BULAWAYO JUNIOR CITY COUNCIL ALDERMENS SOCIETY TERMS OF REFERENCE

The Bulawayo Junior City Council Aldermens Society will exist as a component of the BJCC and these Terms of Reference will serve as an Annex to the BJCC constitution to serve as a legislative instrument within the BJCC.

BACKGROUND The Bulawayo Junior City Council (BJCC) is a civic organization with the mandate of catering for the less privileged members of society and providing a platform for leadership of young people in development processes affecting them. The BJCC was established under the auspices of Rotary International and the Bulawayo City Council as a culmination of charity work that was being carried-out by interact clubs within the city schools which were seen as evidence of the leadership potential of young people and whose function needed to be coordinated at citylevel through the formation of the BJCC. The council to date stands as a competent establishment grooming young people to enhance their personal effectiveness and utilize their collaborative will and resources to improve the lives of the Bulawayo community. It is within this council that the arm of Aldermen exists, as a group of individuals seconded from out-gone councils to provide guidance to the operations of the BJCC in ensuring its continuity and the upholding of essential values necessitating its existence. These Aldermen have in every generation, guided the conduction of elections, grooming and induction of incoming councils, facilitation of council events and in additional forums of interest to the council. These young men and women volunteer themselves to this cause and work diligently in justifying their selection as permanent stakeholders to the future of the BJCC. To date, there are over 3000 Aldermen who have served the council and approximately 20 of them interact with the junior councillors each year.

RATIONALE The operations of Aldermen have been loosely conducted with little accountability and inconsistent participation in the activities of the council. Aldermen have the authority to freely meddle in all affairs to do with the running of the BJCC and yield

the constitutional power to dissolve any sitting council in the presence of a certain number of Aldermen. There are over 3000 Aldermen to date who possess the same authority over council and can directly influence the operations of the BJCC regardless of the amount of information they have or interaction they have made with the sitting council at the time. Standing and incoming councils have been confused by this as there is little or no consistency in the contribution of individual Aldermen to each council due to the absence of a corporate body to govern this. Out-gone Councillors including Aldermen have all experienced a considerable measure of empowerment and participation in significant activities and developmental processes. They have been beneficiaries of investments made by parents, schools, government, civil society and the community as a whole in making their individual council experiences successful. However, once the Junior Councillor exits the council establishment, that investment is lost due to the absence of follow-up mechanisms to assist the young person to make a safe transition to the next phase of their lives and that of clear platforms to facilitate the coordination of their contributions to the work of current councils.

OBJECTIVES: The Bulawayo Junior City Council Aldermens Society (BJCC-AS) will exist with the following objectives: o Facilitate the coordinated contribution of the Aldermen of the Bulawayo Junior City Council to the work of current and incoming councils. Create a platform for open interaction in the sharing of skills, knowledge, services and opportunities amongst out-gone BJCC members. Facilitate the implementation of a code of conduct to govern the conduct of Aldermen within the society and with existing councils.

EXPECTED RESULT: The establishment of an effective, well-coordinated mechanism to enhance the leadership capacity of out-gone councillors and harness the experience and resources of Aldermen to corporately contribute to the work of the BJCC.

MEMBERSHIP:

The BJCC Aldermens Society will consist of all elected Aldermen who will have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the entire body of Aldermen. All members must be registered with the secretariat and only confirmed Aldermen will be accepted for membership. Membership will be renewed on a yearly basis, upon review of eligibility as per the Terms of Reference regarding age and conduct in the previous year. All members will be expected to pay an annual subscription fee which will determine their eligibility to partake in voting processes and will influence the decision regarding the renewal of their membership. Members who are not elected Aldermen can be accepted under special circumstances when the Society decides they have particular experience, skills or influence that will be of exceptional benefit to the operations and deliberations of the society. Not more than two (2) members per year can be accepted under this exemption. Additional individuals can be invited for meetings to give reports and grant input to deliberations of the society but will not serve as members or be allowed to participate in voting.

LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE: The BJCC Aldermens Society will be led by a five member executive consisting of a: i. ii. iii. iv. v. Chairperson Deputy Chairperson Secretary Treasurer Founder Member

The first four executive positions will be for a one-year term of office which is renewable once-only upon re-election. The Founder Member position will also be for a one-year renewable term of office but it will have an unlimited re-election window. Registered members of the founding group of the BJCC-AS will be the only ones eligible for this position, when such members are no longer available for election then the next generations of AS members will be considered. The Executive Committee shall perform the following functions: Coordinate the work of the BJCC Aldermens Society.

 Prepare for the meetings and conventions of the society. Follow up on the implementation of the Rules of Procedures, Code of Conduct and the Plans of the society. In consultation with the secretariat, prepare and submit annual reports of the BJCC Aldermens Society to the society members. The Society will operate as a component of the BJCC and as such, will be under the Bulawayo City Council Public Relations Office which will serve as the secretariat. The BJCC-AS shall, as it deems necessary, appoint committees to facilitate the implementation of activities under the areas of its mandate. All committees so appointed will be headed by a seconded member of the executive committee who shall serve in that capacity as chairperson.

MEETINGS: The BJCC Aldermens Society (AS) will meet once every month and the executive committee will meet once every fortnight (2 weeks). The society will second four members on a rotational basis on every quarter to attend the meetings of the BJCC on behalf of the society. The members will give input from the AS to the standing council and carry concerns from the council to the society for deliberation. These members will be responsible for helping in the delivery of all council functions held within that quarter and will help facilitate the involvement of fellow Aldermen and out-gone councillors in all council functions where their input or presence would be so-required. The representatives will consist of two (2) males and two (2) females, and of these four (4); two (2) must be from the most recent out-gone council. The BJCC-AS will convene quarterly conventions which will entail reports from the four seconded members and will serve as networking functions with sessions facilitated by out-gone councillors and focal people in certain spheres of interest. The conventions will include out-gone councillors, Rotary International members, the Bulawayo City Council, members of the standing council executive and other invited guests.

RULES OF PROCEDURE: The Bulawayo Junior City Council Aldermens Society will operate under the following rules of procedure:

I.

The AS meeting shall be the principal decision making body of the society and shall be composed of all members as provided under the membership guidelines. The quorum for meetings of the AS or of any of it committees shall be constituted by a simple majority. All meetings will be chaired by the Chairperson, in the absence of which the Deputy Chairperson will take up the responsibility. In the absence of both the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, any Executive Committee Member can chair the meeting. Each member of the BJCC Aldermens Society shall have one vote and decision making shall be by consensus, failing which it shall be by two thirds (2/3) majority of those present and voting. However, questions of procedure shall require a simple majority. Only the members who are up to date with their membership contributions can be candidates or voters to the responsibility positions within BJCC-AS. The official working language of the society will be English. The Terms of Reference can only be amended by the meeting of the Aldermens Society in the majority of two thirds (2/3) of the votes cast. Only the Executive Committee or Secretariat can propose the amendments of these statutes. The BJCC Aldermens Society can only be dissolved by the meeting of the society during an Extraordinary Meeting and at the request of four fifths (4/5) of BJCC-AS statutory members.

II. III.

IV.

V. VI. VII.

VIII.

RESOURCES: The resources of the BJCC-AS are constituted of initiation fees, the contributions of its members, as well as incomes from its various activities. The society can also receive subsidiaries, donations and legacies provided that have a lawful and legal nature, as coming from non-prohibited activities of the donor. The resources of the society are under the form of cash, shares and furniture or real properties. The society shall open and maintain a savings account which shall be the primary responsibility of the Treasurer who will prepare books of accounts and a financial report on a quarterly basis. The account signatories shall be the Chairperson, Treasurer and Founder Member and funds can only be withdrawn in the presence of two of the signatories upon approval from the Executive Committee.

EMBLEM:

The emblem of the BJCC Aldermens Society shall consist of the Bulawayo City Coat of Arms with the words BJCC Aldermens Society immediately below it in a dark blue coloured font. The words are in front of a white background and are in capital letters in bold in Calibri font