Assent: 31 August 2000 
Commencement: 31 August 2000 
REPUBLIC OF VANUATU 

GOVERNMENT (AMENDMENT) ACT 
NO. 23 OF 2000 
Arrangement of Sections
1. Amendment of Section 9
2. Amendment of Section 13
3. Repeal of Section 15
4. Amendment of Section 16
5. Amendment of Section 17
6. Amendment of Section 18
7. Amendment of Section 19
8. Amendment of Section 22
9. Commencement
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REPUBLIC OF VANUATU 

GOVERNMENT (AMENDMENT) ACT 
NO. 23 OF 2000 
An Act to amend the Government Act No. 5 of 1998 ("The Principal Act")

BE IT ENACTED by the President and Parliament as follows:
AMENDMENT OF SECTION 9 
1. Section 9 of the Principal Act is amended by deleting subsection (4) in whole.
AMENDMENT OF SECTION 13 
2. Section 13 of the Principal Act is deleted and replaced by the following:
"MEMBERS OF DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE OF OFFICIALS
13. The PRIME MINISTER will appoint members of the Developmental Committee of Officials which will comprise:
(a) the Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office who shall be the chairperson;
(b) each Director-General of each Ministry;
(c) a Political Advisor from each Ministry;
(d) the Attorney-General;
(e) the Director of the Department of Strategic Management who is to be Secretary to the DCO; and
(f) the Secretary to the Council who shall provide secretarial support, and be the liaison person between Council and DCO."
REPEAL OF SECTION 15 
3. Section 15 of the Principal Act is repealed.
AMENDMENT OF SECTION 16 
4. Section 16 of the Principal Act is amended by deleting paragraphs (c) and (e) and renumbering the paragraphs accordingly.
AMENDMENT OF SECTION 17 
5. Section 17 of the Principal Act is deleted and replaced by the following:
"17. The Committee of the Council referred to in Section 21 shall determine the number of political advisers to be appointed to advise the Prime Minister and each Minister and in the case of the Prime Minister shall be no more than 5, in the case of the Deputy Prime Minister shall be no more than 4 and in the case of a Minister shall be no more than 3 but may be increased to 4 where a real need has arisen for the same."
AMENDMENT OF SECTION 18 
6. Section 18 of the Principal Act is amended by adding "and to execute all directives of the Minister with regards to the functioning of the Ministry and all departments under the Ministry's responsibility" after the word behalf.
AMENDMENT OF SECTION 19 
7. Section 19 of the Principal Act is amended by the deleting subsection (2) and renumbering the subsections accordingly.
AMENDMENT OF SECTION 22 
8. Section 22 of the Principal Act is amended by deleting subsection 2 and replacing it with the following:
"(2) The support staff of each Ministry shall be appointed by the Committee on Political Advisors upon recommendation by each Minister."
COMMENCEMENT 
9. This Act shall commence on the date of Assent.
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