1. THE NAME OF
THE ORGANISATION
1.1 The name of the organization shall be the “South African Dancing
Voices”.
1.2 Its shortened name shall be SADVO (hereinafter referred to as the
organization.)
1.3 The more descriptive flagship umbrella name of the ensemble shall
be (UL Chamber Choir).
The organization shall:
1.3.1 Exist in its own right, separately from its members.
1.3.2 Be associated to the University of Limpopo.
1.3.3 Continue
to exist even when its membership changes and there are different office
bearers.
1.3.4 Be
able to own property and other possessions.
1.3.5 Abide by the constitution and policies of the
University of Limpopo.
2. VISION AND
MISSION
The South African Dancing Voices
would be established:-
2.1 To assist in improving the quality of life and standard of living
in its community.
2.2 To identify and attend to community or
society’s basic social needs.
2.2 To encourage literacy,
childhood education, and advanced education in communities.
2.3 To celebrate the cultural diversity of the Limpopo Province.
2.4 To communicate the broad
mission and vision of the University of Limpopo ie. “Finding solutions for
Africa”
2.5 To also provide a
vehicle or medium between the University and the community, the University and
the Province, and ultimately the University and the nation.
3. INCOME AND
PROPERTY
3.1 The organization’s
property and finances shall be used to uphold its vision and mission.
3.2 Record of all items
owned by the organization shall be kept up-to-date at all times.
3.3 The organization may not
give any of its money or property to its members or office bearers. The only
time it can do this is when it pays for work that a member or office bearer has
done for the organization.
3.4 A member of the organization
may only get money back from the organization for expenses paid for or on
behalf of the organization.
4. MEMBERSHIP
4.1 Membership to the organization
shall be determined via auditions and open invitation to be associate members
which will be open to the University of Limpopo community.
4.2 Auditions shall be open to all students, faculty and staff of
the University regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, or
academic achievement.
4.3 The organization’s executive
committee shall process any membership request and retain the right of
admission.
4.4 Members shall exercise
their rights to determine organization policies during annual general meetings.
4.5 Honorary
membership in the organization will be open to all students, staff, faculty
members and alumni of the University and its affiliated colleges so as to
receive notifications of SADVO activities and form part of a support base for
the organization.
4.6 Persons
who are not students, staff, faculty members or alumni of the University or one
of its affiliated colleges may become Honorary Members if recommended by a
current Member and approved by the Executive. Invitations to become honorary
members will also be channeled for approval by the Executive.
5. THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive
Committee shall be comprised of 4 members: The Chairperson, the Deputy
Chairperson, the Secretary and Treasurer.
Section Leaders
shall be elected among the singers to represent each voice part: namely Soprano
section leader, Tenor section leader, Alto section leader, and Bass section
leader.
5.1 The Chairperson
The duties of
the chairperson include:
(a). ensuring that the Constitution of the organization is upheld and followed;
(b). making decisions on behalf of and in the best interests of the organization,
consulting with the Executive if at all practicable, but at
minimum informing the Executive after the fact;
(c). Acting as
a liaison between the organization and the University Community;
(d). Scheduling and officiating Executive meetings;
(e). Coordinating and supervising the activities of the other Executive
officers;
(f). Making announcements at rehearsals and generally keeping the organization
Members informed of choral happenings
(g). keeping minutes and records of
all activities of the organization
5.2 the Deputy Chairperson
The duty of the
Deputy chairperson includes:
(a). Obtain event approval and clearance from the University
stakeholders whenever necessary;
(b). Book rehearsal, performance, and banquet spaces;
(c). Arrange accommodations for the organization or visiting organizations;
(d). Engage guest conductors or trainers (with the input of the Director);
(e). Advertise the Festival concerts;
(f). Keep in contact with the university community, schools or churches and
answering all questions as appropriate.
5.3. The Secretary
The duties of the
secretary include:
(a). Taking attendance at every rehearsal, or arranging for it to be done in
their absence, and reporting regularly to the Director;
(b). Organizing sectional rehearsals, ideally holding one every month (though
this is not a strict rule); and
(c). Ensuring
that all Members in their respective sections are supplied with music, folders,
etc.
5.4. The Treasurer
The position of the Treasurer shall be open to the University community,
preferably Faculty members due to the fragile nature and technicality of the
position. Nominations received shall be discussed and final decision made by the
members.
The role of the
Treasurer shall be to:
(a). Be responsible for all financial records of the organization.
(b). Make available an annual financial statement to all members and
stakeholders of the organization.
(c). Make available all financial transactions
at any time to the Executive.
(d). Keep all financial transactions in a finance register and proper
account.
(e). Facilitate the collection of all the income from any relevant source.
The Executive
has the power to revoke the membership of any Member who exhibits inappropriate
conduct, as determined by the Executive. Again the executive has the power to
withdraw the privilege of performing in concerts from any chorister of his/her
section who does not attend an adequate number of rehearsals, as determined by
the Executive.
6. FINANCES
6.1. A non-refundable membership
fee, to be set annually by the Executive, shall be charged to the members of the organization.
6.2. The organization may collect
an admission fee for some of the performance it schedules as a way of
fundraising, with the fee to be determined by the executive.
6.3. All Organization funds shall be disbursed only
upon authorization of Executive members.
6.4. Any
disbursement over R100 made by an Executive officer requires approval by the
Executive before that officer will be
reimbursed.
6.5. All Organization funds shall
be deposited with the University account, unless the Executive decides
otherwise.
7. AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
7.1 This Constitution may be amended only by
(a). A referendum of the organization,
held at a general meeting of which all members have at least one week’s notice,
requiring a two-thirds majority, or
(b). The University of Limpopo Policy Committee.
8. MEETINGS AND
PROCEDURES OF THE COMMITTEE
8.1 The
executive committee shall have at minimum quarterly meetings every year.
8.2 The chairperson shall
be responsible for convening all meetings, hence, members can request for
meetings by collaborating with the chairperson.
8.3 The chairperson
shall be responsible cheering all the executive
meetings.
8.4 There shall be a
quorum of more than 50% (atleast 4 members) for meetings to be official.
8.5 When necessary, the
executive committee shall vote on issues. If the votes are equal on an issue,
then the chairperson shall have a deciding vote.
8.6 Minutes of all
meetings shall be kept safe and available to be viewed by all members.
9. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS
9.1. The main annual general meeting shall be held once every year
to review the current year and plan for the subsequent year.
9.2. The agenda of the annual general meeting shall be communicated
to all members and items shall be invited for tabling.
9.3. The basic structure of the meeting shall include the following
items:-
9.4. Opening and Welcome, Roll call and apologies, reading of
previous minutes, adoption and discussion of minutes, discussion of submitted
items, reports, review of policies and constitution, elections, vote of thanks,
and closure.
10. AMENDMENT
OF THE CONSTITUTION
10.1 Any
amendment to the Constitution must comply with the University of Limpopo Constitution Template.
10.2 A copy of the current
Constitution must always be kept on file with the University of Limpopo
marketing and Communications. 10.3 The
amended constitution shall supersede and nullify all previous constitutions of
the
organization.
11. AUTHORITY
OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The executive committee together with director may
take on the authority that it believes it needs to be able to achieve the
objectives of the organization as outlined in its vision and mission statements
above.
Hence, the executive committee shall
11.1 Assume authority to raise funds or invite
and receive contributions.
11.2 Have the power to buy, hire, or exchange
for any property that it needs to achieve its objectives.
11.3 Have rights to set by-laws for proper
management of the organization
12. DISSOLUTION
12.1 The organization shall close if deemed fit by at
least two-thirds of its membership during the annual general meeting via a
voting process.
12.2 When the
organization closes down it shall make sure to settle all outstanding debts.
Any other property left in the organization shall be given in some way to
another community project or to another non-profit organization with similar
objectives as decided by the members during a general meeting.
This
constitution was signed and approved by members of South African Dancing Voices
at a general meeting held on 19 February 2011.
Director Marketing
Officer
Dr TM Matsebatlela Prof MP Mokgotho
19/02/2011
