Constitution

Preamble

WE, Ghanaian residents and persons associated with Ghana All Sports Association , and our families living in and around Sweden;

INSPIRED by a common determination to strengthen positive cooperation and understanding amongst ourselves and peoples of our adopted country, Sweden through Football and its related activities; HAVE agreed to this constitution on 03 September 2022.

Article I

NAME AND ESTABLISHMENT

Ghanaians and persons associated with Ghana and friends of Ghana resident in and around the municipality of Stockholm and Sweden as a whole do by this constitution establish a non-political, non-religious and non-profit educational, cultural and social organization to be known as Ghana All SportsAssociation – GASA, hereinafter referred to as the UNION.

Article II 

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The union shall be a non-political, non-religious and non-profit educational, non -cultural and social organization and will have the following aims and objectives:

  1. To promote the good image of Ghana through sports in the Nordic countries and elsewhere
  2. To foster good and cordial relations among all Ghanaians and All countries 
  3. To provide assistance to Ghanaian citizens where possible and necessary
  4. Provide help with members (newly/existing members ) who need to integrate into the Swedish system

Article III 

PRINCIPLES

The members of the Union, in earnest pursuit of the purposes stated in Article 2, declare their adherence to the following principles:

  1. Respect of the rights and equality of all members of the Union in all undertakings of the Union,
  2. Resist discrimination in all its forms (ethnicity, tribe, religion, region, education status e.t.c) that may be directed towards or against members of thy union or the general community
  3. Engage in the peaceful settlement and arbitration of disputes between members by negotiations, mediation and reconciliation
  4. As a union, affirm the policy of non-alignment with regard to party politics in Sweden, Ghana or elsewhere.

    Article IV 

    MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

    Membership of the union shall be open to the following:

    1. Ghanaians residing in Sweden
    2. Non-Ghanaian members of Ghanaian families resident in Sweden
    3. Non-Ghanaians who have the interest of Ghana at heart
    4. Persons who have show proven interest in Ghana and have been given honorary status
    5. A member of the union will be considered to mean any of the above who has paid his or her      annual membership fee.
    6. Members shall pay 50KR monthly dues which was determined by the executives of the association  03 September 2022.
    7. To qualify for privileges of membership, a member should have paid his/her membership dues by the end of every month.
    8. Payment can be done on partly or in full but must adhere to Article IV clause 7
    9. New members should have paid their membership dues not later than the third month of their joining the union or within the first month of attending their first meeting.

      Article V 

      RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

      1. All members of the UNION shall enjoy equal rights before this constitution,
      2. Members shall pledge themselves to observe scrupulously the principles stated in ARTICLE III of the present constitution
      3. Any member of the UNION has the right to resign from the UNION without hindrance or coercion. Such resignation shall be tended in writing to the Executive Committee
      4. Only paid-up members shall be entitled to vote at the Annual General Meeting.
      5. Executive members have the right to resign from the union. Such resignation shall be tended in writing to the executive committee at least 1 calendar for enough time to find a replacement 

      ARTICLE VI 

      INSTITUTIONS

      The UNION shall accomplish its goals and objectives through the following institutions: 

      1. Union members 
      2. The Executive Committee, 

      1 a. Union members The supreme decision making body of the Union shall be The Executive Committee (7 member panel ) 

      2 a. THE EXECUTIVE Committee The UNION shall be governed or run by the Executive Committee which shall comprise the following elected officers of the UNION

      1. President
      2. Secretary
      3. Event planner 
      4. Vice Event planner
      5. Treasurer

       b. In addition so the above portfolios, the following NON-EXECUTIVE officers shall also be elected to the Executive committee 

      1. TWO AUDITORS 
      2. THREE PATRONS 

       c. On the advice of the Executive Committee additional volunteer officers may be appointed by the Executive committee as and when needed.

      d i. The Executive Committee shall be elected for a two year term.

          ii. The Executive Committee shall have as a rule not less than four sittings within a 12-months’ period 

           iii. Members of the Executive Committee shall have equal voting rights at all its meetings

      iv. An individual member of the Executive Committee may, in writing, resign from his/her post for assigned reasons in the course of the term of office

      v. The entire Executive Committee may resign their posts in the course of their term of office

      vi. A member of the Executive Committee may be removed from office on a vote of no confidence after 3 disciplinary meetings in the course of his/her term of office by a two third majority of paid up members of the Executive Committee

        ARTICLE VII 

        ELECTIONS MATTERS

        A. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

        i. All the officers of the UNION shall be elected by a simple majority except unopposed candidates who shall need at least 51% of the votes cast

        ii. Only paid-up members shall have the right to contest elections and /or vote 

        iii. Members shall nominate themselves but such nomination shall be seconded by at least another member of the UNION. In cases where members nominate others, the consent of such members must be sought first 

         iv. Where there is no winner in the first round of balloting, a second round shall be conducted involving only the two contestants receiving the most votes from the first ballot.

        v. In the event of a tie,  3 patrons will break the tie.

         vi. Voting shall be in Person ONLY

         B. VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE

        i. A properly constituted general meeting may, upon proof of misconduct, incompetence or both, or for any conduct which is deemed to be detrimental to the interests of the association, pass a vote of no confidence in such officer or officers;

        ii. A vote of no-confidence is considered properly carried if it receives at least two-thirds of the votes of the duly registered members, provided the meeting at which such a vote is passed has a quorum 

        iii. An officer who has been given a vote of no confidence shall be notified of his/her dismissal in writing within seven (7) days thereof and the appropriate authorities also duly notified.

         C. THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

        i. The Electoral Commission shall take responsibilities for all due electoral processes of and within the UNION

        ii. The Electoral Commission shall submit a duly signed report and results of all elections undertaken by and through the Commission.

        iii. Electoral commission members shall be made up of 3 paid members

         

        ARTICLE VIII

        MEETING MATTERS

        A. GENERAL MEETING

        i. There shall be a general meeting of the UNION on the last Sunday of every 3 months (Quarters)

        ii. A general meeting shall be considered properly constituted if it is attended by at least one-third of the registered members. A registered member in this context means a current paid up member and any member who has paid his or her dues during the previous year.

        B. PROCEDURE AT MEETING

        i. The meeting shall be opened and closed by the President of the UNION

        ii. The Secretary shall read the minutes of the previous meeting after the President’s opening address and shall record the minutes of the meeting 

        iii. A proposal for the amendment, acceptance, or rejection of some part shall be by a motion raised by a member and seconded by at least by one other member iv. There shall be an agenda submitted by the President to members at least a week (7) days before a general meeting. This can either be read by the President presiding at a meeting or by the Union Secretary.

        v. A member wishing to make a contribution to a debate in the course of a meeting shall do so on a point of order or of interest, and shall raise his/her hand until he/she is invited to make his/her contribution

        vi. A decision requiring a vote shall be taken on a motion seconded by at least one member 

        vii. Meetings shall be held in English or any other language agreed by the majority of members at any particular meeting. 

         C. EMERGENCY MEETING

        i. Any three (3) registered members of the UNION may call for an emergency meeting by submitting a request to the Secretary or, in his/her absence, any Officer who shall take necessary action at least two (2) days after receiving the request.

        ARTICLE IX

        DUTIES OF OFFICERS

        The PRESIDENT shall 

        1. Act as the chief officer and head of the Executive committee preside over all meetings of the UNION and oversee its day-to-day administration 

         The SECRETARY shall perform the following duties: 

        1. Act for the President in the absence of the President and delegate
        2. Record minutes at all meetings of the UNION 
        3. Carry out correspondence for and on behalf of the UNION
        4. Keep an attendance book, a file for the Union’s correspondence, and shall make same available to the general meeting upon request 

         The Event planner shall

        1. Act as the goto person when planning an event
        2. Incharge of the unions event calendar an event topics
        3. Executing an event on behalf of the union

         The Vice Event planner shall

        1. Act for the Event planner in the absence of the Event planner
        2. Support the Event planner in his/her core duties

         The TREASURER shall 

        1. keep an account of the Association’s funds b. present a statement of the Union’s finances every six (6) months on request. The said account shall be presented for auditing before the presentation of the next account 

         The TWO AUDITORS shall 

        1. Be empowered to supervise the actions of officers of the UNION to prevent any abuse of office whatsoever 
        2. Audit the accounts of the UNION and present an audited account to the general meeting every six months c. produce and present a duly signed audit report to the Annual general meeting

         PATRONS may not necessarily be members of the UNION. They may be required to play    an advisory role and shall also be invited to witness the election of new executives, etc. 

        ARTICLE X

        THE BANK ACCOUNT

        1. The Executive shall open a savings account in a savings bank in the Union’s name in which the Union’s funds shall be deposited 
        2. There shall be three (3) signatories to the Union’s savings account, strictly the President, the Treasurer, Secretary

        ARTICLE XI 

        THE BUDGET

        1. An Annual Budget Estimate must be prepared by the Executive and shall be presented and approved by the Annual General Meeting of the UNION
        2. The Executive shall at the end of each budget year prepare an Activity Report of the past year iii. The Activity Report shall be presented at the Annual General Meeting of the UNION for ratification.

          ARTICLE XII

          CESSATION/DISMISSAL OF MEMBER( S )

          1. Any member who desires to renounce his/her membership shall do so in writing to the Union Secretary who shall in turn inform Executive Committee at a General Meeting
          2. At the end of a three (3) months period from the date of such notification in Article X, (i), and if not withdrawn, the Constitution shall cease to apply with respect to the renouncing member who then shall cease to belong to the UNION
          3. Any member of the UNION whose behavior is deemed to be in conflict with Article III of this Constitution shall be denied his/her membership by a majority vote of the Executive Committee and confirmed by a simple majority of members voting at a General meeting
          4. Before a decision is taken to dismiss a member from the UNION, a member must be served 3 consecutive warnings before an execution of dismissal can be done.
          5. Members shall duly be informed of the dismissal of any person from the UNION

          ARTICLE XIII

          RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION

          1. This Constitution shall be ratified by two-thirds (2/3) of the members present at a General Meeting

            ARTICLE XIV

            MISCELLANEOUS

            i. DUES

            1. Every member shall be expected to pay a given sum of money as dues. The general meeting of the UNION shall decide upon this amount from time to time. Thereafter, any member wishing to contribute voluntarily may do so on his/her own.

            ii. BENEFITS/PRIVILEGES 

            1. A newly born child by a member of the UNION shall be presented with a cash gift of two thousand Swedish crowns (2000  SEK) or any amount the UNION may deem necessary from time to time 
            2. Upon the death of a mother or father of a member, an amount of two thousand Swedish crowns (2000 SEK) shall be donated to the bereaved family by the UNION. Thereafter, any member wishing to contribute voluntarily may do so on his/her own.

            iii. DISSOLUTION 

            1. In the event of dissolution a general meeting must be called to discuss the disposal of the assets of the UNION. When this happens, the sole agenda shall be dissolution. The money in the UNION’s coffers after the dissolution shall be given to a charitable organization worldwide.

              ARTICLE XV 

              DEFINITIONS

              1. Where the term UNION is used in this document, it shall be construed to mean the Ghana All Sports Association – Sweden
              2. Any question(s) or misgivings concerning the interpretation of this constitution shall be decided by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) majority of the house.

                ARTICLE XVI

                REVISION/AMENDMENTS

                Revision or amendment of parts or all of this constitution shall be done by the General Meeting of the UNION. This Constitution is therefore subject to changes and amendments.