(1) Any—
| (b) |
court of marine enquiry, maritime court or court of survey; or |
| (d) |
other person authorized or required by or under this Act, or generally or specially authorized or required by the Authority, to make any survey or inspection or conduct any investigation, |
may, in the execution of his or its duty or the exercise of his or its functions—
| (i) |
board any South African ship wherever she may be, or any ship other than a South African ship while she is within the Republic or the territorial waters of the Republic, and inspect the same or any part thereof, or any equipment thereof, or any articles on board, or any log-books, certificates or other documents relating to the ship or the crew thereof, and muster the crew of the ship and interrogate them, and require the master and crew to demonstrate the related competency at their place or places of duty; |
[Section 9 (1)(i) substituted by section 3 of Act No. 57 of 1998]
| (ii) |
enter any premises, including any land, structure, vehicle or vessel, and inspect the same or any articles therein; |
| (iii) |
by written notice or otherwise summon any person who in his or its opinion may be able to give information which is likely to assist him or it in the carrying out of such duty, or who he or it suspects or believes has in his possession or custody or under his control any book, document or thing the inspection of which is likely to assist him or it in the carrying out of such duty, to appear before him or it at a time and place specified, to be interrogated or to produce that book, document or thing; |
| (iv) |
administer an oath to any person appearing in obedience to any summons or otherwise, and interrogate him and inspect and detain any book, document or thing produced; |
| (v) |
require any person interrogated to subscribe to a declaration of the truth of the statement made by him; |
| (vi) |
copy any document inspected by or produced to him or it. |
| (vii) |
[Section 9 (1)(vii) deleted by section 4 of Act No. 23 of 1997] |
[Section 9 (1) substituted by section 7(a) of Act No. 30 of 1959]
| (a) |
shall upon demand assist to the best of his ability any officer or other person or court in the exercise of any of the powers conferred by subsection (1); |
| (b) |
summoned under paragraph (iii) of subsection (1) whose reasonable expenses have been paid or offered to him shall attend at the time and place specified, and remain in attendance until excused by the officer or other person or court from further attendance; |
[Section 9 (2)(b) substituted by section 7(b) of Act No. 30 of 1959]
| (c) |
shall take the oath administered to him by any officer or other person or court under paragraph (iv) of subsection (1); |
| (d) |
shall answer fully and satisfactorily, to the best of his ability, all questions lawfully put to him by any officer or other person or court under paragraph (i) or (iv) of subsection (1), and, upon being required to do so, produce any book, document or thing in his possession or under his control: Provided that in connection with the interrogation of any such person by, or the production of any such book, document or thing to any such officer or other person or court, the law relating to privilege, as applicable to a witness summoned to give evidence or produce any book, document or thing before a court of law shall apply; and |
| (e) |
upon being required to do so, shall subscribe to a declaration of the truth of any statement made by him. |
| (3) |
Any person who, after being sworn by an officer or other person or court in the exercise of the said powers, gives a false answer to any question put to him, or makes a false statement on any matter, knowing that answer or statement to be false, shall be deemed to be guilty of perjury. |
| (4) |
Any person or court referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1) may in the execution of his or its duty or the exercise of his or its functions, if he or it deems it necessary to do so, direct that any South African ship wherever she may be, or any ship other than a South African ship while she is within the Republic or the territorial waters of the Republic, be taken into dock at the owner's expense, in order that every part of the hull thereof may be inspected. |
(5)
(a)
| (i) |
When an employer performs an act or requires or permits an act to be performed which in the opinion of a proper officer or surveyor threatens or is likely to threaten the safety of any person at a workplace or in the course of his employment, the proper officer or surveyor may by notice in writing prohibit that employer from continuing or commencing with the performance of that act or from requiring or permitting that act to be continued or commenced with, as the case may be. |
| (ii) |
When a user uses any machinery or proposes to use it in a manner or in circumstances which in the opinion of a proper officer or surveyor threatens or is likely to threaten the safety of any person who works with such machinery or who is or may come in the vicinity thereof, such proper officer or surveyor may by notice in writing prohibit that user from continuing or commencing with the use of such machinery or the use thereof in that manner or those circumstances, as the case may be. |
| (iii) |
A prohibition imposed under subparagraph (i) or (ii) may at any time be revoked in writing by the proper officer or surveyor if arrangements to the satisfaction of such proper officer or surveyor have been made to dispose of the threat which gave rise to the imposition of the prohibition. |
| (b) |
When a proper officer or surveyor is of the opinion that the safety of any person at a workplace or in the course of his employment or in connection with the use of machinery is threatened on account of the refusal or failure of an employer or a user, as the case may be, to take reasonable steps in the interest of such person's safety, such proper officer or surveyor may by notice in writing direct that employer or user to take such steps as are specified in the notice, within a specified period. |
| (c) |
When on board a vessel in the vicinity of a workplace there is any nuisance which in the opinion of a proper officer or surveyor threatens or is likely to threaten the safety of an employee performing work at that workplace, such proper officer or surveyor may by notice in writing direct the person responsible for such nuisance or the owner or master of such vessel to remove the nuisance within a specified period. |
| (d) |
When a proper officer or surveyor is of the opinion that an employer or a user has failed to comply with a provision of a regulation applying to him, such proper officer or surveyor may by notice in writing direct that employer or user to take, within a period specified in the notice, such steps as in the opinion of the proper officer or surveyor are necessary to comply with the said provision and as are specified in the notice. |
| (e) |
The period contemplated in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) may at any time be extended by the proper officer or surveyor by notice in writing to the person concerned. |
(f)
| (i) |
A proper officer or surveyor may by notice in writing prohibit an employer from requiring or permitting employees or any employee belonging to a category of employees specified in the notice, to be exposed in the course of their or his employment for a longer period than a period specified in the notice to any article or condition which in the opinion of such proper officer or surveyor threatens or is likely to threaten the safety of such employees or the employee belonging to such category of employees, as the case may be. |
| (ii) |
An employer shall forthwith bring the contents of a notice under subparagraph (i) to the attention of the employees or employee concerned. |
[Section 9 (5) inserted by section 3(c) of Act No. 18 of 1992]
Statistics Act, 1999
