(1)
(a) |
A person who has reason to believe that a licensee or another person is guilty of any non-compliance with— |
(i) |
the terms and conditions of a licence; |
may lodge a complaint with the Authority within 60 days of becoming aware of the alleged non-compliance.
(ii) |
where the complaint concerns a person who is not a licensee, lay a charge against that person with the appropriate authority or institution in terms of a concurrent jurisdiction agreement concluded between the Authority and that authority or institution within 30 days of receipt of the complaint; or |
[Subsection (1) amended by section 23 of Act No. 2 of 2014]
(2) |
Before the Complaints and Compliance Committee hears a matter it must— |
(a) |
provide the licensee to the dispute with— |
(i) |
a copy of the complaint where a complaint has been lodged; and |
(ii) |
a notice setting out the nature of the alleged non-compliance; |
(b) |
afford the licensee a reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations in writing; and |
(c) |
afford the complainant a reasonable opportunity to reply to such response in writing where a complaint has been lodged. |
(3) |
The Complaints and Compliance Committee must hear oral representations made by the parties referred to in subsection (2) and must permit such parties to be assisted by a legal representative or other adviser. |
(4) |
The Complaints and Compliance Committee may hold a pre-hearing conference for the purpose of giving direction to the parties regarding the procedure to be followed at a hearing and other relevant matters determined by the Complaints and Compliance Committee. |
(5) |
Notwithstanding this section, the Authority may prescribe procedures for the handling of urgent complaints and non-compliance matters. |
(6) |
Sections 4C(2), (4) and (5) and 4D apply with the necessary changes required by the context to a hearing conducted by the Complaints and Compliance Committee. |
(7)
(a) |
The Complaints and Compliance Committee must keep a record of all complaints received by it, all notices contemplated in subsection (2) issued by it and a record of all its proceedings and findings. |
(b) |
Such record must be open to inspection by the public at the premises and during the normal office hours of the Authority. |
(c) |
The Authority must, when so requested by any person and upon payment of the prescribed fee, provide such person with a copy of or extract from such record. |
[Section 17C inserted by section 19 of Act No. 3 of 2006]