AANZ Constitution

AANZ Constitution

1. Name:

The name of the Society shall be the Afghan Association of New Zealand Incorporated, hereinafter referred to as the “Association”

2. Objectives:

• To promote better communication and liaison between the people of Afghanistan in New Zealand
• To promote better communication and understanding between the Association and the Government and its various departments, local authorities, other groups and individuals for the benefit of the Afghan people
• To promote and encourage Afghans to guard their faith and cultural values and practice and incorporate them in their daily lives, to teach these values to their children, to facilitate the teachings of religious and cultural values, including Afghan languages, subject to feasibility of source and income
• To co-ordinate and assist the efforts of the Afghan community throughout New Zealand for the purposes of betterment, progress and development
• To present to the government and non-governmental organizations, both statutory and non-statutory, as required in the fulfilment of the Association’s objectives
• To provide the necessary information and guidance to the new Afghans arriving in New Zealand, such as the explanation of the Laws and procedures, as well as provide assistance in the initial resettlement process, etc.
• To purchase, lease, exchange, hire or otherwise acquire any real or personal real estate and to receive any donations, contributions, or to construct and maintain or alter any house, building or (vise versa) which maybe necessary or expedient for the purposes of the Association
• To do all such other lawful things as may be deemed incidental or conducive to the attainment of all of the above objectives
• The Association will co-ordinate with the Afghans Associations abroad, especially the Australian-based Afghan Associations, in order to promote cross-country awareness and to avail from mutual experiences
• To provide wider information on Islam and the Afghan culture to non Afghan New Zealanders in relations to any prospective misconceptions

3. Subscriptions:

The Association is entitled to levy the members for subscription on any entirely voluntary basis

4. The Elected Executive Committee:

Between seven and eleven member Executive Committee will be elected in a general meeting of all Afghans in a secret ballot voting, and shall hold the office for term of one year. The roles of the elected Executive Committee members are defined as follows:

Chairperson, Spokesperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Education Affairs Coordinator, Liaison Officer, Youth Affairs Coordinator, and Cultural and Religious Affairs Coordinator.

5. Tasks and Responsibilities:

• A member of the Executive Committee shall be Afghan and committed to the great values of Islam, be an obedient, practicing Muslim, and loyal and committed to the multi-ethnic customs and cultural values of Afghanistan
• A member of the Executive Committee should have no criminal record, commit, or have committed, any act in opposition to either Islam or the Afghan cultural values
• A member of the Executive Committee should not be racist, or prejudiced, in relation to the multi-ethnic nature of the Afghan community, or Afghanistan in general
• The Executive Committee shall be the responsible body for the day-to day affairs relating to the Afghan community
• In case of any occasion such as decision-making, financial, administrative, religious, cultural affairs, etc, the Executive Committee shall jointly and collectively take necessary action
• Five out of seven members of the Executive Committee present in person shall constitute a quorum at Executive Committee meetings and shall be authorized to pass, approve or disapprove any related matter
• Any member of the Executive Committee who is absent without any reasonable ground for three, or more, consecutive meetings shall therefore vacate his position. The Executive Committee may appoint, after consultation, a replacement chosen from the community. The newly-appointed person shall be entitled to hold the office until the next Annual General Meeting when new Executive Committee is elected
• Members of the Executive Committee shall chair meetings of the Executive Committee by turn. The Chairperson for the Annual General Meetings shall be chosen by the Executive Committee
• The Secretary may at any time, however upon not less than twenty four hours of notice, convene a meeting of the Executive Committee
• No meeting shall be adjourned, provided five out of seven members of the Executive Committee are present. Those present, shall constitute a quorum and shall transact all business for which the meeting was called for
• Voting at the Executive Committee meetings shall be by show of hands, each member of the Executive Committee shall be entitled to record only one vote
• The Executive Committee shall have the power to designate any member for the Executive Committee as Chairperson, Secretary, Spokesperson, Treasurer, Education Affairs Coordinator, Liaison Officer, Youth Affairs Coordinator, and Cultural Affairs Coordinator. It should, by no means, be directly or tacitly, assumed that any holder of the aforementioned roles is President of the Association
• It has been proven time and again that any council or leadership that has worked in the light of the Quranic teachings has always experienced success in times of difficulty. Time-proven traditional Afghan way of resolving problems and conflicts, such as the concept of Jirga, too have historically proven their work In order to revive these religious and traditional values, the Executive Committee of the Afghan Association must jointly and collectively incorporate these in all affairs relating to decision-making, appointments, formation of sub-committees, etc

6. Membership:

Any Afghan of personal descendant from Afghanistan residing in New Zealand will be eligible for membership, including dependents. The eligible person may apply by lodging an application. Membership shall cease if any member of the Association breaks the rules of the Association, or commits an act which brings discredit to the community in general

7. Meetings:

Monthly

The Executive Committee shall hold meetings every month in order to assess the progress and development of matters related the community. The Secretary should notify all Executive Committee members at least three days prior to the commencement of the meeting. The Secretary shall be responsible for the minutes and agenda of the meetings and its distribution to the Executive Committee

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting shall be held on a date specified by the Executive Committee at the end of each financial year of the Association for the following purposes

• To receive the Annual Report and statement of Accounts for the preceding year duly audited
• To consider new applications for membership and the election of new Executive Committee as well as considering any point raised by the members of the Association
• The Executive Committee shall inform the Association members at least two weeks prior to the commencement of the Annual General Meeting

Special General Meeting

A Special General Meeting shall be called in case of emergencies, or if the Executive Committee need general deliberations in relation to some matter. Depending on the nature of the event, the Executive Committee shall give a one-week notice prior to the date of the commencement of the meeting

8. Quorum:

Presence of one-third of members of the Association shall be sufficient to transact all business for which the meeting was called for. If all present members are less than one-third, the meeting should be adjourned for a second and last time. Voting in such meetings shall be by show of hands

9. Private Pecuniary Profit:

Any income, benefit, or advantage must be used to advance the charitable purposes of the organisation. No member of the organisation, or anyone associated with a member, is allowed to take part in, or influence any decision made by the organisation in respect of payments, to, or on behalf of, the member or associated person of any income, benefit or advantage.

Any payments made to a member of the organisation, or person associated with a member, must be for goods or services that advance the charitable purpose and must be reasonable and relative to payments that would be made between unrelated parties.

 

10. Winding Up or Dissolution:

In case the majority of the association want to wind up, such could be done with all property and belongings, minus debts and liabilities, of the association being donated to a charitable organisation within New Zealand for exclusively charitable purposes.

11. General:

All complaints shall be made in writing to the Executive Committee. Every member shall be bound by and observe the constitution and by-laws of the Association

12.  Alteration to the Constitution:

This constitution shall only be altered, added to or rescinded, by the majority of the Association members in a General Meeting. If any dispute, or doubt arises, related to this constitution after the final format approved by the majority of the members of the Association, the Executive Committee shall take decisions based on a vote of majority. The Executive Committee shall also have the power to determine any prospective matter which is not covered by this constitution

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