mission;5°advocating for the beekeeping sector in decision-making bodies;6°preparing the budget proposal and submit it to the General Assembly;7°carrying out any other duties as the General Assembly may assign to it.Members of the Executive Committee shall be jointly liable to the General Assembly of the execution of their collective mandate, and each of them shall answer about the mandate for which he/she was elected.Article 16 – Meetings of the Executive Committee
The Executive Committee at each level shall meet once a quarter and whenever necessary.The meeting of the Executive Committee shall be invited by the Coordinator, on his/her own initiative or at the request of a third (1/3) of its members.Article 17 – Quorum
The quorum for the meeting of the Executive Committee to be held is two-thirds (2/3) of its members.Decisions are taken by the majority vote of three fifths (3/5) of the members present in the meeting.Article 18 – Minutes of meeting of the Executive Committee
Minutes of the Executive Committee meetings shall be signed by all members present in the meeting.Article 19 – Executive Committee at the national level
The Executive Committee at national level shall submit its annual activity report to the General Assembly and reserve a copy to the ministry in charge of beekeeping.Section 3 – Permanent Secretariat
Article 20 – Permanent Secretariat
The Permanent Secretariat shall be headed by an Executive Secretary appointed by the Executive Committee at the national level.He/she shall be assisted by two 2 officers also appointed by the Executive Committee at the national level.Article 21 – Recruitment of the Executive Secretary and his/her assistants
The Executive Secretary and his/her assistants shall be recruited through competitive process.Article 22 – Responsibilities of the Permanent Secretariat
The Permanent Secretariat at the National level, the Province and the City of Kigali, shall ensure the daily management of the Union.Internal rules and regulations of the Union shall determine responsibilities of members of the Executive Secretariat.Chapter IV
Property of the Union
Article 23 – Property of the Union
The property of the Union shall be composed of movable and immovable property.Article 24 – Sources of the property of the Union
The property of the Union shall come from the following sources:1°contributions from members;2°grants from the State or stakeholders;3°donations and bequests;4°finances from the income generating activities of the Union;5°sale of membership cards.Article 25 – Audit of the Property
General Assembly at national level shall appoint auditors to carry out audit of the Union’s property.The Auditors shall audit the Union’s property every semester and monitor the implementation of the Union’s plan of action in accordance with internal rules and regulations.Auditors shall submit their audit report to the General Assembly thirty (30) days after completion of the audit and reserve copies to the Executive Committee at the national level and to the Ministry in charge of beekeeping.Chapter V
Final provisions
Article 26 – Authorities responsible for the implementation of this Order
The Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources is entrusted with the implementation of this Order.Article 27 – Repealing provision
All prior provisions contrary to this Order are hereby repealed.Article 28 – Commencement
This Order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda.History of this document
02 February 2015 this version
Commenced
16 January 2015
Assented to