Crafting chama constitution

By Sophie Oyugi

Once you have established a group, you can start crafting a constitution. If done properly, a constitution strengthens your group and helps you get funds. A constitution helps to resolve  disagreements and disputes and encourages members to work in unison. If you want great ideas, go through constitutions of other groups that are doing well.

Here are a few components of most constitutions:

Name of organisation

Check with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development to ensure the name you are choosing has not been registered by another group.

Aims and objectives?

Factor in the fact that your group may have a definite idea of what you want to do now, but the objectives could change with time.

Membership

This verifies who can join the group, what they have to do to join and if one can withdraw their membership. Try not to make this too restrictive. Consider whether or not you need a clause that says that the executive committee has a right to reject new membership.

Meetings

Within your constitution, you must state where and how often you will meet. Depending on the size of your group, you may need different kinds of meetings including:

1.??General meeting for all members — this could be weekly or monthly.

2.???Management committee — The members of the management committee are usually elected at the annual general meeting (AGM). The constitution should set out a minimum and maximum number of committee members. Establish how often they will meet, and whether they will  require a quorum to meet.  It should also be clear who can stand for the management and how each member will be selected.

3.???? AGM — The constitution should outline the business for each meeting, and indicate the length of notice to be given to members. Remember to indicate how decisions will be reached.

4.???? Special general meeting — This takes place when majority feels a meeting of all members should be called to discuss an urgent issue.

If this clause is included, say what proportion of the membership is required to support the call of such a meeting.

Other key components

Finance

Your constitution should have proper procedures of dealing with finances.

This section also covers the annual audit of the accounts and authorised signatories for the group bank account/s.

Amendment of constitution

A constitution may need to be updated as your chama grows. At least two thirds of the membership needs to support the change. Normally this would happen at a general meeting specifically called for the purpose of amending the constitution.

Dissolution

It is weird to have to think about winding up if your group has only just started!

However, it is important to know what would happen to any money or assets held by your group if it was to wind up.?

A motion proposing dissolution must be supported by at least two thirds of the membership.

Finally

Your constitution needs to be formally adopted. Call a meeting of everyone who has been involved in the group to date, and give everyone a chance to raise any objections.

To adopt the constitution, it needs to be signed and dated by at least two office bearers.