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PUBLIC COLLECTIONS ACT, 1961 (ACT
59)
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
1. Public appeals for donations
in money or in kind restricted
2. Application to collections
begun before the commencement of
this Act
3. Exemptions
4. Registration of Public
collections
5. Method, effect and duration of
registration
6. Power of the registration
authority to call for books of
account
7. Collectors
8. Proceeds of collection deemed
to be received for stated objects
9. Offences and penalties
10. Legal proceedings
11. Regulations
12. Interpretation
13. Repeal
14. Commencement
THE FIFTY-NINTH
ACT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE
REPUBLIC OF GHANA
ENTITLED
THE PUBLIC COLLECTIONS ACT, 1961.
AN ACT to consolidate the law
relating to public collections of
money or in kind.
DATE OF ASSENT: 29th May, 1961.
BE IT ENACTED by the President and
the National Assembly in this
present Parliament assembled as
follows:—
Section 1—Public appeals for
donations in money or in kind
restricted.
(1) Subject to the provisions of
this Act it is unlawful to make
any appeal to the public or any
part or class thereof for
donations in money or in kind for
any object whatsoever, except
where registration of such public
collection has been effected in
accordance with this Act.
(2) A payment of money in exchange
for a token or any article of
token value only, or for any
article or benefit the value of
which is substantially less than
the value of such payment shall be
deemed to be a donation for the
purposes of this section.
(3) In any case where an appeal
for donations to be applied to a
particular object is made to five
or more members of the public, the
burden of proving, in any criminal
or civil proceedings taken in
relation to such appeal, that it
was not an appeal to the public
within the meaning of this section
shall be upon the defendant in
such proceedings.
Section 2—Application to
collections begun before the
commencement of this Act.
An appeal for donations made
before the commencement of this
Act which would, if made after the
commencement of this Act, be
subject to the provisions of this
Act shall, if donations continue
to be solicited or made after the
commencement of this Act, be
deemed to be public collection to
which the provisions of this Act
apply.
Section 3—Exemptions.
This Act shall not apply to—
(a) any collection made at divine
service in a place of public
worship for charitable, benevolent
or philanthropic purposes;
(b) requests made by or on behalf
of the committee of any club,
association or trade union to
members of such club, association
or union for subscriptions;
(c) collections of a purely
parochial character made in good
faith for the benefit of a local
church, school, sport club or
charity, or a project in the
interests of local public welfare;
(d) collections made in good faith
among a limited class of persons
for the purposes of making a
presentation to any person on any
special occassion;
(e) collections in respect of
customary ceremonial rites; or
(f) any person or class of person
exempted by order of the Minister
in relation to a collection for an
object specified in such order.
Section 4—Registration of public
collections.
(1) Any person who desires to
promote a public collection shall
make application for registration
in the prescribed form to the
registration authority for the
area within which the collection
is to be made, and the application
shall, in addition to such other
particulars as may be prescribed,
contain a full and accurate
statement of the objects to which
the proceeds of the collection are
to be applied (hereinafter
referred to as "the stated
objects").
(2) The registration authorities
for each Region shall be such
persons as the Minister may
appoint.
(3) The registration authority
shall not refuse registration, or,
where registration has been
effected, shall nor revoke it,
unless it appears to him—
(a) that any of the stated
objects is illegal;
(b) that the applicant or the
promoter is not a fit and proper
person to be registered by reason
of the fact that he has been
convicted of any offence the
conviction for which necessarily
involved a finding that he acted
fraudulently or dishonestly;
(c) that the applicant or the
promoter, in promoting a public
collection, has failed to exercise
due diligence to secure that
collectors authorised by him to
assist in making the collection
were fit and proper persons, to
secure compliance on the part of
collectors with the provisions of
this Act or to prevent
certificates of authority being
obtained by persons other than
duly authorised collectors;
(d) that the applicant or the
promoter has been convicted of any
offence against the provisions of
this Act; or
(e) that remuneration which is
excessive in proportion to the
total amount likely to be
collected is to be or has been
retained or received out of the
proceeds of the collection by any
person.
(4) If the registration authority
refuses registration, or if he
revokes registration, he shall
forthwith give written notice
thereof to the applicant or
promoter, stating the grounds upon
which registration has been
refused or revoked, and informing
him of the right of appeal given
by this section, and the applicant
or promoter may thereupon appeal
by petition to the Minister
against the refusal or revocation
of registration, as the case may
be, and the decision of the
Minister shall be final.
(5) The appeal shall be brought
within twenty-one days from the
date on which notice is given
under subsection (4).
(6) If the Minister decides that
the appeal should be allowed, the
registration authority shall
forthwith effect registration or
cancel the revocation, as the case
may be, in accordance with the
decision of the Minister.
Section 5—Method, Effect and
Duration of Registration.
(1) Except where registration is
refused under section 4 of this
Act, the registration authority
shall cause the prescribed
particulars (which shall include
the stated objects) to be entered
in the register, and thereupon the
promoter may make a public
collection for the stated objects
within the area in which
registration has been effected.
(2) A registration effected under
this section shall, unless sooner
revoked, remain in force until the
31st day of December in the year
in which it is effected.
Section 6—Power of the
Registration Authority to call for
Books of Accounts, Etc.
The registration authority may, by
notice in writing, call upon the
promoter of a public collection to
produce, to the person named and
at the time and place specified in
the notice, the books of account
and all other documents relating
to such collection for examination
or audit.
Section 7—Collectors.
(1) Any promoter may authorise any
number of fit and proper persons
to assist him in making a public
collection for the stated objects.
(2) Each collector shall be
supplied by the promoter with a
certificate of authority which
shall specify fully and accurately
the stated objects of the
collection, and a collector shall
produce his certificate of
authority on demand to any police
officer in uniform or to any
person to whom he has made an
appeal for a donation.
Section 8—Proceeds of Collection
Deemed to be Received for Stated
Objects.
(1) The proceeds of any public
collection shall, for the purposes
of any civil or criminal
proceedings whatsoever, be deemed
to be received by the promoter and
collectors for the purpose of
applying them to the stated
objects.
(2) Where a reasonable proportion
of the proceeds of any public
collection is applied to the
expenses of administration of such
public collection, it shall be
deemed to have been applied to the
stated objects.
(3) For the purposes of subsection
(2), the determination of what is
a reasonable proportion shall be a
question of fact in each case.
Section 9—Offences and Penalties.
Any person who contravenes any of
the provisions of section 1 (1) of
this Act or with any of the terms
of a notice given under section 6
of this Act or who makes an
application for registration under
section 4 of this Act knowing it
to be false in any material
particular, shall be guilty of an
offence under this Act and shall
be liable, upon conviction, for a
first offence, to a fine not
exceeding fifty pounds or to
imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six months, or to both,
and, for a second or subsequent
offence, to a fine not exceeding
one hundred pounds or to
imprisonment for a term not
exceeding twelve months, or to
both.
Section 10—Legal Proceedings.
No prosecution for an offence
against this Act shall be
instituted except by, or with the
written consent of, the
Attorney-General.
Section 11—Regulations.
The Minister by legislative
instrument may make regulations
for carrying into effect the
provisions of this Act.
Section 12—Interpretation.
(1) In this Act, except where the
contrary intention appears—
"collector" means a person duly
authorised under section 7 of this
Act to assist in making a public
collection;
"Minister" means the Minister of
the Interior;
"promoter" means a person duly
registered under section 5 of this
Act as the promoter of a public
collection.
(2) For the purposes of sections
1, 2 and 7 of this Act—
"appeal" means a request or
invitation however conveyed,
whether by actions, in words,
pictorially or in writing, and
whether made in public, through
the press, in conversation, by
house to house visiting or through
the post.
Section 13—Repeal.
(1) The Public Collections
Ordinance (Cap. 45) is repealed.
(2) Every statutory instrument
made under the repealed Ordinance
and in force immediately before
the commencement of this Act shall
continue in force as if made under
the corresponding provision of
this Act.
Section 14—Commencement.
This Act shall come into operation
on such day as the Minister by
legislative instrument may
appoint. |
