MELODIOUS SELF-HELP GROUP
CONSTITUTION FOR MELODIOUS SELF-HELP GROUP
1. NAME
The group name shall be called Melodious Self-help group hereinafter referred to in this constitution as
the self-help group and the area of operation shall be within the Republic of Kenya.
DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS
In this constitution, unless insistent with context, or otherwise specified the following words and
phrases shall have the meaning set out below:
2.1 ‘’Committee’ means the office bearers appointed under paragraph 18 of the constitution.
2.2’’ Constitution ‘’means the constitution as amended or modified from time to time.
2.3’’General meeting’’ shall mean a meeting called for under the provisions of this constitution.
2.4’’Member’’ means member of the self-help group
2.5’’The heading of this constitution are inserted for ease of reference only and shall not be taken
on to account in the constitution or interpretation of any provision to which they refer.
2.6’’Words importing singular number shall include the plural and vice versa and words importing
the masculine shall include feminine and neuter and vice versa
2.7’’References to clauses and subclasses of the constitution and words ‘’hereunder’’ ‘’hereof;
‘’herein’’ and words of similar meaning shall be deemed to be reference to be constitution as a
whole and not to any particular clause of this constitution.
3. OBJECTIVES
The group shall not be political and non-religious and shall not be a trade union and the objective
for which it shall be established are:
3.1To foster economic empowerment among members by engaging several income generating
activities.
3.2 To encourage benevolence among its members by encouraging them to support one another in
cases of need.
3.3 To invest monies of the Company not immediately required for its purposes in accordance to the
resolutions of the AGM;
To venture into income generation activities to increase its institutional capital;
4. MEMBERSHIP ELIGILITY
A person can be eligible for membership if he/she
4.1 Anybody willing and of good character and born again
4.2 Is not less than 18 years of age and is of sound mind;
5. ADMISSION INTO MEMBERSHIP
5.1 All prospective members shall send a written application for membership to the
Committee;
5.2 The Committee shall scrutinize and vet all applications to ensure that they fit in the criteria set out in
this Constitution PROVIDED that the committee has discretion to deny admission to membership and
shall communicate such denial to the applicant in writing;
5.3 All applicants shall only be admitted upon payment of a non-refundable fee of Kshs.lOOO.
5.4 Upon admission to membership, the Secretary shall cause the name and particulars of each member
to be entered into the members' register shall assign each member a registration number.
5.5 A member who has voluntarily withdrawn from the Company for any reason may apply for
reinstatement and if the application is approved by the Committee shall be reinstated upon payment of a
reinstatement fee of Ksh.2000 PROVIDED that the member who left the Company by reason of expulsion
shall not be reinstated into the company
6. NOMINEES
6.1Every member may nominate in writing one or more persons in order of priority to whom upon his
death, his deposits and any other interest may be transferred.
6.2Appointment of a nominee by a member shall be in writing and signed by the member.
6.3Such particulars of the nominees(s) shall be recorded and safely kept in the custody of the Secretary.
6.4A member may at any time change his/her nominee provided such a change or alteration is in writing
and signed by the member.
7. DENIAL OF MEMEBERSHIP
The Company may deny membership to any applicant giving him/her reasons for the denial in writing.
8. CESSATION OF MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the Company shall be terminated upon;
8.1 Voluntary resignation by the member;
8.2 Upon retirement;
8.3 The death of the member;
8.4 Expulsion of the membership;
8.5 Becoming certifiably insane;
8.6 Action contrary to the provisions of the Constitution;
8.7 A vote of the members at the next General Meeting following suspension of a member by the
Committee for any violations of the Constitution or the conduct prejudicial to the Company's interest;
8.8 Upon transferring his/her share capital to another member.
9. VOLUNTARY-WITHDRAWAL
9.1 A member may at any time withdraw from the Company by giving (Sixty) 60 days' written notice to
the Committee during which the Committee will settle the member's accounts and refund the member's
money if he has no outstanding liability with the Company.
9.2 Members with no liability or outstanding obligations on their accounts -and outstanding collaterals or
guarantees for other members' loans may withdraw from the membership at any time.
10.
SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION
A member may be suspended or expelled if he/she:
10.1 Willfully fails to comply or refuses to comply with this Constitution, the Company's policies and
contracts and persists in such refusal or failure;
10.2 Willfully defaults in the repayment of loans due or part of loans for a period exceeding six months;
10.3 Fails to give the monthly contributions for Three consecutive months(suspension);
10.4 Acts in a way detrimental or prejudicial to the Company's interests or for other just cause as may be
determined by the Committee;
10.5 For any other reason approved by the General Meeting;
11. PENALTIES
11.1 Any member who willfully acts in violation of this Constitution or regulations made hereunder shall
be liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand Kenya shillings (Kshs. 2000) not withstanding any other
action that may be taken against him by resolution of the General Meeting.
11.2 Any member aggrieved by the decision of the Committee may appeal to the
General Meeting whose decision shall be final.
12.
MEMBERS' RIGHTS
Subject to this Constitution, polices, standards, values and procedures, every member shall have
the right to use the Company's services and exercise the rights established by the Constitution.
The member are entitled but not limited to;
12.1 Receive upon request a Statement of Accounts containing the individualized record of
his/her credit and debit transactions.
12.2 Attend and participate at the General Meeting. Each member shall have one vote
irrespective of the member's total contributions.
12.3 Elect or be elected as office bearer of the Company unless otherwise prohibited by any
other law or the Constitution.
12.4 Use the Company's service according to the policies and procedures approved by the
Company.
12.5 Submit projects to the Company for consideration for the improvement of the
Company's services.
12.6 All other rights as prescribed by the constitution.
13.
MEMBERS' OBLIGATIONS
Members of the Company are obligated to;
13.1 Attend meetings and take part in decision making;
13.2 Show good co-operative spirit;
13.3 Bring out problems affecting the Group and look for solutions;
13.4 Participate in the Association's project both physically and financially;
13.5 Attend educational meetings and seminars organized by the association or other organizations;
13.6 Make use of the service of the Group as stated in the objects of the association;
13.7 comply with this and General Meeting resolutions.
14.
COMPANY'S FUNDS
The Company's funds shall consist of;
14.1 Non- refundable registration fee of Kshs. 1000;
14.2 Monthly contribution of Kshs. 1000;
14.3 Emergency float of not less than Kshs. 5,000 to be maintained by the Treasurer;
14.4 Any donations, grants or gifts from other bodies, organizations or individuals;
14.5 Any surplus resulting from operations of the Company;
14.6 Funds obtained from other lawful sources.
14.7 The funds of the Company shall be deposited in the Company's Bank Account except emergency
float which shall be in the custody of the Treasurer.
14.8 All monies shall be received by the treasurer and deposited by him/her in the name of the
company in any approved by members in the AGM.
14.9 No payments shall be made out of the bank account without a resolution of the committee
authorizing such payment and all cheques on such bank account shall be signed by the treasurer and two
other office bearers of the society who shall be
Appointed by the committee.
14.10
15. AUDITOR GENERAL
15.1 An auditor shall be appointed for the following year by the annual general meeting. All the
society's accounts, records and documents shall be opened to the inspection of the auditor at any time.
The treasurer shall produce an account of his receipts and payments and a statement of assets and
liabilities made up to a date which shall not be less than six weeks.
and not more than three months before the date of annual general meeting. The auditor shall
examine such annual accounts and statements and either clarify that they are correct, duly
vouched and in accordance with the law or report to the society in what respect they are found
to be incorrect, unvouched or not in accordance with the law.
15.2 A copy of the auditor's report on the accounts and statement together with such accounts
and statements shall be furnished to all members at the same time as the notice convening the
annual general meeting is sent out. An auditor may be paid such honorarium for his duties as
may be resolved by the annual general meeting appointing.
15.3 No auditor shall be an office bearer or a member of the committee of the Company.
16 GENERAL MEETING
The supreme Authority of the Association shall vest in the General Meeting. Such meetings shall
be held as follows:
16.1 The Annual General Meeting shall be held every year to hold elections and to undertake
such other business as laid down in this constitution;
16.2 Any business not completed at the annual General Meeting may be taken up at a
subsequent special General Meeting, or at the next Annual General Meeting;
16.3 A special General Meeting shall be held:
i. When convened by the chairperson or the secretary;
ii. Within 14 days receipt of a written demand from a third of the members.
16.4 The quorum at any General Meeting shall be at least a half of the members;
16.5 The chairperson or in his absence the vice-chairperson shall preside over at the General
Meeting. In the absence of both, any other member elected by majority of the members present
shall preside over the meeting.
17 POWERS OF THE GENERAL MEETING
The General meeting of members has both the right and responsibility to:
17.1
Confirm the minutes of the previous meetings;
17.2
Elect the Committee for the ensuing year;
17.3 Receive reports and decide upon other matters as may be necessary for the conduct of
the Association's business;
18.
17.4
Consider reports of the activities of the Company during the past year;
17.5
Confirm or otherwise consider action taken by the committee;
17.6
Consider appeals against the expulsion of members and denial of membership;
17.7
Elect, Suspend or Remove Committee members;
17.8
Fix the honoraria, bonuses and other allowances if any, for members;
17.9
Transact any other general business of the Association.
MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY
18.1 The Association shall be managed by the Committee consisting of the following office bearers:
18.1.1 Chairperson
18.1.2 Secretary
18.1.3 Treasurer
18.2 The office bearers shall be elected by the members during the General Meeting and shall serve
for a period of 2 year.
18.3
An office bearer shall be eligible for a re-election for a maximum of two consecutive terms. —
19.
DUTIES OF OFFICE BEARERS
19.1 The Chairperson — The chairman shall, unless prevented by illness or other sufficient cause,
preside over all meeting of the committee and at all General
Meetings.
19.2 Secretary
19.2.1 The Organizing Secretary shall deal with all the correspondence of the Company under the general
supervision of the committee.
19.2.2 In cases of urgent matters, where the committee cannot be consulted, he shall consult the
chairperson or if he is not available, the vice chairperson. The decisions reached shall be subject to
ratification or otherwise at the next committee meeting.
19.2.3 Shall issue notices convening all meetings of the committee and all general meetings of the
Company.
19.2.4 Shall be the custodian of all minutes and for the preservation of all records of proceedings of the
Company.
19.3 The Treasurer
19.3.1 Shall receive and also disburse under the directions of the committee all monies belonging to the
Group.
19.3.2 Shall issue receipts for all monies received by him, and preserve vouchers for monies paid by him.
19.3.3 Shall be responsible to the committee and to the members that proper books of accounts of all
monies received and paid by the Group are written up, preserved and available for inspection.
20.
AUTHORISATION TO SIGN DOCUMENTS
20.1
The following persons shall be authorized to sign documents for and on behalf of the Group:
i.
Chairperson
ii.
Treasurer
iii.
Board Member
20.2 The signatories for the Association's bank account shall be the treasurer, the chairperson and
One board member (on a rotational basis)
21.
DISPUTES
21.1
Any dispute arising out of this constitution shall be resolved by the members in good faith.
22.
AMENDMENT
This Constitution may be amended from time to time by members during the Annual General
Meeting.
23.
INSPECTION
23.1 All books of Accounts and other records shall at all times be available for inspection by
members of the Association, giving not less than seven (7) days’ notice in writing to the Secretary.
23.2 A copy this constitution and a list of its members excluding details of nominees and loans shall
be available for inspection by members at all reasonable times during business hours.
24.
DISSOLUTION
24.1 The Association shall not be dissolved except by a resolution passed at a general meeting
of members by a vote of two-thirds of the members present.
24.1.1 The quorum of the meeting shall be two-thirds of the total members. If the quorum
is not obtained, the proposal to dissolve the group shall be submitted to a further general meeting which
shall be held in thirty (30) days.
24.1.2 Notice to this meeting shall be issued to all members fourteen (14) days’ notice
before the date of the meeting. The quorum for this meeting shall be the number of members present.
24.2 Provided, however, that no dissolution shall be effected without prior permission in
writing of the Registrar, obtained upon application to him made in writing and signed by three (3) of the
office bearers.
24.3 When the dissolution of the Company has been approved by the registrar, no further
action shall be taken by the Committee or any office bearer of the Company, in connection with the aims
of the group, other than to get in and liquidate for cash all the assets of the Company. Subject to the
payments of all the debts of the Company, the balance thereof shall be distributed in such other manner
as may be resolved by the meeting at which the r