Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2022)

2.   Definitions

In this Act—

“accountable officer” means a public officer or accounting officer concerned in or responsible for the collection, receipts, custody, issues or payment of public monies, stores, stamps, investments, securities, or negotiable instruments, whether the property of the Government or on deposit with or entrusted to the Government or to any public officer in his or her official capacity either alone or jointly with any other public officer or any other person;

“Accountant General” means the public officer appointed to the office of the Accountant General and who is the custodian of the Consolidated Fund and the Contingency Fund and performs such duties as are conferred by this Act or any other enactment;

“accounting officer” means a public officer specified in section 6 who is accountable for—

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   (i)     the funds appropriated under any head of expenditure for Saint Lucia in any financial year,

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   (ii)     the collection of any revenue under the revenue heads to which that public officer is designated, and

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   (iii)     the use and custody of any public monies, stamps or stores relating to the service for which such revenue heads are established;

“Appropriation Act” means any Act which authorises the application of a sum out of the Consolidated Fund to the service of a financial year and includes a Supplementary Appropriation Act;

“collector of revenue” means a public officer responsible for the collection, receipt, and custody of public monies;

“Consolidated Fund” means the Consolidated Fund of Saint Lucia established by section 77 of the Constitution;

“Consolidated Fund General Services Account” means the General Services Account established by section 13 of this Act;

“Constitution” means the Constitution of Saint Lucia;

“Director of Finance and Planning” or “Director” means the public officer duly appointed by the Public Service Commission to hold the office of Director of Finance and Planning and who is directly responsible to the Minister for the administration of the Ministry of Finance;

“development programme account” means the development programme account referred to in section 14 of this Act;

“expenditure vote” means any sum appropriated to any service or investment authorised by an Appropriation Act;

“Financial Regulations” means the Financial Regulations;

“Financial year” means the 12 months ending on 31 March in any year or such other period of 12 months as may be established by law;

“House” means the House of Assembly;

“Minister” means the Minister of finance;

“officer” means a person employed in the public service of Saint Lucia;

“Procurement and Stores Regulations” means the Procurement and Stores Regulations;

“Public Accounts Committee” means the select committee established by standing order 67 of the Standing Orders of the House of Assembly;

“public monies” includes—

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   (a)     all revenues or other monies raised or received for the purpose of the Government; and

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   (b)     any monies or funds held, whether temporarily or otherwise, by any officer in his or her official capacity, either alone or jointly with any other person, whether or not that person is an officer;

“public officer” means a person holding or acting in any public office;

“public stores” means all chattels of whatsoever nature being the property of, in the possession of, or under the control of, the Government;

“receiver of revenue” means the Accountant General or any officer designated by him or her for the purpose of receiving monies, securities or other financial instruments collected by collectors of revenue;

“statutory body” means any corporation, company, board, commission, authority or other body established by or under an Act to provide goods or services to the public and which meets one or more of the following conditions:

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   (a)     all or part of its appropriations for operating purposes are provided under that heading in the budgetary estimates tabled in Parliament;

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   (b)     the Cabinet or a Minister appoints at least ¹/₂ of its members;

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   (c)     at least ¹/₂ of its operating expenses are borne directly by the Consolidated Fund or by other funds administered by a public body, or by both at the same time;

“statutory expenditure” means any expenditure that is required or authorised to be made by an enactment;

“supplementary Appropriation Act” means any Act the purpose of which is the appropriation of monies in supplementation of the appropriation already made by an Appropriation Act;

“supply vote” means the total sums appropriated out of the Consolidated Fund for and applied to any purpose by an Appropriation Act.