Minister responsible for companies now able to amend Schedules 1 to 4 in Companies Act by notice in Gazette

The bill to amend the Companies Act has been passed in parliament which means the Minister responsible for companies to amend Schedules 1 to 4 to the Act by notice in the Gazette.

Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says this will enable Schedules 1 to 4 to the Act to be efficiently adjusted in line with changing market conditions.

The Schedules deal with availability of company names, standard form Articles of Association, minimum content requirements for a prospectus and minimum content requirements for offer document.

27 MPs voted for the bill while 23 voted against it.

One MP did not vote.

SODELPA MP Ro Teimumu Kepa

During the debate on the bill, SODELPA MP Ro Teimumu Kepa says the bill proposes to give more power to the minister.

She says the new section expands the minster’s already considerable powers further to allow him to unilaterally and arbitrarily make amendments merely by notice in the gazette.

Ro Teimumu says such sweeping amendments need to be properly debated in parliament.

She says the danger is that in this practice the typical micro management approach of the FijiFirst government may harm businesses and scare off investors because of an uncertain business environment and excessive ministerial power.

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says consultations have been held with the Ministry of Justice, Office of the Registrar of Companies, Office of the Solicitor General and the South Pacific Stock Exchange.

He says the rationale for the amendment is to enable the executive arm of the government to be more responsible to market changes and thus be able to make the changes accordingly instead of having to come back to parliament whenever an administrative or operational issue needs to be changed.