ZYA CONSTITUTION

The other time i promised that I'll piublish our constitution on the blog for everyone to see. here it is:

ZYA Constitution

Preamble

We the youth of Zombodze Community, in the Shiselweni region, moved by the firm conviction that unity is power, met on the 25th of November 2003 to form a youth organisation called Zombodze Youth in Action (ZYA) which is committed to the overall economic, social, educational, and human development among young members of our community guided by the ideal of actively participating in the formulation of developmental projects that will benefit our community. The organisation shall endeavour to unite the youth of Zombodze to take their rightful position in the development of the community.

ARTICLE 1

1.1 NAME

The name of the organisation shall be Zombodze Youth in Action, here-in referred to as ZYA.

1.2 MEMBERSHIP

1.2.1 Membership to the organisation shall be open to all persons between the ages 12 – 35 years who are residents of the Zombodze constituency, irrespective of race, sex, belief, social status, or/and literacy level.
1.2.2 Members shall be considered full members after subscribing a sum of E10 and it is then that they shall be eligible to participate fully in ALL organisational activities.
1.2.3 Every member shall fill and sign a membership form as an undertaking of adherence to the organisation’s constitution.
1.2.4 The executive committee may honour a person by the grant of Honorary Membership for such a period as it may deem appropriate, regardless of the provision in article 1.2.1.

1.3 AIMS OF THE ORGANISATION

1.3.1 To mobilize, unite, protect and promote the interests of the youth of Zombodze.
1.3.2 To promote youth involvement in community development programmes that include:
a) Poverty alleviation through project development, economic empowerment, and entrepreneurship.
b) Access to basic services which include clean water, sanitation, bridges across small rivers around the Zombodze community
c) Environmental protection, etc.
1.3.3 To promote youth involvement in a speedy combat and total eradication of HIV/AIDS and poverty in our community.
1.3.4 To network with other HIV/AIDS service organisations like that of people living with HIV in the country.
1.3.5 To foster a sustainable response to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children in the community.
1.3.6 To champion youth involvement in child protection campaigns which may include among others:
a) Speaking out against child abuse as it infringes on their Rights as articulated by the UN Convention on Child’s Rights.
b) Responding to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children in the community.

1.3.7 To help in the fight against unemployment, crime, domestic violence and drug abuse by all appropriate means.
1.3.8 To empower the youth through working together so to strengthen their leadership capabilities, self responsibility, income generation, and advocacy skills through debates, seminars, discussions etc.
1.3.9 To encourage youth participation in emergency services which may include among others:
a) The provision of relief to those suffering or are in danger due to natural hazards or domestic violence etc.
b) Construction of houses or facilitate provision of tents where families live in dilapidated houses due to poverty.
c) Voluntary work so to assist the government in it’s response to emergencies.

1.3.10 To promote youth involvement in sports and music as a means of keeping them away from drug abuse and teenage pregnancy.
1.3.11 To construct a youth centre which will be responsible for facilitating all youth sports and recreation activities in the community
1.3.12 To subscribe, join, or affiliate to any other bigger organisation or institution that may be foreign or local, which may be seen to have similar sentiments as ZYA.

ARTICLE 2
STRUCTURE OF THE ORGANISATION

2.1 General Membership
2.1.1 Shall be the highest decision making body of ZYA
2.1.2 a) Shall converge annually for reports and review of progress of that particular year.
b) Shall convene every four months to discuss on the organisations proceedings and progress.
c) Shall elect the Executive Committee of the organisation, which shall comprise of the Director, President, Deputy President, Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, Treasurer General, Public Relations Officer, Project Manager.
c) Shall elect all other organisation committees which include: the community development committee, HIV/AIDS committee, youth empowerment committee, sports committee and the emergency response committee.

2.1.3 Shall carry out decisions and instructions of the Executive Committee.

2.2 General Executive Committee
The GEC shall be constituted as follows;

2.2.1 Director, President, Deputy President, Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, Treasurer General, Public Relations Officer, and Project manager.
2.2.2 Shall be directly elected by the General Membership.
2.2.3 Shall meet as regularly as demanded by their daily responsibilities to co-ordinate and execute their day to day administrative duties of the ZYA.


2.3 DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE BEARERS

2.3.1 The Director
a) Shall be elected by the General Executive Committee.
b) Shall be an Honorary Member of the organisation.
c) Shall be above 26 years of age.
d) Shall assume the role of the organisation’s facilitator (will assist in discussing
problems and giving advices to the organisation).

2.3.2 The President
a) Shall be the Chief Administrator of ZYA.
b) Shall supervise all the work of the organisation.
c) Shall present a report on the state and socio economic status of the organisation in all General Meetings.

2.3.3 The Deputy President
a) Shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the President in his/her absence.
b) Shall assist the President in his/her duties.
c) Shall be responsible for Constitutional Affairs.

2.3.4 The Project Manager
a) Shall supervise all the organisation’s committees.
b) Shall present to the G.E.C a report on the progress of all the organisation’s committees
c) Shall assist the committees in devising working plans and project proposals.

2.3.5 The Secretary General
a) Shall prepare annual reports on the overall work of the organisation
b) Shall be responsible for the overall functioning of the G.E.C.
c) Shall be responsible for keeping minutes and records of the organisation.
d) Shall be responsible for gender affairs of the organisation
2.3.6 The Deputy Secretary General
a) Shall, in the absence of the Secretary General, assume his/her duties.
b) Shall assist the Secretary General in his/her duties and responsibilities.

2.3.7 The Treasurer General
a) Shall be the custodian of all financial records of the organisation with the ultimate responsibility for all financial transactions of the organisation.
b) Shall together with the Secretary General and President operate a banking account on behalf of the organisation.
c) Shall present to the G.E.C a properly written financial statement of the organisation.

2.3.8 The Public Relations Officer
a) Shall develop and nurture a good image of the organisation to the public and media.
b) Shall be responsible for the state of the relationship between the organisation and the public.

ARTICLE 3
Powers of the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee has powers to do the following:
3.1 To form and control the financial policy of the organisation
3.2 To appoint representatives to any authority or body discharging any function relating to sustainable development
3.3 To make rules and regulations for conduct and procedure in meetings.
3.4 To appoint and give incentives to support staff.

ARTICLE 4
PROCEEDINGS OF THE G.E.C

4.1 The GEC shall meet as often as required by its daily duties
4.2 The President shall call a meeting through the Secretary General.
4.3 The President shall preside over all meetings of the organisation.
4.4 Executive meetings shall satisfy a quorum of 2/3 members.
4.5 In all meetings, the one man one vote and majority rule shall apply.
4.6 A written resolution signed by at least 2/3 of the G.E.C members shall be as effective as a resolution passed at a General Meeting.
4.7 The Secretary General shall take and keep records of all minutes in all meetings of the organisation, be it G.E.C meetings or General Meetings.

Article 5
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
At least 20% of all ZYA committees shall be female for their effective participation and empowerment.

ARTICLE 6
DISCIPLINE
The conduct of all members of ZYA shall be governed by a document called “The ZYA Code of Conduct.”

ARTICLE 7
FINANCE
All finances of ZYA shall be governed in accordance with a document entitled “The ZYA Finance Policy.”

ARTICLE 8
INTERPRETATION AND AMMENDMENTS
8.1 For all operational purposes of the constitution, the G.E.C can provisionally interpret any of the provisions articulated by the constitution.
8.2 The General Membership shall be the highest decision making body for the interpretation and amendments of the constitution with a 2/3 majority vote.

ARTICLE 9
DISSOLUTION
Upon dissolution, all assets of the ZYA remaining after satisfaction of all its liabilities shall be transferred to charity or succeeding organisations.

ARTICLE 10
RESIGNATION
10.1 A member of the G.E.C who wishes to resign from office should send a resignation letter 14 days in advance of the resignation, and may not leave office until everything is settled.
10.2 The G.E.C members shall call a meeting whenever a member threatens to resign following his/her resignation application.

ZYA CODE OF CONDUCT

1. E.C members are not allowed to any intoxication stuff during the organisation’s activities of any sort.
2. A certain penalty and/or demotion shall be imposed on any G.E.C member for inconveniencing the organisation in whatever means, this may include punctuality, discipline, and absence from meetings without valid reasons, etc.
3. The consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited during organisation activities of any kind.
4. Resignation without consultation with G.E.C is strictly prohibited and may be considered invalid.
5. Misuse of the organisation’s name in false activities by any member is strictly prohibited and the organisation has a full right to take legal action against that particular member.
6. A member who deforms the name of the organisation shall be suspended by the G.E.C with immediate effect.
7. Any member found guilty of emblazing the organisation’s funds will be suspended and may be expelled permanently from the organisation with immediate effect.

FINANCE POLICY

1. The organisation’s funds shall be kept, at all times, in a savings account in a bank in which the organisation operates its account.
2. The three signatories to the account shall be the Treasurer General, the Secretary General, and the President.
3. The executive committee will prepare an annual budget and will also produce and present an annual financial report to the General Membership.
4. The handling and management of funds shall be the Treasurer General’s responsibility
5. All deposits and withdrawals of the organisation’s funds shall be done by the Treasurer General in the presence of the President and/or the Secretary General. The treasure must not in any time handle the transactions on his/her own.
6. All expenditure must be authorised either by the General Meeting or the G.E.C.
7. It is the Treasurer General’s duty to produce monthly financial statements during executive meetings.
8. All subscriptions to the organisations shall be payable to either the Secretary Genera or Treasurer General.

What is ZYA

This is an organisation of young people from the Zombodze constituency near Nhlangano in the Shiselweni region of Swaziland. ZYA stands for Zombodze Youth in Action. This organisation is dedicated to the overall development of young people in the area, be it economical, social, educational, vocational etc. for more information, see ZYA GOALS AND OBJECFTIVES in the next post.

ZYA THE FUTURE OF ZOMBODZE