constitution of the befang cultural and development association

preamble

We the people of Befang Village in order to form ourselves into an association to bring together all the elements of Befang origin and maintain contact among them with a view of keeping alive and fostering the spirit of oneness and belongin that is a principal characteristic of all developed and enlightened people do hereby solemnly associate and constitute ourselves the Befang Cultural and Development Association and adopt this as our rules and regulations (constitution)

article 1: name

The association shall be called the Befang Cultural and Development Association to be abbreviated as BECUDA

article 2: headquarters

The headquaters shall be in Befang - Menchum Valley Sub Division - Menchum Division - North West Region.

article 3: motto

The motto of BECUDA shall be Unity, Self-reliance, Culture and Development.

article 4: emblem

The emblem of the association shall be a palm tree with someone climbing it.

article 5: objectives

• 5.1 The objective of BECUDA shall be as per the preamble and in particular;
• a) To promote and maintain unity, brotherhood, peace and progress, amongst members.
• b) To revive, reinforce, enhance , advance, promote and maintain the rich culture of the Befang people.
• c) To promote the social, moral and economic development in Befang and Cameroon at large.
• d) To enhance the conception and realisation of grassroot projects in the village.
• e) To inspire pride in our native land and to contribute and encourage the pursuit of all the other lawful activities capable of attianing the above mentioned objectives.

article 6: membership

• 6.1 Membership is opened to all Befang indigenes as well as to non Befang indigenes interested in the goals and objectives of the association.
• 6.2 There shall be two types of memberships namely: active members and passive members.
• 6.2 a: An active member shall be one who has paid his registration and anual contribution and takes active part in the association ' s business.
• 6.2 b: Active members shall enjoy all the rights and privileges that go with membership of the association.
• 6.2 c: A passive member shall be one who has registered with BECUDA but has failed to pay his annual contributions and does not take active part in the association ' s business.
• 6.2 d: A passive member shall not, during the year in which he has failed to pay his annual contributions, have the right to vote and shall not stand for any office in the association.
• 6.2 e: A passive member shall become an active member upon payment of all the annual contributuons due by him.


• 6.3 Upon registration with BECUDA, a member shall pay a non-refundable registration fee of 500cfa and a non-refundable annual contribution of 1.000cfa for members residing out of Befang village and 500cfa for members residing in Befang village.
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  6.4 Upon admission to membership of BECUDA, a member shall be issued a membership card signed by the incumbent president of his region.Membership cards will be terminated only by death or as shall otherwise be decided.

article 7 : organization of the association

• 7.1 The association shall comprise the following funtional organs:
• 7.1 a: The General Assembly
• 7.1 b: The National Executive Council
• 7.1 c: The Regional Executive Council
• 7.1 d: The Branch Executive Council
• 7.1 e: The Conference of Delegates


• 7.2: Composition
• 7.2 a: The General Assembly: The General Assembly shall be composed of all the registered members of the association.
• 7.2 b: The National Executive Council.
  The National Executive Council shall comprise:
• 1) The National President
  2) Two Vice National Presidents, one of whom must be a lady.
  3) The National Secretary
  4) The Vice National Secretary
  5) The National Treasurer
  6) The National Financial Secretary
  7) The Legal Adviser
  8) The Special Adviser (2)
  9) The National Publicity Secretaries (2)
  10) The National Social Secretaries (4)
  11) The National Auditors (2)
  12) The National Youth Coordinators (2) 13) The National Patrons and Matrons (4)


• 7.2 c: The Regional Executive Council
  The Regional Executive Council shall comprise:
• 1) The National President
  2) Two Vice National Presidents, one of whom must be a lady.
  3) The National Secretary
  4) The Vice National Secretary
  5) The National Treasurer
  6) The National Financial Secretary
  7) The Legal Adviser
  8) The Special Adviser (2)
  9) The National Publicity Secretaries (2)
  10) The National Social Secretaries (4)
  11) The National Auditors (2)
  12) The National Youth Coordinators (2) 13) The National Patrons and Matrons (4)


• 7.2 d: The Branch Executive Council
  The Branch Executive Council shall comprise:
• 1) The Branch President
  2) The Vice Branch President.
  3) The Branch Secretary
  4) The Vice Branch Secretary
  5) The Branch Treasurer
  6) The Branch Financial Secretary
  7) The Branch Publicity Secretary
  8) The Branch Social Secretaries (2)
  9) The Branch Technical Advisers (2)
  10) The Branch Auditor
  11) The Branch Youth Coordinators (2)
  12) The Branch Women ' s Coordinator
  13) The Branch Patrons and Matrons (2)
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  7.2 e: The Conference of Delegates
  The Conference of Delegates shall comprise:
• 1) All the members of the national Exco
  2) All the members of the regional Exco
  3) All the members of the branch Exco


• 7.3: Functioning
• 7.3 a: The General Assembly
• 1) It shall be the supreme organ of the association.
  2) It shall have exclusive jurisdiction in the following matters:
  - Amendment of the constitution
  - The dissolution of the association and the subsequent disposal of its funds and properly if need be.
  - Ratification and rectification of the actions/decisions taken by the national executive council.
  - Approval of projects.
  3) The General Assembly which is hereby denoted as the National Convention shall hold once a year in the village (or in any other venue as shall from time to time be decided by the members) on such date and time as shall be decided by the National Exco.


• 7.3 b: The National Executive Council
• 1) Members of the National Executive Council shall hold office for 3 calendar years and shall be re-eligible once.
  2) The National Executive Council shall meet three times a year at such place,date and time as shall be decided by the president.
  3) An extra-ordinary national Exco meeting may be summoned at such place, date and time as shall be decided by the president or 2/3 of the members of the said committee if such members find that things are not moving to the interest of the association and the president is reluctant to convene a meeting.
  4) The National Executive Council shall ensure the proper and efficient conduct of the association ' s activities and the use of the associations ' s finances exclusively to attain its objectives at national level.
  5) It shall formulate the general policies of the association, set its objectives and assure their attainment in the most effective and efficient manner and within the means available to the association.


• 7.3 c: The Regional Executive Council
• 1) All Regional Presidents are coopted members of the National Executive Council.
  2) The Regional Presidents are direct representatives of the National Exco at regional level and they are charged with coordinationg the activities of the assocition and implementing the decisions taken at national level at their level.
  3) The Regional Exco is the management organ of the association at regionl level and therefore shall be charged with summoning and conducting regional activities, setting up committees to undertake specific functions as defined by the Exco.
  4) The Regional Executive Council is directly responsible to the National Exco and shall therefore feed the latter with information necessary for the smooth running of the association at national level.
  5) The Regional Executive Council shall draw up, adopt, and implement rules and regulations (bye-laws) which they think are good for the smooth functioning of their branches and which are not repugnant to any of the provisions of the present constitution.
  6) members of the Regional Executive Council shall hold office for a term of 2 calendar years and shall be re-eligible once.


• 7.3 d: The Branch Executive Council
• 1) All branch Presidents are coopted members of the Regional Executive Council.
  2) The Branch Exco is directly answerable to the Regional Executive Council.
  3) Like the Regional Exco, the Branch Exco can formulate, adopt, and implement rules and regulations to govern the running of their branch meetings provided they are not repugnant to any of the provisions of the Regional bye-laws and/or the constitution of the association.


• 7.3 e: The Conference of Delegates
• 1) The conference of delegates shall have exclusive jurisdiction in the following matters:
  - Election of the members of the national Exco
  - Voting of the budget of the Association
  - Creation of more regions and/or merger thereof
  - Registration fees
  - Annual contributions
  2) The conference of delegates shall hold twice a year in its ordinary session. However an extraordinary conference of delegates can be convoked by the National President or 2/3 of its members in case the National President is reluctant or has neglected to convene any of the aforecited meetings.

article 8 : regions

• 8.1 For the purpose of the formation of the association ' s regional structures, the national territory has been divided into the following regions:
  a. The Littoral and South West Provinces shall constitude what shall be known and called " The Coastal region " with headquarters in Buea.
  b. The center, South and Eastern Provinces shall constitude what shall be known and called " The Yaounde region " with headquarters in Yaounde.
  c. The Western Province, the Bamenda Municipality and its environs shall constitute what shall be known and called " The Bamenda Region " with headquarters in Bamenda.
  d. The Far North, North, and Adamawa Provinces shall constitude what shall be known and called " The Northern Region " with headquarters in Garoua.
  e. The entire Menchum Division and its environs shall constitude what shall be known and called " Mother Region " with headquarters in Befang.
  8.2 provided that more regions may be created from time to time as need arises and/or splits made and/or mergers effected as the case may be.

article 9 : duties of officers of the association

• The duties of the officials especially at national level shall be spelt out in a subsequent text.
  For the time being, the traditional duties inherent to each post of responsibility shall continue to apply.

article 10 : Elections

• 10.1 Elections into the National Exco shall be conducted at the end of every 3 years during the conference of delegates to be convened for that particular purpose.
• 10.2 Any active member of the association can stand for election if nominated for an office.
• 10.3 During elections, those who nominated for an office shall be expected to stay out of the assembly until after the counting of votes.
• 10.4 Voting shall be done by secret ballot and the candidate with the majority votes wins the elections and shall immediately be declared to the General Assembly.
• 10.5 In case of a tie, the president of the electoral commitee shall be called upon to cast a deciding vote.
• 10.6 Outgoing officers are eligible for elections and candidates absent during elections might be elected in absentia if the association finds him competent or if the candidate has a reasonable excuse for being absent.
• 10.7 To quality as a candidate for constesting elections, one other member must second the proposed canditate.
• 10.8 If only one candidate is proposed for a post, he shall be declared elected by acclamation.
• 10.9 Candidates vying for a post of an executive must be morally upright and very active in their various branches.
• 10.10 If an officer resigns or dies during his term of office, the vacancy thus created shall be filled by a competent Exco member for the remaining term of office or by-elections may be conducted to flll such a post.
• 10.11 On the day of elections, and electoral committee shall be set up, made up of the chairman, secretary, and a returning officer selected from among members present.

article 11 : SOURCES OF FUNDS

• 11.1 The Association shall derive its funds from:
  a) Registration fees
  b) Annual subscriptions
  c) Special levies, fines and penalties
  d) Contributions to the development
  e) Revenue from any fund-raising activities of the Association
  f) Any impromptu contributions from members that may be decided upon by the General Assembly
  g) Gifts and donations
  h) Any other proper sources approved by the General assembly
• 11.2 The dues indicated in article 6.3 above are compulsory and payable by all members of the association on or before April 30^th of each year.
• 11.3 Whenever need arises, the Association shall make a special levies on members to support expenditure prompted by a special event

ARTICLE 12: USES OF FUNDS

• 12.1 Registration fees, fines and penalties will be used in buying stationeries and other needs for the associtation.
• 12.2 Annual subscription and contributions to the development fund shall be allocated for development projects and the promotion of Socio-cultural activities.
• 12.3 The use of the revenue from fund-raising activities and impromptu contributions will be determined by the national Exco.
• 12.4 Donations and Gifts: This shall be used in accordance with the expressed wish of the donor(s) failing which the National assembly shall decide on how to use it.

ARTICLE 13: SAFEGUARD OF FUNDS

• 13.1 All dues and revenues due to the association shall be paid by the various collectors to the national treasurer through the national financial secretary who shall be responsible for safeguarding and accounting for them.
• 13.2 All money collected for and on behalf of the association belongs to it. The treasurer shall within 24 hours pay in the same amount into the association’s account to be opened with any reputable financial institution in the country.
• 13.3 Property received on behalf of the association shall likewise belong to it and shall be accountable for by the National president.
• 13.4 There shall be three authorized signatories to the association ' s bank account. Two of these signatories must be the National president and the National treasurer. Any two of the signatories one of whom must be the treasure can withdraw money from the account. Provided that no money can be withdrawn without the express authorization of the general assembly or the National Executive council.

ARTICLE 14: ORGANISING OF MEETINGS

• 14.1 Notice for an ordinary general assembly meeting of the association (otherwise known as the national convention) which holds once a year shall be given two months earlier (that is before the scheduled date) by the National president.
• 14.2 The convening notice shall carry the agenda, venue, date and time of the meeting
• 14.3. An extraordinary general meeting may be summoned on a specific date, place and time by the national president who shall state clearly the business to be transacted at the said meeting.
• 14.4. The quorum of the general assembly meeting shall be atleast 1/2 of its registered members while that of the National Executive council shall be 2/3of its members.
• 14.5. Deliberations in the general assembly meetings as well as the National Executive council could start provided the quorum is reached. If this quorum is not reached, a second general meeting or Executive shall be convened at the same place or other place to deliberate on the same agenda. Its decisions shall be valid no matter the number of members present or represented.
• 14.6. Decisions shall be taken on a simple majority of the members present and voting. Voting shall be show of hands.
• 14.7. The decisions taken by the above cited meetings shall be binding on all members whether they were present or not.
• 14.8. Any member who shall be on record for persistently absenting himself or herself from any of the association ' s meeting at national level without any tangible reason shall pay a fine of 500frs.
• 14.9. Heavy penalties shall equally be levied on those who default payment of dues and those guilty of misconduct capable of tarnishing the image of the village.
• 14.10. Any member of the National Executive Council who is absent for three consecutive meetings of the said council without a reasonable excuse shall be deemed to have resigned from the council.
• 14.11. The National Secretary General shall in each meeting open an attendance register for members to sign on their arrival
• 14.12. The National secretary General shall record the minutes in the minute ' s book and such minutes shall be signed by the National president and Secretary General when approved.
• 14.13. The agenda for each meeting shall be closely followed to avoid waste of time and unnecessary repetitions. Once a decision has been taken on a given issue, no further debates shall be permitted on that same topic. Any controversial issue shall be put to vote.

ARTICLE 15: ENABLING CLAUSE

• 15.1. A branch of the association may be set up at any town or village situated in any region wherein are resident a reasonable number of Befang Youths.
• 15.2. Each branch of the association shall be responsible to the regional body which itself shall be directly responsible to the national
• 15.3. The functional organs at both branch and regional level shall be those stipulated in article 7.2 of this constitution
• 15.4. Each branch and region shall make its own by-laws and draw up and carryout its own program of activities according to the local prevailing situation. Provided that the said bylaws and the program of activities shall not conflict with or be contrary to the provisions of the present constitution.
• 15.5. At the end of each year and during the National convention, each regional president shall be expected to summit an annual activities report including a financial statement.

ARTICLE 16: AUDIT

• 16.1. At least once a year, the accounts of the association shall be examined by the elected auditor and their report submitted to the National Executive Council for further examination and subsequent submission to the Annual General Assembly (the convention) for scrutiny and decisions.
• 16.2. In case the audit report reveals some irregularities and/or variations with the annual report of the National Financial Secretary, the General Assembly may appoint an external auditor to examine the Association ' s financial statements and related accounts and documents for the purpose of expressing an opinion. The external auditor shall express his or her conclusions as to the fairness of the statement according to the general principles of accounting.
• 16.3. The external auditor to be appointed by the General Assembly shall be any competent member of the association or a neutral personality who must have a recognized qualification to that effect.

ARTICLE 17: IMPEACHMENT

• 17.1. The National president and all the members of the National Executive Council excluding the coopted members thereof shall be subject to impeachment for acts accomplished by them in the exercise of their duties and which acts are contrary to the welfare of the association.
• 17.2. The conference of delegates excluding the accused member(s) shall have jurisdiction to try the above-mentioned acts
• 17.3. The decision to classify acts of the above-mentioned members as impeachment shall be taken by a secret ballot of a 2/3 majority of the members of the conference of delegates meeting in a special meeting convened for that purpose by the Legal Adviser of the association. Where the Legal Adviser himself is involved, the meeting shall be convened by the most senior member of the National Executive council who is not involved.
• 17.4. The conference of delegates shall have wide powers to replace any member who is found guilty of the above act notwithstanding any other punishment and/or legal proceedings that may be taken against him.

ARTICLE 18: INTERPRETATION

• In the present constitution wherever the masculine gender has been used this shall include the feminine gender also.

ARTICLE 19: AMENDMENT AND DISSOLUTION

• 19.1. Any provision(s) of this constitution may be amended upon the reasoned motion of at least 1/4 of the active members of the association receiving the favourable votes of at least 2/3 of the total active members after debate at the General Assembly.
• 19.2. On dissolution of the association, all funds and property belonging to the association shall, subject to the payment of all liabilities due at the date of dissolution, be donated to the Befang Traditional council who shall hold same in trust for the entire Befang Village
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  This constitution has been adopted today the 22^nd day of December, 2001 by the General Assembly holding at Befang.