GHANAIAN ASSOCIATION OF HISPANISTS (GAH)

Asociación Ghanesa de Hispanistas (AGH)
 

CONSTITUTION

 

 

Preamble

 

At the close of the II International Conference on Afro-Hispanic, Luso-Brazilian, and Latin American Studies (ICALLAS), held at the University of Ghana in August 2009, a group of participating Ghanaian Hispanists met to discuss the formation of an association made up of African Hispanists. The meeting was held at the Legon Hall Senior Common Room on 7 August, 2009. Present were the following:

 

Dieudonné Afatsawo

Yaw Agawu-Kakraba

F. Komla Aggor

Joanna Boampong

Victor O. Lamptey

Samuel Mate-Kodjo

Dorothy Odartey-Wellington

Moses Panford, Jr.

John Angmor Teye

 

The association was formed and officers elected for the first year of its operation. Komla Aggor volunteered to draft a constitution for the review and endorsement of this founding group.  Following the endorsement, the President was expected to broadcast the formation of the Association internationally and to launch a membership drive. An application for a non-profit status was to be pursued promptly thereafter.

 

 

Article I -  Name

 

The organization shall be known and called the GHANAIAN ASSOCIATION OF HISPANISTS, with the acronym GAH. The organization’s Spanish version shall be known and called Asociación GHANESA de Hispanistas (AGH).

 

“Association,” heretofore, shall refer to the Ghanaian Association of Hispanists / Asociación Ghanesa de Hispanistas.

 

 

Article II – Organization Type

 

The organization shall be formalized, legalized, and registered as a non-profit entity, with defined scholarly and academic interests.

 

 

Article III – Delineation and Meetings

 

1. The location of the Association shall be in North America, with a subdivision at the University of Ghana.

 

2. “Meeting” shall refer to any official gathering of the Association at a physical location or by teleconference, Skype, electronic mail or any such virtual media.

 

3. “General Assembly” shall refer to the gathering of the membership at a physical or virtual location.

 

d)  The General Assembly shall meet once a year at a virtual location or an

     international conference.  The biennial ICALLAS shall be the venue of the General  

     Assembly every other year.

 

e)   When necessary, additional meetings may be convened, especially in the first

      few years of the existence of the Association. Such meetings may be held  

      virtually in March or in September.

 

f)   The quorum at the General Assembly and any other meeting shall be one-third of

      the membership.

 

 

ARTICLE IV - Objectives

 

1. To establish a professional network among its members.

 

2. To gain recognition for, and promote, the academic contributions of members of the Association to Hispanic studies through conferences, newsletters, journals, and other media.

 

3. To attract and provide resources for the sustainable promotion of Hispanic studies among students at the University of Ghana.

 

4. To advance the scholarly dialogue on Afro-Hispanic studies.

 

 

Article V - Membership

 

Open to all persons interested in the study, teaching, or promotion of Hispanic studies in Ghana. Such persons shall agree to uphold the constitution of the Association and abide by its regulations and bye-laws.

 

 

Article VI - Structure

 

The Association shall comprise the General Assembly and its elected officers.  The official positions of the Association shall be as follows:

 

Sec (i)         President

Sec (ii)         Vice-President

Sec (iii)        Secretary and Treasurer

Sec (iv)        The Spanish Section Coordinator or Designate of the University of Ghana

 

The following members shall serve as officers for the Association’s first year (September 2009 – September 2010)

 

President:                       Dorothy Odartey-Wellington

Vice-President:                 Samuel Mate-Kodjo

Secretary and Treasurer:     Komla Aggor

University of Ghana Liaison: Joanna Boampong

 

Subsequently, the term of office shall be January to December of each year.

 

 

Article VII – Qualifications for Elected Offices

 

To qualify for any of the elected offices of Article VI, a candidate shall be an active member for at least one year and shall have no outstanding monthly or annual dues or fees.

 

 

Article VIII - Elections and Terms

 

Section (i)  -  Elections:

 

1. Because the Association is not based in any particular city, elections shall not be conducted by secret ballot but rather by email or any other practical medium as approved by the General Assembly. A member, other than an elected officer, appointed by the General Assembly shall be responsible for coordinating such elections.

 

          (b)      The outcome of all elections shall be decided by a simple majority vote.

 

Section (ii) - Terms:

 

1. Elections shall take place during the last meeting of the year and elected

     officers shall assume office in January of the following year.

 

2. Elected officers shall serve for three years. Officers may be re-elected to the

                  same office for a maximum of two consecutive terms only.

 

3.      In order to ensure continuity in the smooth running of the Association’s

business, the General Assembly may vote to extend the term of serving officers for a one-time period of one-year only, after which new elections shall be held.

 

 

Article IX - Powers and Duties of Elected Officers

 

Section (i) - The President

 

1. The President shall be head of the Association. He/She shall ensure that the

Association comply fully at all times with its bye-laws and pursue its goals and objectives effectively.

 

          b)       He/She shall serve as the chief promoter of the Association internationally.

 

          c)       preside over all meetings.

 

4. delegate power and assign duties to any members as he/she deems  

     necessary.

 

5.      call an emergency meeting of the officers or of the General Assembly.

 

 

Section (ii) - The Vice-President

 

1.      The Vice-President shall assist the President in administering the affairs of the

Association.

 

         b)      He/She shall assume all the powers and duties of the President or

Secretary/Treasurer in the event that the President or the Secretary is absent

or incapacitated.

 

 

Section (iii) - The Secretary/Treasurer

 

1. The Secretary/Treasurer shall assist the President in promoting the

     Association internationally.

 

2. He/She shall be responsible for most correspondence of the Association.

                 

3. prepare the agenda with the other officers for all meetings and record the

     proceedings.

 

4. collect all dues and fees and keep an up-to-date record of the Association’s

                  financial activities.

 

5. have the power to take the Association’s debtors to court.

 

6. prepare and submit to the General Assembly semi-annual reports of the

                  Association's financial status.

 

7. make all financial records available at any time for audit by auditors hired or

     appointed by the Association.

 

 

Section (iv) – The University of Ghana Liaison

 

1. The Spanish Section Coordinator or Designate of the University of Ghana shall coordinate the affairs of the Association in Ghana.

 

1. He/She shall serve as Secretary/Treasurer in Ghana in accordance with Article IX Section iii - a), b), c), d), h).

 

2. He/She shall recruit members in Ghana and collect all dues and fees. He/Shall 

promptly communicate all such information together with proper documentation to the President and the Secretary/Treasurer for the Association’s records.

 

3. He/She shall prepare and submit periodically to the Association a list of the needs of the Spanish Program.

 

Section (v) – Powers and Duties of the General Assembly

 

1. All powers, except for those granted to officers, shall be vested in the General Assembly. All officers are accountable to the General Assembly for their actions as they relate to the Association.

 

2. The General Assembly shall be the sole legislative body. It shall pass and enforce all rules and bye-laws.

 

3. The General Assembly shall by a two-thirds majority relieve any elected officer of his or her duties for abuse of office or administrative ineffectiveness. An Association member in good standing may request in writing to the President that an officer be relieved of his or her duties.

 

 

Article X - Dues and Fees

 

 

1. The Association, by a two-thirds majority vote of its membership, shall levy dues and fees on members to fund its activities. Members shall pay a non-refundable registration fee of US$20.00. This fee shall be waived for members who have been living in Ghana for at least two years.

 

2. Members resident outside Ghana shall pay annual dues of US$60.00. This amount can be paid in quarterly installments. Members resident in Ghana shall pay US$20.00 or the cedi equivalent. (Effective January 2019, the annual dues of members resident outside Ghana was increased to US$80. See ‘Amendments’.)

 

3. The annual dues shall cover January to December of the year.

 

4. Students shall pay US$20.00 annual dues. Students resident in Ghana shall pay US$5.00 or the cedi equivalent.

 

5. All dues and fees shall be deposited into the Association’s bank accounts at a financial institution to be approved by the General Assembly. The Secretary/Treasurer (and any other elected officer) shall be co-signatories to said account. All dues and fees collected shall be used solely in furtherance of the objectives of the Association as stipulated in Article IV hereinabove.

 

6. Dues may be revised periodically as budgetary needs of the Association warrant. The case (s) for such revision must be made to the General Assembly by the Treasurer/Secretary in consultation with other elected officers and must be approved by the General Assembly by a two-thirds majority vote.

 

7. From time to time, and as emergencies or special project needs may warrant, appeals may be made to all members to contribute more funds toward meeting these needs.

 

 

Article XI - Enactment and Repeal of Bye-Laws, Rules, and Regulations

 

The Ghanaian Association of Hispanists shall periodically pass laws, rules, and regulations to ensure the orderly and smooth running of the organization.

 

Sec (i): Said laws shall be deemed passed by a two-thirds majority vote of the General Assembly, a quorum having been formed at the time of voting via teleconference, Skype, or any such media.

 

Sec (ii): Similarly, a two-thirds majority vote of the General Assembly shall be deemed sufficient to repeal or amend any bye-laws, rules, and regulations.

 

Sec (iii): In the event of a tie in sections (i) and (ii), only the President shall cast the deciding vote by voting a second time.

 

 

Article XII - Amendments

 

Any part of this Constitution can be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the

General Assembly, a quorum having been formed at the time of voting via teleconference, Skype, or any such media.

 

Sec (i): An Association member in good standing may request in writing to the President his or her intent to amend the Constitution.

 

Sec (ii): The President shall thereupon inform all members of the Association in writing before a General meeting at which a vote shall be taken after a debate of the amendment proposal.

 

Sec (iii): At least a quorum of the General Assembly must be present for this undertaking.

 

 

Article XIII - Non-activity

 

Non-active members shall lose their membership entirely when:

 

1. The member is absent from 3 consecutive meetings.

 

2. The member has more than 2 years’ outstanding dues.

 

 

Article XIV - Dissolution of the Ghanaian Association of Hispanists

 

Sec (i): Consent

 

The Association shall be dissolved only upon the consent of two-thirds of the members of the Association in good standing.

 

Sec (ii): Distribution of Assets upon Dissolution

 

1. Upon dissolution, any funds remaining in the coffers of the Association after all

liabilities have been satisfied shall be distributed among members in a manner consistent with their annual obligations.

 

         (b)  All amounts or dues in arrears owed to the Association shall be paid over to the

     Association by any debtor member, before distributions are made upon   

     dissolution.

 

2. No amounts owed to the Association shall be treated as an offset to the amount

distributable to any debtor member.

 

 

 

AMMENDMENTS

 

At a general Zoom-online meeting held on September 23, 2018, the members raised the annual dues of GAH members resident outside Ghana. The amount was increased from the current US$60.00 to US$80.00, effective January 2019. The decision, reached through a unanimous vote, felt a need for the increase. It was decided that dues levels would be reviewed every three years.

 

 

 

Endorsed and adopted September 2009

Revised January 2017