THE CONSTITUTION OF CHANDRI WOMEN GROUP.

ARTICLE 1: NAMING AND LOCATION OF GROUP

The group shall remain to be CHANDRI WOMEN GROUP

ARTICLE 2: THE POSTAL ADDRESS: The postal Address will be 6 NYANGWESO

ARTICLE 3: PHYSICAL ADDRESS: The physical address will be at NYALIECH PRIMARY

ARTICLE 4: MISSION: To promote, encourage and facilitate development among the members.

ARTICLE 5: OBJECTIVES

 To enhance economic wellbeing of members

 To provide financial assistance in events of bereavement to the affected member /next of kin
 To assist in development programs
 To foster better understanding amongst the members and improve social wellbeing of the members.
.

ARTICLE 6: MEMBERSHIP

(a) Membership Qualifications

1) One must be a Kenyan Citizen
2) Must be 18 years old and above
3) Must be accepted by the membership fraternity
4) Must have National Identity card or passport.
5) Initial registration fee per member is kshs.200 which is non-refundable and yearly renewal of sh. 100

Note:

1. Any new member joining the group shall pay a total amount that will be determined by members and the
executive. This amount will be based on the progress of the group.
2. The group shall remain to non-political organization
3. It is duty of ALL MEMBERS to accept any new member who joins the group.

ARTICLE 7: CONTRIBUTIONS AND WELFARE

 There shall be a weekly contribution of Sh. 50 to sh. 500 for table banking activities.

Bereavements
 In case of death of a member, each person shall contribute sh. 500.
 In case of death of a child, each person shall contribute sh.100
 In case of death of a parent/spouse of a member whose spouse is a group member each person shall contribute Sh.
100 and 200 respectively
 In case a member is hospitalized each member contributes sh. 100.

ARTICLE 8: FINES/PENALTIES

 Failure to attend three consecutive meetings without proper explanation leads to expulsion, after he/she has been
served with a letter to explain the reasons for his/her absenteeism and fails to comply.
 A member shall not use abusive or infamous words against a member or an executive. Such actions shall be
warned thrice. Failure to change the member will be dismissed.
 Absent without apology, a fine of sh. 20
 Lateness attracts a fine of between sh. 10
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  Phone ringing’, a fine of sh. 10
 Interjecting a member who is talking or talking without permission will attract a penalty of Kshs.10.
 Misuse of funds must be accounted for by the person and the person will be required to reimburse the money as
stipulated by the disciplinary committee. A person who defies the decision of the disciplinary committee will be
forwarded to the Social Department for intervention and if necessary for processing of legal charges of misuse of
group funds.
 All resolutions and group activities are confidentially bound to any group members. Therefore, any secrets
revealed to outsiders is considered a criminal offence upon which any member found to have breached shall be
fined sh. 100 after have been suspended for two weeks.

ARTICLE 9: ELECTIONS

(a) Elections Procedures

 All registered and active members are eligible to contest and vote
 For one to be elected, he/she must be of good conduct and at least 75 % (2/3) of the members must be present
during election.
 A person who has been convicted of a crime involving crime or dishonesty is eligible to be elected within a period
of five years from the date of conviction.
 All elections shall be conducted through show of hands at the general meeting.
 All the outgoing officials shall leave office immediately after general election unless re-elected.
 All the General Elections shall be presided over by the returning officer who must be an independent person
from the group appointed by the Director of Social Development
 The returning officer shall announce the results of the election at the annual general meeting in the presence of
members.
 Handing over after elections if an official has not been re-elected should be done within fourteen days.
(b) Election of Office Bearers/Group Officials
 The office bearers shall be the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, Treasurer,
Organizing Secretary and the Chaplain.
 All the office bearers shall hold the office for a period of two years from the date of election.
 One qualifies for an election if he/she has fully paid all the entitled funds e.g., registration and annual subscription
fee
 In case of death/dismissal/suspension/withdrawal or impeachment of an official, an interim official shall be
nominated in her place before election is done to fill the gap.
 The group can conduct a by-election when need arises as per the constitution. The group has the powers to impeach
an official in case of:
i. Gross misconduct
ii. Failure to perform his/her roles as defined in the group constitution
iii. Engaging in unlawful activities
iv. Failure to adhere to group constitution
v. Misuse of office
vi. Mismanagement and diversion of group finances
 Filling of vacant position shall be done within a period of thirty days after the position was declared vacant.
(c) Duties of Office Bearers
Chairperson
 Chairing of committee meetings and general meetings.
 Informs the committee of the progress.
 Acts as a public relation of the group.
 Ensures adherence of by-laws of the organization by members.
 Enter into contact building with the group.
 Signatory to the account of the group.
 Any other duties that may be assigned by members.

Qualifications
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For one to be elected as the chairperson, he/she must be:

1. Knowledgeable
2. Mature
3. Disciplined
4. Transparent
5. Willing to serve
6. Must know how to read and write

Vice/Chairperson
The vice chairperson shall perform all duties of the chairperson in his/her absence except being signatory to the account of
the organization and entering into contact bending with the group.

Secretary
 Takes minutes of the meeting.
 Keeping all the official documents of the group.
 Issuing notices for the meeting to the concerned.
 Deals with group correspondence.
 Sign notices for the meetings to the concerned.
 Signatory to the accounts of the group.
Qualifications:
For one to be elected as the chairperson, he/she must be:

1. Effectively communicating
2. Fast and accurate
3. Neat and organized
4. Must know how to read and write
Treasurer
 Under the instruction of the committee receives and disburses funds of the group.
 Signatory of the accounts of the group.
 Keeping the financial records of the group.
 Advice the committee of the monetary matters of the group.

Qualifications:
For one to be elected as the treasurer, he/she must be:
1. Must know how to read and write.
2. Fast, sharp and accurate
3. Honest
4. Neat and organized
5. Have sound mind

Organizing secretary
S/he organizes the venues for meetings as per the stated day defined in the notices
S/he ensures the members are well informed of the meeting days

Qualifications:
For one to be elected as the treasurer, he/she must be:
1. Must know how to read and write.
2. Fast, sharp and accurate
3. Honest
4. Neat and organized
5. Have sound mind

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Chaplain
S/he opens and closes the group meeting with prayers.

Qualifications
Must be a person of good moral standing within the community
Must be time conscious
Must be committed to the group activities

ARTICLE 10: APPOINTMENT OF MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The management committee shall be elected for a term of two years.

In case of death/dismissal/suspension/withdrawal of a committee member, interim committee member shall be nominated
in her place before election is done to fill the gap.

ARTICLE 11: MEETINGS

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All meetings shall start upon meeting the required quorum, that is, at least of the registered members must be present.
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There shall be three (4) classes of meetings: Annual General meeting, Committee meetings, Special purpose meeting and
Weekly Meeting.

(a) ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

There shall be general meeting for the group which shall be held freely every year/annually. Such meetings shall be
attended by all members of the organization and it is through such meetings that the committee elections shall be held if
due for election.
Notice in writing of such annual general meetings accompanied by statements of account and the agenda for the meeting
shall be sent to all members not less than three months prior to the date of the meeting. The agenda for such a meeting
shall be: Chairperson’s speech, statement of account for previous twelve months and planned activities for the next twelve
months of the group.

(b) SPECIAL PURPOSE MEETING

There shall be a special purpose meeting which shall be convened as demanded by circumstances. Members of the
organization who are not satisfied by the performance of the committee or conduct among committee members shall
petition the committee demanding to convene a special meeting to discuss matters partaking to the conduct and
competence of the committee.

(c) COMMITTEE MEETING/BOARD MEETING

The committee/Board meeting shall be held after every 21 days for the committee members to discuss and deliberate on
issues affecting the group.

(d) WEEKLY MEETINGS

This is the normal group meeting where the group meet for the table banking, welfare contribution and discuss any
emerging group issue demanding the group attention.

(e) PROCEDURE OF THE MEETINGS

i. All the meetings shall be opened by prayers from the chaplain.
ii. At the meeting the chairman, or in absence of the chairperson, the vice chairperson in the absence of both, a
member shall be selected to take the chair. In the event where this has taken place and chairperson shows up the
person selected shall relinquish the seat immediately.

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 iii. The secretary shall read the previous minutes which shall be seconded and approved as true records of the
previous meetings by the meeting.
iv. Any member who wishes to leave the meeting shall be required to seek permission from the chair.
v. In the event of equality of votes the chairperson shall have a second on casting votes.
vi. The chairperson shall be empowered to call off the meeting if it turns too chaotic beyond control, lack of quorum
or reasons beyond his/her control.

ARTICLE 12: FINANCES AND SOURCES OF FUNDS

Contributions from members, Government grant, Government loans, Donors

(a) Accounting for funds

Proper books of accounts shall be maintained and all necessary receipts for money received or paid out shall be made
available for members during next meetings.

Auditing shall be done once per financial year of the group. The auditor written report shall be clearly read out to the
members after the appointed auditor by the group has presented the report.

In case a member fails to pay loan, the following process will be followed:

 A member must be served with a letter informing him/her about the unpaid loan status in three weeks prior to the
meeting. He/she is then required to come and explain to the meeting why the loan is not re-paid.
 In case he/she fails, the executive then visits him/her and talk to him/her about the same
 Failure to respond, the case will be forwarded to the Social Development Department for intervention and further
legal processes if there will be need.

(c) . Financial Year
The group financial year will be ending on a date suggested by members.
The chairperson must call an AGM after this date annually. Financial report, budget, plan and challenges shall be read
and discussed into details and the way forward also adopted.

ARTICLE 13: WITHDRAWAL/RESIGNATION OF MEMBERS/OFFICIALS

A member/official of the group shall cease to be one on any of the following grounds:
(i) Voluntary withdrawal/resignation- He/she gives a prior notice of two months in writing to the committee of
his/her intentions to resign from the group. Upon the acknowledgement of the notice by the office, he/she cease to
be a member. The group will calculate the benefits due and the member will be given his/her benefits after the
annual general meetings. The benefits will be refunded at 2/3 of his/her total shares. The 1/3 will remain with the
group.
(ii) Incase o member deserts the group or is expelled from the group disgraceful conduct that is detrimental to the
wellbeing of the group, the member is not entitled to any benefits from the group.
(iii) In case of death /demise/incapacitation of a member or official, the next of kin will be given the benefits.

NB:IN ALL THE ABOVE STATED SCENARIOS, THE AFFECTED PERSON CEASES TO BE A MEMBER OF
THE GROUP AND SHOULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY ACTIVITY UNDER THE GROUP NAME.

ARTICLE 14: EXPULSION/DISMISSAL OF MEMBERS/OFFICIALS

a) Member
Any member shall be expelled/dismissed if he/she engages in activities which affects the regulation and running of the
group such as:
 Miss to attend three consecutive meetings without proper explanation
 When a member fails to remit his/her contributions for three installments under any category of the aforementioned
membership
 Engaging in unlawful activities e.g., corruption, criminal activities, disrespect to other members/office
 Disclosing secrets of the group to the general public without approval from members/office
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(c) . Procedure of Expulsion/Dismissal:

(i) He/she shall be called before the committee to assess the seriousness of the act.
(ii) If the committee shall be satisfied that the act is serious, then it shall dismiss such a member/official.
(iii) If the act could be corrected, then the member/official shall be given one more chance to correct.
(iv) If the member/official fails to correct or reform, then the committee shall expel/dismiss such a member.
(v) Any official who is expelled from the group for whatever reason ceases to be a member.

ARTICLE 15: DISPUTES AMONG GROUP MEMBERS

 Any dispute among the group members shall be handled by the committee.
 The committee shall discuss the matters and give warning to the offender not to repeat such dispute.
 If the dispute between the same parties/persons is repeated over the same issue or different but within six months
from both parties/persons shall be expelled and replacement be done.

ARTICLE 16: AMENDMENT TO THE BY LAWS

 The laws/constitution may be revised from time to time provided such amendments/adjustments do not bar or seem to
restrict membership into any category.
 Voting process shall be carried out in which the amendment(s) must be passed by two thirds 2/3 majority.
 The committee shall be empowered to amend the by-laws provided that all the committee members shall be present.

ARTICLE 17: DISSOLUTION OF THE GROUP

 The group shall not be dissolved except by a resolution passed at annual general meeting by the registered members
through voting. The agenda for dissolution should be passed by at least 2/3 of the group members.
 No dissolution shall be affected without proper permission in writing of the County / Sub-County Social
Development Officer obtained upon application of dissolution by members. The application for dissolution must be
signed by the three (3) group officials that is; Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer
 The certificate of registration shall be surrendered to the Social Development Office where the registration was made.

NB: In case of dissolution, the assets and/or liabilities of the group shall be shared amongst members as per the resolution
agreed upon in the dissolution meeting.

ARTICLE 18: INDEMNITY

 Office bearers are protected from liability for loss, damage or injury caused by acts conforming to the group
constitution or with due authorization by members. Officials will only be held responsible if the opposite of the
above occurs, that is if officials do not abide by the group constitution or act without authorization from members
where authorization is required.
The group as a whole will be held responsible for activities of the group that cause loss, damage or injury to third parties.

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