Section 23: Termination of appointment

23. Termination of appointment (1) Where— (a) the Parliamentary Committee has reason to believe that the Director-General has been guilty of such gross negligence, irregularity or misconduct that his appointment ought to be terminated; or (b) the Director-General is unable to discharge the functions of his office, whether such inability arises from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause, the Parliamentary Committee may, by majority decision of its members, suspend the Director-General from office. (2) Where the Parliamentary Committee suspends the Director-General under subsection (1), it shall forthwith refer the matter to the AttorneyGeneral. (3) Where a matter is referred to the Attorney-General under subsection (2), the Attorney-General shall advise the Parliamentary Committee whether disciplinary proceedings or such other action as he thinks fit should be taken against the Director-General under this section. (4) Where the Attorney-General does not, within 7 days of the date on which the Director-General was suspended, advise that proceedings be taken against the Director-General, the suspension shall be lifted and the DirectorGeneral reinstated forthwith in his office. (5) Where the Attorney-General advises that proceedings be taken against the Director-General— (a) the Attorney-General shall forward to the Parliamentary Committee the charge which the Director-General will be required to answer, and designate a law officer to sustain the charge; (b) the Attorney-General shall, on such terms and conditions as he may determine, appoint any person who holds or has held judicial office to hear and determine, without delay, whether the charge has been established. (6) The person appointed to hear and determine the charge under subsection (5) (b) shall, within 7 working days of the date on which the hearing is completed, forward his findings and the record of all his proceedings and evidence adduced before him to the Parliamentary Committee. (7) Where the charge has been found established, the Parliamentary Committee shall, within 7 working days of the receipt of the findings and record referred to in subsection (6), examine the findings and record and decide whether the appointment of the Director-General ought to be terminated. P24 – 15 [Issue 1] Prevention of Corruption Act (8) Where the Parliamentary Committee decides that the appointment of the Director-General ought to be terminated, it shall communicate its decision to the Director-General forthwith. [S. 23 amended by s. 9 of Act 24 of 2005 w.e.f. 1 October 2005.]