Microfinance Bill, 2012 H.B. 2, 2012 PART III REGISTRATION OF MICROFINANCIERS 6 Prohibitions in relation to conduct of microfinance business (1) No person⎯ (a) shall conduct any microfinance business unless he or she is registered in terms of this Act; (b) shall be registered as a microfinance institution unless that person is a company; (c) registered as a moneylender in terms of this Act shall conduct deposit-taking microfinance business. (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1)(a) or (c)shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level fourteen or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment. (3) Without derogating from subsection (2), where a person advances a loan or credit to another person in the course of microfinance business that is conducted in contravention of subsection (1)(a)⎯ (a) no interest shall be payable on the loan or advance; and (b) the capital sum of the loan or advance shall not be recoverable from the borrower unless a competent court, on application by the lender, has condoned the lender’s failure to comply with subsection (1). (4) Subsection (3) applies whether or not there has been a prosecution for an offence referred to in subsection (2). 7 Application for registration as microfinancier (1) An application for registration shall be made to the Registrar in the prescribed form and manner and shall disclose or be accompanied by⎯ (a) where the applicant operates or proposes to operate as a microfinance institution⎯ (i) the name of every person who holds five per centum or more of the applicant’s voting stock and his or her physical address; and (ii) the names of the applicant’s directors, chief executive officer and chief accounting officer, their physical addresses and particulars of the qualifications or experience of each of them; and (iii) certified copies of the applicant’s certificate of incorporation as a company and the applicant’s articles and memorandum of association; and (iv) particulars of the applicant’s authorised and paid-up share capital; (v) a business plan in the form prescribed in the Second Schedule; (b) where the applicant operates or proposes to operate as a moneylender and ⎯ (i) the applicant is an individual⎯ A. the name and physical address of the applicant, and particulars of the qualifications or experience, if any, of the applicant in the field of microfinance business; and -8-