PREAMBLE
It is resolved by all gathered here, in London, on this day, the twenty-ninth of September, 1992, as amended by the General Meeting held on 1st May 2010, that there shall be the Malawi Association (UK) whose objectives, functions and practices shall be as enshrined in this document hereafter referred to as "the Constitution."
ARTICLES
1.0 OBJECTS
The objects of the Association shall be for the benefit of those members of the public who are Malawian or of Malawian descent by offering a sense of community and promoting cohesion, cooperation and networking among Malawians and friends of Malawi living in the United Kingdom
2.0 KEY ACTIVITIES
In furtherance of its objects, the Association shall, among other things, do the following;
2.1 facilitate access to information on personal development opportunities for Malawian community in the United Kingdom
2.2 provide advice, guidance and support to members where possible
2.3 foster closer cooperation and collaboration with organisations and friends of Malawi working to promote the interests of Malawians
2.4 organise or facilitate events, recreational or otherwise with a view to promoting a positive image of Malawi
2.5 identify field experts who can offer advice on wide ranging matters providing guidance on general welfare issues affecting Malawians in the United Kingdom
3.0: MEMBERSHIP
1. Membership of the Association shall be voluntary and open to all individuals who are Malawian nationals and/or are of Malawian descent, provided they subscribe to the objects of the Association and fully satisfy the criteria for membership as outlined in this Article.
2. Members registered with regional and other Malawian Associations in the United Kingdom shall, unless expressed otherwise in writing, be automatically recognised as members of the Malawi Association (UK)
3. Associate membership will be available to non-Malawians and their families, but such membership shall not entitle the holder to vote or stand for election to the Executive Committee.Associate members may attend meetings of the General Assembly.
4. Notwithstanding Article 3.1 above, membership shall also be open to any body corporate or legal entities that may be interested in the activities of the Association.
5. The Committee shall have the mandate to periodically consider whether or not to introduce membership fee, and if so, how much, having taken all relevant circumstances into consideration such as the Association’s state of finance or members ability to pay. Where membership fee has been introduced, the Committee shall stipulate the benefits that shall be enjoyed by fully paid up members.
6. Members shall have the right to withdraw from membership of the organisation.
7. Only the General Assembly, after satisfying conditions as laid down in Article
5.0235 and 5.0244, shall have the power to cancel membership of the Association.
4.0: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
4.0.1 The Association shall be managed by an elected executive which shall have the power to raise funds on behalf of the General Assembly. The committee shall consist of the following offices:
1. Chairman
2. Vice-Chairman
3. Secretary General
4. Treasurer
5. Committee Member
6. Committee Member
7. Committee Member
8. Ordinary Committee Member
9. Ordinary Youth Committee Member
10 Ex officio members (representing Regional or other Malawi Associations in the United Kingdom)
4.0.1.1 The office bearers shall be elected at the Annual General Assembly but if a vacancy arises among the Executive at any other time, the Committee may appoint a full member of the Association to fill the vacancy until the next Annual General Assembly.
4.0.1.2 The Association shall recognise and co-opt chairpersons of the Regional or other Malawi Associations operating in the United Kingdom as Ex Officio Members of the Executive Committee, provided that such members shall not be elected to any position on the Executive Committee of the Association.
4.0.2. DUTIES:
4.0.2.1
The Chairman shall:
1. preside over all meetings of the Executive committee and the General Assembly.
2. provide leadership both within the committee and the Association at large.
3. assign or delegate responsibilities and tasks to any member of the Executive as deemed necessary
4. ensure that the activities and practices of the executive committee and the
Association as a whole uphold the constitution.
5. be a signatory to all accounts held by the Association.
6. be the principal spokesman on all matters pertaining to or affecting the organization, provided that he may delegate this responsibility to the Vice Chairman or the Secretary General or any other member of the Executive Committee as appropriate.
7. ensure that his powers and authority are delegated to the vice-chairman in the event of inability to carry out his tasks.
8. prepare and present the Annual Report to the General Assembly
9. ensure that there is a smooth handover of power to the next Executive Committee.
9. be empowered, in consultation with the Executive Committee, to seek expert advice where necessary.
4.0.2.2
The Vice-Chairman shall:
1. assume all the powers and authority of the Chairman in the absence of the latter.
2. perform such tasks as may from time to time be delegated to him by the chairman.
4.0.2.3
The Secretary General shall:
1. be responsible for keeping all records of the meetings of Executive Committee and the General Assembly.
2. be responsible for informing members of all meetings held by the Association.
3. be a signatory to the Accounts of the Association.
4. be responsible for communicating relevant information to the membership of the Association.
4.0.2.4
The Treasurer shall:
1. assume principal responsibility for all financial transactions of the Association.
2. be responsible for managing the finances and maintaining records of the assets and finances of the Association.
2. be responsible for preparing and presenting the Association's statements of accounts to the General Assembly and the Executive committee, as required and requested.
3. prepare and submit on time any statutory documents that are required
4. regularly report to the committee on the financial position.
5. arrange for the statement of accounts to be audited.
7. be responsible for financial planning including producing an annual budget and monitoring it throughout the year.
4.0.2.5
The five other Members of the Executive Committee shall:
1. function as full members of the Executive Committee.
2. attend meetings of the Executive Committee
4.0.3 TERM OF OFFICE
1. The term of office for the Executive Committee shall be one year after which time fresh elections shall be held to elect new office bearers. Office bearers shall be eligible for re-election at the expiration of their term of office.
2. All office bearers shall hold office for no more than three consecutive terms of office, provided that they will be eligible to vie for any position at the expiry of at least one term immediately after the three consecutive terms as prescribed in this paragraph.
3. The Association's year shall run from June to May of the following calendar year.
4.0.4 ELECTION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
1. Subject to Article 2, members shall be eligible to vote or stand for any office in the Executive Committee.
2. Election of members of the Executive Committee shall be carried out at the Annual General Meeting of the Association which shall be held every July. The Executive Committee is under strict obligation to ensure that the Annual General Meeting takes place as required by this Constitution.
3. At the conclusion of the general business of the Annual General Meeting and before the commencement of elections of a new Executive Committee, the existing Executive Committee shall be dissolved and all members shall immediately cease to hold office.
4. Nominations for candidacy shall be submitted to the Secretary no less than three weeks before the General Elections.
5. Nominations shall be circulated to all members of the Association at least two weeks in advance of the general election.
6. Elections shall be conducted by a Returning officer appointed by the General Assembly.
7. Voting shall be secret ballot. Voting by proxy shall be permitted.
8. Any ballot for the election of an officer or elected Member of the Committee shall be taken in such manner as the person presiding shall direct with the consent of a simple majority of the members present at the meeting.
9. It shall be the responsibility of the Returning Officer to publish all results of the election and ensure that such elections have conformed to the constitution.
5.0.1: MEETINGS
The Executive Committee:
1. shall meet as and when necessary, but not less than FOUR times a year.
2. agenda of each meeting shall be circulated to members in advance.
3. the Secretary General shall keep a record of each and every meeting.
4. decisions of the committee shall be reached by means of a simple majority vote.
5. At any meeting five committee members of whom one must be the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman, and the Secretary General or the Vice-Secretary General shall constitute the quorum. The Chair or Vice-Chair shall have the casting vote.
5.0.2 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
5.0.2.1 Composition:
1. The General Assembly shall be composed of all full members of the Association.
5.0.2.2 Frequency of Meetings:
1. The Association shall meet at least ONCE a year, one of which shall be an Annual General Meeting.
5.0.2.3 Procedures of Meetings of the Assembly
1. One third or twenty five of the registered members shall constitute a quorum.
2. the quorum for amendment of the constitution shall be two thirds of members of the Association present.
3. the quorum required for the dissolution of the Association shall be three fourth of registered members of the Association.
4. agenda of the Meetings of the Assembly shall be sent to members in advance of the Meetings.
5. all decisions of the Assembly shall be reached by a simple majority vote.
6. Voting shall be by show of hands save in the matter of General Elections or where by a simple majority the Assembly deems it in the interest of the Association to conduct a secret ballot on a particular issue.
5.0.2.4 Duties of the General Assembly
The General Assembly shall:
1. be seen as embodying the will of the Association;
2. be responsible for electing the Executive Committee and holding by-elections.
3. have the power to pass a vote of no-confidence in a sitting Executive.
4. have the power to suspend or expel any member of the Association, subject to full discussion and the procedure of decision-making specified in Article 5.0.2.3.5, where a member has violated the spirit and letter of the Constitution.
5. have the power to receive and demand reports from the Executive Committee.
6. be responsible for electing a Returning Officer to preside over the General Elections or by-elections. A Returning Officer shall be someone who is not a candidate for the Executive Committee. The term of office of the Returning Officer shall expire soon after the Executive Committee has been Elected.
7. have the power to amend the Constitution of the Association.
8. have the power to dissolve the Association.
5.0.2.4.5 The Annual General Assembly shall:
1. be held before the end of May each year
2. receive annual statements of accounts from the Treasurer.
3. receive annual reports from the Chairman and other office bearers.
4. have the power to accept and query any report presented to it and request resubmission of reports.
5. conduct General Elections through its Returning Officer.
6. conduct any other business of which due notice shall be given
5.0.2.6 General Meetings
1. All other General Meetings shall be Extraordinary General Meetings. The Committee may at any time convene an Extraordinary General Meeting and shall do giving at least twenty one days notice specifying the main business to be transacted thereat.
2. Any Member who wishes to propose a resolution at General Meetings shall give fourteen days’ notice thereof in writing to the Secretary.
3. A quorum at a General Meeting shall be twenty five people
4. Unless otherwise decided by the General Meeting, the Chairman or in his absence, the Vice Chairman of the Association shall preside, or in their absence, the meeting shall elect some other member of the Executive Committee to preside.
5. In the event of an equality of votes for against any motion before the meeting, the person presiding shall have a second casting vote.
6.0 FINANCES
6.0.1 ACCOUNTS
1. The Association shall have the power to raise funds and to establish accounts.
2. The Association's Accounts shall be held with a reputable Bank or Building Society.
3. The Bank or Building Society at which the Accounts of the Association are held shall keep a copy of the Constitution and shall ensure that the Association's procedures pertaining to the management of finances are adhered to.
4. At least the Chairman, the Vice Chairman, the Secretary General and the Treasurer shall be signatories to all Accounts of the Association. At the discretion of the Executive Committee, other members of the Executive Committee may be added as signatories.
5. Names of signatories, together with a copy of the Election of Results signed by the Returning Officer, should be given to the Bank soon after General Elections by the Treasurer or Chairman.
6. The Bank will have the power to request proof of identity from new signatories and in all cases where money is being withdrawn from the Accounts of the Association.
7. All expenditure must be approved by the committee.
8. All moneys of the Association must be banked within three working days from the day such moneys have been received.
9. There shall be an annual audit of all Accounts and Finances of the Association which shall be conducted by a credible professional Auditor appointed by the General Assembly.
6.0.2 STATEMENTS OF ACCOUNTS
1. The Treasurer shall present an Annual Statement of Accounts to the Annual General Meeting.
2. Reports on the state of finances will be presented by the Treasurer to the Executive Committee regularly and to the General Assembly at least once a year.
7.0 COMPLYING WITH COMMISSION RULES
The Association shall ensure that it complies with any other applicable mandatory obligations or rules issued by the Charity Commission.
8.0 DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES
8.1 Right to Complain
1. Any member feeling aggrieved by the actions of the Association or any of the Association’s members or any office bearer shall have a right to complain to the Committee. Such complaint shall be in writing.
8.2 Rules and Regulations (Disciplinary) Procedures
The Executive shall develop and maintain a Rules and Regulations (Disciplinary) Procedures, in consultation with membership, outlining in detail all the Rules and Regulations and what constitutes breach of discipline and what sanctions would be applied for such breaches and the steps to be taken in addressing any such grievances and disciplinary issues.
9. 0 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
1. The Constitution may only be amended by the General Assembly as specified in Article 5.0.2.3.2.
2. No amendment shall be made to Article 1 (objects), Article 10 (dissolution) or this Article (amendments) without the approval of the Charity Commission and no amendment shall be made which would cause the Association to cease to be a charity by law.
10.0 DISSOLUTION
1. The Association may only be dissolved by the General Assembly subject to Article
5.0.2.3.3.
2. The discussion and passing of any Special Resolution to dissolve the Association shall take into account any outstanding legal liability of the Association and follow the Charity Commission’s rules with regard to matters relating to dissolution of a charity.
3. In the event of the Association being dissolved, all assets and moneys of the Association which remain after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall be transferred to such charitable organisation or organisations having objects similar to objectives of the association as the Executive Committee may decide. In the event that effect cannot be given to this provision, all such remaining assets and money shall be transferred to such other charitable organisation or organisations as the Executive Committee may determine with the prior written approval of the Charity Commission.
