The Constitution

1. Name:
   The name of the organization shall be Cambridge Pakistan Cultural Association; hereafter called ‘the Association’.
2. Aims and Objectives:
   The Association shall be a non-political voluntary organization. Its main objectives shall be:
   1. To promote friendship, goodwill and understanding between the people of Pakistan and the UK
   2. To celebrate national and historic events of importance to its members
   3. To arrange social, cultural, religious, welfare and sporting activities for its members including children, students, men, women and elders
   4. To raise awareness about the Pakistani culture and values among its members and their children
   5. To promote community cohesion, integration, understanding and tolerance among its members and other local communities
   6. To establish goodwill and working relationships between the Association and other local bodies including other ethnic and cultural associations
3. Membership and Annual Fee:
   1. The membership of the Association shall be open to anyone living in Cambridge and surrounding vicinity and willing to support and promote objectives of the Association.
   2. There shall be no fee to join as an Associate member and the associate membership shall be for life.
   3. All associate members of age 18 years and above shall also be eligible to become a Fellow member on paying an annual fee at £2 per member that shall be due on 1st April each year. Fellow members who would not have paid annual fee up to date shall be regarded as Associate members.
4. Annual and Special General Meetings:
   1. Annual General Meeting should be held during March each year on a date and time approved by the Executive Committee for which 21 days notice should be given to members together with agenda.
   2. The quorum at the General Meeting shall be 15% of the total Fellow members who would have paid their annual fee up to date.
   3. Only Fellow members who would have paid their annual fee up to date shall have voting rights in General Meetings. The Associate members shall be allowed to attend General Meetings as observers but shall not be eligible to vote.
   4. Special General Meeting shall be convened on receipt of 30 days prior notice by the General Secretary and signed by not less than 15% of the total Fellow members stating the reason.
5. Executive Committee:
   1. The Association shall be managed by an Executive Committee consisting of Chairman, Vice-Chairman, General Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and five Executive members. They shall be elected for a tenure of 3 years at the Annual General Meeting.
   2. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall normally be held every month or as deemed necessary. The date and venue to be decided mutually.
   3. The quorum at the Executive Committee meeting shall be 50%.
   4. The Executive Committee members, who do not attend three consecutive meetings of the Executive Committee without any valid reason, shall forfeit the Executive Committee membership. Notification of such absence should be given to the General Secretary with valid reason.
6. Powers of Executive Committee:
   The Executive Committee shall be empowered to appoint:
   1. A sub-committee for a specific purpose, to probe and investigate into and to receive its report. Members of a sub-committee may or may not be from the members of the Executive Committee.
   2. To fill a vacancy caused by death, resignation, transfer or forfeit.
   3. To co-opt any other member for a specific purpose.
7. Duties of Officers:
   1. Chairman:
      The chairman shall:
      1. Preside over all the meetings and conduct the business according to the Agenda circulated
      2. Sign the minutes after having been read by the General Secretary and confirmed by the members at the meeting
      3. Sign letters of importance where necessary
      4. Take decisions on urgent issues but matters of policy nature should be placed for discussion at the next Executive Committee meeting
   2. Vice Chairman:
      The Vice Chairman shall have all the powers and responsibilities of the Chairman in the Chairman’s absence and shall also provide assistance to the Chairman as and when required.
   3. General Secretary:
      The General Secretary shall be the executive officer of the Association. The duties shall be:
      1. Manage safe custody of the records such as files containing correspondence and minute book
      2. Attend to routine correspondence immediately, but matters of policy nature shall be placed for decision at the next Executive Committee meeting
      3. Issue notice of meetings
      4. Produce evidence of the action taken by him on the matters discussed at the Executive Committee meetings
   4. Assistant Secretary:
      The Assistant Secretary shall help the committee in accomplishing day to day activities and provide assistance to the General Secretary as and when required.
   5. Treasurer:
      The Treasurer shall be solely responsible for the control of cash and accounts. The duties shall be:
      1. Issue receipts for the amounts received
      2. Deposit money into the bank account without delay
      3. Make payments by cheques or cash when necessary
      4. Make prompt entries in the cashbook, which should be balanced monthly and reconciled with the bank statement
      5. Maintain a register of members and to encourage them to pay annual fee regularly
      6. Contact potential donors regularly to get financial support for the Association
      7. Prepare annual accounts for submission at the Annual General Meeting, duly examined by an independent person
      8. Sign all cheques which should be countersigned either by the General Secretary or the Chairman
8. Financial Year, Bank-Account and the Account Operation:
   1. The financial year of the Association shall be April to March each year.
   2. Messrs Lloyds TSB, Mill Road branch shall be the bankers of the Association.
   3. The cheques shall be signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by either the Chairman or the General Secretary.
9. Dissolution:
   Should it become necessary or advisable to dissolve the Association it shall call a General meeting with at least 30 days notice circulated along with the proposed terms of the resolution. If the resolution is passed by a two third majority of the Fellow members present in the meeting, the Executive Committee shall have power to realise any assets held by or on behalf of the Association. All the assets remaining after satisfaction of debts and liabilities shall be given or transferred to such other society or institution having similar objectives as of the Association as the members may determine.