Our Constitution

Preamble

Name

By this constitution, a non-political, non-religious and non-profit organization called Ghana National Council of Sweden – GNCS, hereafter referred to as National Council is formed.

SEAT:

The seat of the national council shall be in Stockholm, Sweden

Aims and Objectives

A platform where common issues facing Ghanaians can be discussed and addressed
Bring all Ghanaian groups together and share common ideas and opportunities
To coordinate the activities of the member associations in Sweden
Promote and defend the good name of Ghana in Sweden
To speak and act with a united voice on issues concerning the Ghanaian community in Sweden, while seeking their welfare and in so doing being the mouthpiece on their behalf
To be a link between the Ghanaian Community and the Swedish Authorities.
To be a link between the Ghanaian Community and the various Embassies of Ghana Scandinavia in particular and Europe in general.
To raise funds and receive funds where appropriate to finance the objectives of the national council.

Finances

All member organizations shall be liable to pay a yearly fee agreed at the GNCS annual general meeting
All member organizations shall be encouraged to pay an agreed portion of the budget of a project/event of the GNCS as per the decision of an annual general meeting or by a GNCS general meeting.
The GNCS may organize fundraising activities through its member organizations as well as seek funds from other governmental and nongovernmental sources to support its activities.
Monies paid to the GNCS are not refundable
All monies of the GNCS are to be lodged at a bank
Signatories to the bank are to be the president, financial secretary and another person determined at the general meeting of the GNCS

Executives

The national council shall be governed:

President or Chairperson

The president shall preside over all meetings of the national council and shall be responsible for the supervision of the affairs of the national council
- Signatory to the national council.

Secretary

Act as president in the absence of the president
- Take and keep minutes of meetings.
- Maintain the membership list.
- Deal with correspondence.

Financial Secretary

Act as president in the absence of the president and secretary
Takes care of all financial activities within the organization
Prepares financial reports for the year
Signatory to the national council account.
Shall submit the financial report of the year to the auditor at least 2 months to the annual general meeting of the national council.

Membership

Membership is open to any registered Ghanaian organization with a minimum of 15 members.
An eligible organization can apply to be a member of the National council by submitting a formal application in writing addressed to the GNCS.
The president shall inform the national council and discuss the eligibility of the applicant
The president can request further information and once eligibility is established; the organization will be informed about their admission to the national council.
An accepted organization should nominate two persons from their executives who will represent them on the national council.
In an event of a change in persons representing an organization, the president/secretary must be informed in writing.

Resignation from the national council

A member organization:

May resign from the national council at any time by informing the national council through the president or secretary in writing.
May resign by giving a notice thereof at a meeting of the national council for entry in the minutes.
May re-join the national council as a fresh member by going through the membership processes again.

Sanctions and termination of membership

Ghana National Council of Sweden is and shall be an important and serious organization of good discipline. The council therefore has the right to withdraw the membership of any organization whose membership is deemed detrimental to the council with no compensation.

A member organization;

May be expelled if the organization does not operate within the ethics of the national council’s objectives.
Upon exhibiting conduct contrary to the objectives of the national council, the president/secretary shall contact the organization through their executives for further discussion.
Upon exhibiting further misconduct, the president/secretary after informing the national council shall serve a written warning to the organization
After 3 warnings to an organization, the president/secretary shall move for the organization to be expelled at a general meeting of the national council through voting. An organization will be expelled if 2/3 or more vote in favor of its expulsion.
An organization shall have a right to appeal any decision to the executives to be discussed by the national Council at a general meeting
An expelled organization can become a member by going through the membership process after pledging allegiance to the objectives of the national council.

Operations

1. Executive Board

The national council shall be governed by an executive board made up of
President
Secretary
Financial Secretary
The executive board shall have regular meetings when the need arises
Each member of the board has equal voting at a meeting and upon a tie, the chairman of the board shall have an extra vote

2. Committees and Organs

The executive board shall establish various committees and organs that may be deemed necessary for the smooth running of the national council.

3. Auditor

Shall audit the financial report submitted by the financial secretary
Shall presents audited report at the annual general meeting
Audited report shall be ready and submitted to the executive at least 2 weeks to the annual general meeting.

4. General Meetings

The general meeting shall be the highest decision-making body of the national council in between annual general meetings.
The president shall call for a general meeting whenever there are items that need to be deliberated on or an urgent issue to discuss. Normal meeting intervals shall be once in every three months.
The agenda for a general meeting should be sent to members at least one week in advance
The invitation to the general meeting should be sent to members at least two weeks in advance
In the event of an emergency, the president can call for an emergency general meeting. Agenda and invitation should be sent to members at least three days and only items on the agenda should be discussed at the meeting
Decisions at general meetings shall be taken through voting by simple majority
Only the representatives of the member organizations have the right to vote

In the event of even votes, the president shall exercise one more vote to break the tie.
The national council can invite guests to a meeting if their

knowledge on a particular matter is desired and will aid in deliberations. The president and/or secretary have the sole responsibility of inviting these guests upon previously notifying members. Guests do not have voting rights at a general meeting.

In the event that all of the executive board members cannot be at a meeting, the president should through the national council’s social media platform, ensure that a chairperson for the meeting is agreed on by the majority. The secretary for the meeting can be chosen during the meeting hosted by the chosen chairperson. The chairperson also has 1 extra vote in the case of a tie during decision making.

5. Annual General meeting

Annual General meeting, which is the national council’s highest decision- making body, is held annually between the 1st of March through the 31st of March, at a time and place decided by the executives.
Written notice shall be sent to all members no later than 2 weeks before the Annual General Meeting
Motions shall be made to the Board at least 1 month before the AGM
Each member organization shall be represented by a max of 5 delegates at the AGM. All have the right to vote.
Guests can be invited by the president/secretary upon notifying the national council. Guests do not have voting rights.

At the AGM the following matters shall be dealt with:

Election of chairman and secretary of the meeting
Election of Protocol Adjusters and vote counters for the meeting
Approval of invitation
Approval of agenda
Approval of Reports of last year
Financial statement
Business or activity report
Auditors report
Discharge of the executive board of liabilities
Determining operational plan and budget for the coming year
Election of executives (occurs every two years)
President
Secretary
Financial Secretary
Election of auditor (occurs every two years)
Processing of the Board’s proposals and motions received.
Other matters.

6. Electoral Committee, Term of office and Voting

Electoral Committee (EC) for the purpose of elections shall be established at least 3 months to elections and shall be dissolved after the election.
- Nominations to the EC shall be done through the national council to involve all member organizations.
- The electoral committee should not be less than 3 and not more than 5
- The Electoral Committee shall submit its modalities for elections to the national council for deliberations and acceptance and shall be free to function and operate within those accepted modalities
- The executive board shall be in office for a period of 2 years
- Auditor shall be in office for a period of 2 years
- Voting can be done by proxy if the Electoral committee is notified 1 week in advance
- During voting, the winner is determined by simple majority.

Amendments to the constitution

Amendments or additions to this constitution may only be decided at the annual general meeting (AGM).
Motions or amendments to or additions to this constitution may only be dealt with at the AGM if submitted to the Board no later than 2 months before the AGM.
The motion must be sent to all members at least 1 month before the AGM and any opinions must reach the Board no later than 2 weeks before the AGM.
Amendments to or additions to this constitution require decisions at the AGM with a majority of at least 2/3 of all the votes cast.

Dissolution of national council

Proposals for the dissolution of the national council shall be made no later than three months before the annual general meeting
Decisions cannot be taken until all members have been given an opportunity to comment.
Resolution on the dissolution of the national council is valid only if it is taken by two consecutive annual General meetings and is supported by at least 2/3 of the votes cast at each annual meeting.
If the resolution is resolved, the funds retained shall be given to a charitable organization agreed by the national council.