Rules & Regulations

The name of the organization shall be GHANA INDIAN-MALAYALEE ASSOCIATION (GIMA), hereinafter called the Association, which mainly consists of people of Kerala origin.

The objectives of the Association are: To promote, plan and execute programmes for the socio-cultural development of the Malayali/Keralite community living in Ghana. To encourage and provide facilities to help social, cultural and sports activities among Malayalee community members in Ghana, without political or religious preference. To impart an understanding of Kerala heritage, culture and values among the Ghanaian society and foster fraternity and good relations with other similar organisations and communities in Ghana through cultural and social activities. To support and assist members of the community who are in distress in any manner deemed appropriate and possible. The Association may also undertake charity work for the benefit of some of the most needy and deserving local communities in Ghana. The Association may create its own Website for wider dissemination of information about its plans and activities.

All persons above the age of 18 years, either themselves hailing from Kerala or whose family ties goes back to Kerala, are eligible for membership of the Association. Membership of the Association will be granted on the basis of duly completed application form submitted in the prescribed form and payment of membership fee as prescribed from time to time by the Association. Such member's spouse will automatically be a member of the Association upon payment of family membership fee by the member. Upon paying family membership and subscription fees, both the husband and wife shall be entitled to two separate votes. However, one spouse shall not vote on behalf of the absent spouse. For the purpose of membership, Family is defined as the head of the household, his or her spouse and children under eighteen years or below or unmarried children who are over eighteen years old and are dependant of the parents. However, for voting purpose, dependent children above the age of 18 years shall have separate voting rights. All members applying for membership of the Association must agree, by signed declaration on the application form, to support, subscribe and promote the objectives of the Association and be bound by its Rules and Regulations. The number of members of the Association shall be unlimited.

Membership Fee

The fee, for the time being, for family membership shall be Ghana Cedis 50.00 (Fifty) and Ghana Cedis 25.00 (Twenty Five) for individual membership. The annual subscription fee shall be Ghana Cedis 50.00 (Fifty) for family membership and Ghana Cedis 25 (Twenty Five) for individual membership. The annual membership shall become due in January every year. Any decision to revise the membership and annual subscription fees will be taken with the approval of the General Body of the Association,

Acceptance of Membership

Every application received for membership will be considered by the Executive Council of the Association at its next meeting after receipt of the application. Upon the acceptance of an application for membership, the Secretary of the Association shall forthwith give the applicant notice in writing of such acceptance. Details of each admitted member will be entered in the Membership Register and issued with a Membership Number. Admission of new members will be intimated to all members of the Association.

Termination of Membership

A member may resign from the Association at any time by giving notice in writing to the Secretary. Membership of any member, who fails to renew their membership by paying annual subscription fees before March every year, will stand suspended until all the dues are cleared. The Executive Council of the Association may remove any member who is convicted of an indictable offence from the membership of the Association.

Membership Obligations and Privileges

A member of the Association, who has cleared his/her financial obligations including dues from time to time, shall have a right to vote in the elections to the Executive Council and hold office of the Association. Members who have not paid up their subscription fees will not be eligible for voting in the elections and general body meetings. A member upon admission becomes liable to all obligations as well as is entitled all privileges of the membership of the Association. The membership of a member shall not be transferable by his/her own act or any other manner.

The General Body of the Association shall consist of all members of the Association. The General Body shall be the supreme body of the Association and shall direct and manage the affairs of the Association and retain all rights and privileges not specifically assigned to the Executive Council or the President. The General Body shall have the power to revise, alter or amend any decision taken by the Executive Council by a simple majority at a General Body meeting. All the decisions will be decided by a majority vote, unless otherwise specified.

Meetings of the General Body

The meetings of the General Body will be held once in six months,(One in March and one in October) preferably on Sundays or public holidays in Ghana, for the purpose of transacting general business or carrying out projects. The AGM held in March will be specifically transacting the following business:
- To receive and discuss the annual report presented by the President or any member of the Executive Council nominated by the President.
- To receive and adopt the account of the Association presented by the Executive Council.
- To consider amendments to the Rules & Regulations of the Association, if any.
- To discuss and approve all the major decisions/proposals taken by the Executive Council.
- To transact any other business with the permission of the Chair.
- To elect new office bearers of the Association every alternative year.
The Secretary shall give at least 15 days notice to the members for every General Body meeting, along with the agenda for the meeting. Members, either individually or in group (s) may also propose, at least 7 days prior to the meeting, any matter for discussion during the general body meeting. The notice of all General Body meetings shall be sent by email. In addition, extraordinary meetings of the General Body can be called through a notice specifying the objective for convening such a meeting. Such meetings may either be called by a written request of at least 20 per cent of the members of the Association signing the requisition or by majority of the Executive Council.

Quorum for General Body Meeting

The presence of one-third of the members of the Association shall constitute the quorum for a meeting of the General Body. In case the quorum is not met, a new general body meeting shall be called for within a month, with the same agenda, and the meeting may deliberate and approve decisions even if the quorum is not met.

Presiding Officer

The President shall chair the general body meetings and, in the event of the absence of the President, the Vice President shall act as the Chairperson. If both the President and the Vice President are not present, any other member of the Executive Council may chair the general body meeting.

The Executive Council shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Joint Secretary, Treasurer and 10 (ten) Area Councillors elected for a two year period.
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The Councillors shall be elected on the basis of different geographical locations in Accra and Tema where the members reside. The Executive Council may co-opt one member each from Cape coast/Takoradi/Tarkwa/Obuasi, Kumasi and Tamale, nominated by the members living in those towns and the name communicated to the President, in writing, before each Executive Council meeting. The co-opted members shall have the same rights and privileges as the other members of the Executive Council.

Powers and Responsibilities

The Executive Council shall have the general control and management of the administration of the affairs, finances and funds of the Association. The Executive Council shall represent the Association in all its undertakings. It shall be the duty of the Executive Council to report the activities and the state of affairs of the Association at each General Body meeting of the Association, at which time the members may outline the policies and programmes to be followed by the Executive Council. The Executive Council shall negotiate with local authorities on behalf of the Association on all activities that may affect the members of the Association. The Executive Council shall conduct and arrange social gatherings, cultural programmes, celebration of common festivals, and any other events related to the objectives of the Association. The Executive Council shall protect the assets of the Association and facilitate the election process for the new executive council every two years. The Executive Council shall provide for a common seal of the Association and for its safe custody. Every document to which the seal is affixed shall be signed by a member of the Executive Council.

Vacancies

If the membership of the Executive Council shall fall below two third of its strength at any one point of time, an extra general body meeting could be convened to fill the vacancies.

Loss of Membership

Any member of the Executive Council who is convicted for a criminal offence shall lose membership of the Executive Council. A member of the Executive Council who fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the Executive Council, without proper explanation, shall be deemed to have resigned from the Executive Council.

Meetings of the Executive Council

The Executive Council shall meet at least once every two months to exercise its functions The quorum required for any meeting of the Executive Council is two third of the members of the Executive Council. Decisions of the Executive Council shall be taken by majority of votes, unless otherwise specified.

Powers and Duties of the Office Bearers

President

The President of the Association shall preside over all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Council. The President may vote in Executive Council meetings only in case of a tie or where the vote is by ballot. The President will represent the Association in all other bodies, unless otherwise specified.

Vice President

In the absence or inability of the President for any reason, the Vice President shall act as the Chairperson of the meetings of the Executive Council and general body meetings.

Secretary

The Secretary shall be the custodian of all assets of the association and keep an updated record of these assets. The Secretary shall give notice of all meetings of whatever nature to the members and keep a complete and accurate record of all business transacted at Executive Council or Association meetings. The decisions of the Executive Council and the general body shall be circulated by the Secretary to all members of the Association, by email.

Joint Secretary

The Joint Secretary shall assist the Secretary in all aspects and act as Secretary in the absence or inability of the Secretary.

Treasurer

The Treasurer of the Association shall accept, receive, receipt for, preserve and safeguard all funds in the custody of the Executive Council, whether Association funds or other funds for which the Executive Council is responsible. He/she shall deposit all such funds in the bank account of the Association. The Treasurer shall make and preserve a faithful record of funds and related documents and shall report to the Executive Council all receipts and expenditures and the amount and nature of all funds in his/her possession or custody. The President, Secretary and the Treasurer will be the signatories for withdrawal of funds from the bank account of the Association. Withdrawals from the bank account above GHc 500 shall be made only under the joint signatures of any two of them. The Treasurer shall submit an account of all receipts and payments from the fund of the Association between the meetings of the Executive Council to the next meeting of the Executive Council.

The Association shall charge a membership fee, which may be revised, from time to time by the general body, based on the suggestions of the Executive Council. The Association shall charge a yearly subscription fee, which may be revised, from time to time, by the general body, based on the suggestions of the Executive Council. The Association may raise funds through donations/sponsorships subject to the approval of the Executive Council.
For celebrating festivals and organising cultural programs and other events, separate fees, as approved by the Executive Council, may be collected from all participants, whether they are members of the Association or not. Non-members of the Association will be charged higher amounts, as decided by the Executive Council, for participation in any such event.
For undertaking charity work on behalf of the Association, a separate fund may be created by raising finances through voluntary / mandatory contributions from members. The recipient (s) of assistance from the charity fund up to GHc 100 (One Hundred) will be decided by the Executive Council and beyond GHc 100 by the General Body.
The accounting year of the Association shall be from March to February The accounts of the Association shall be audited by auditors approved by the general body. No member of the Executive Council shall be nominated as auditor. The audited accounts of the Association shall be distributed to all members of the Association and submitted before the general body.

Timeframe

The elections shall be held in March every alternative year on the basis of an updated voters' list. The Executive council shall appoint an election committee of 5 members at least one month before the election. The election committee shall examine the eligibility and qualifications of all nominees for the Executive Council and conduct the election process.

Nominations

The members can give self nominations, seconded by minimum 3 (three) members of the Association. Members of the Association may also propose any other member of the Association for any post in the Executive Council, with the written consent of the nominee. Such nominations should be seconded by minimum 3 (three) members of the Association. Nominations should be submitted to the Convenor of the election committee in advance. In case insufficient nominations are received for the Executive Council, the same will be kept open and such nominations can be made on the floor of the general body. This will be subject to scrutiny of validity of nomination. Those who have absented themselves from three consecutive meetings of the Executive Council or more than one-fourth absence in the previous Executive Council will not be eligible to appear in the election of the following Executive Council.

The Association may be dissolved if 75% members of the Association desire for dissolution by being present in person at an extraordinary general body meeting convened specifically for this purpose. In case of dissolution of the association, any assets, debts and liabilities standing in the name of the Association shall be disposed off in the manner approved by the general body by majority vote.