CONSTITUTION AND RULES OF ASSOCIATION OF DONKEY OWNERS IN KENYA

(ADOK)

1. NAME
The name of the society shall be ASSOCIATION OF DONKEY OWNERS IN KENYA (ADOK);
in this constitution referred to as "the Society").

2. OBJECTS
The following are the objectives of the society (which are non-political):
(i) To advocate for the welfare of working donkeys.
(ii) To create awareness on the image and rights of the donkey.
(iii) To build the capacity of donkey owners and their institutions in donkey protection and
care.
(iv)To promote research for informed decision making, policy formulation and enforcement.
(v) To mobilize resources for facilitating society activities.
(vi)To undertake consultancies in the area of donkey welfare.
(vii) To influence the enactment of legislation and policies that will promote the survival
and welfare of donkeys in Kenya
(viii) The society may establish branches in regions that keep and use donkeys for social and
economic purposes.

3. MEMBERSHIP
a) ADOK shall have the following category of members:
(i) Registered groups and CBOs of donkey owners. Note that any individual donkey
owner who is a member of a group that is member of ADOK is automatically a
member of the Society.
(ii) Associate members with approval of the Board

b) Eligibility
Any registered group/ associate shall become a member of the Society subject to:
(i) The approval of the committee,
(ii) Payment of an entrance fee of such amount as shall be set by the AGM from time
to time for the specific category of membership,
(iii) Subscription to this Constitution
Every member shall pay an annual subscription as set by the AGM every year.
Every member shall be issued with a membership certificate upon payment of the
membership fees

c) Any member desiring to resign from the Society shall submit their resignation to the secretary,
which shall take effect from the date of receipt by the secretary of such notice.
d) Any member may be expelled from membership if the committee so recommends and if a
general meeting of the Society shall resolve by a two-thirds majority of the members present
that such a member should be expelled on the grounds that their conduct has adversely
affected the reputation or dignity of the Society, or that they have contravened any of the
provisions of the constitution of the Society. The committee shall have power to suspend a
 member from membership until the next general meeting of the Society following such
suspension but notwithstanding such suspension a member whose expulsion is proposed shall
have the right to address the general meeting at which their expulsions to be considered.
e) Any member who resigns or is expelled from membership shall not be entitled to a refund of
their subscription or any part thereof of any monies contributed by them at any time.
f) Any member who falls into arrears with their annual subscription for more than three
consecutive years shall automatically cease to be a member of the Society and their name shall
be struck off the register of members. The committee may, however, at its discretion,
reinstate such member on payment of the total amount of subscription outstanding.
4. OFFICE BEARERS
(a) The office bearers of the Society shall be :
(i) The Chairperson
(ii) The Vice-chairperson
(iii) The Secretary
(iv) The Assistant Secretary
(v) The Treasurer

all of whom shall be fully paid-up members of the Society through their member
groups or CBOs and shall be elected at the annual general meeting to be held in each
year. (See also rule 6 (b) below).
(b) All office bearers shall hold office from the date of election until the succeeding annual
general meeting subject to the conditions contained in sub-paragraphs (c) and (d) of
this rule but shall be eligible for re-election.
(c) Any office bearer whose group/ CBO ceases to be a member of the Society shall
automatically cease to be an office bearer thereof.
(d) Office bearers may be removed from office in the same way as is laid down for the
expulsion of members in rule 3 (d) and vacancies thus created shall be filled by persons
elected at the general meeting resolving the expulsion.

5. DUTIES OF OFFICE BEARERS

(a) Chairperson - the Chairperson shall, unless prevented by illness or other sufficient
cause, preside over all meetings of the committee and at all general meetings. He/ she
is the mandatory signatory to the society bank account.
(b) Vice-Chairperson - the Vice-Chairperson shall perform any duties of the Chairperson
in his/ her absence.
(c) Secretary - the Secretary shall deal with all the correspondence of the Society under the
general supervision of the committee. In cases of urgent matters where the committee
cannot be consulted, he/ she shall consult the Chairperson or if he/ she is not available,
the Vice-Chairperson. The decisions reached shall be subject to ratification or
otherwise at the next committee meeting. He/ she shall issue notices convening all
meetings of the committee and all general meetings of the Society and shall be
responsible for keeping minutes of all such meetings and for the preservation of all
records of proceedings of the Society and of the committee. He/ she will be a signatory
to the society bank account.
 (d) Assistant Secretary - in the absence of the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary shall
perform all the duties of the Secretary and such other duties as shall be assigned to
him/ her by the Secretary or committee whether the Secretary is present or not.
(e) Treasurer - the Treasurer shall receive and shall also disburse, under the directions of
the committee, all moneys belonging to the Society and shall issue receipts for all
moneys received by him/ her and preserve vouchers for all moneys paid by him/ her.
The Treasurer is responsible to the committee and to the members that proper books of
account of all moneys received and paid by the Society are written up, preserved and
available for inspection. He/she is a signatory to the society bank account.

6. THE COMMITTEE
(a) The committee shall consist of all the 5 office bearers of the Society and not more than
10 other members elected at the annual general meeting; such committee members
shall hold office until the following Annual General Meeting, from the one at which
thy were elected, when they will be confirmed in their positions. The committee shall
hold office for a period of 3 years and will be eligible for re-election for only one more
term. The committee shall meet at such times and places as it shall resolve but shall
meet not less than once in any three months.
(b) Any casual vacancies for members of the committee caused by death or resignation
shall be filled by the committee until the next annual general meeting of the Society.
Vacancies caused by members of the committee removed from office will be dealt with
as shown in rule 4 (d).

7. DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE

(a) The committee shall be responsible for the management of the Society and for that
purpose may give directions to the office bearers as to the manner in which, within the
law, they shall perform their duties. The committee shall have power to appoint such
sub-committees as it may deem desirable to make reports to the committee upon which
such action shall be taken as seems to the committee desirable.
(b) All moneys disbursed on behalf of the Society shall be authorized by the committee
except as specified in rule 12 (d).
(c) The quorum for meetings of the committee shall not be less than half the number of
members of the committee. Questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a
majority of votes. In case of any equality of votes, the chairperson shall have a casting
or second vote.

8. GENERAL MEETINGS
(a) The AGM will comprise of the following:
(i) Two delegates per member group or CBO or Associate Member appointed at their
constituency level
 (ii) The ADOK national committee
(iii) ADOK Trustee members
There shall be two classes of general meetings - annual general meetings and special general
meetings.
(b) (i) The annual general meeting shall be held not later than three months after the
end of the year. Notice in writing of such annual general meetings,
accompanied by the annual statement of account (see rule 11 (b)) and the
agenda for the meeting shall be sent to all members not less than 21 days
before the date of the meetings and, where practicable, by Press advertisement
not less than 14 days before the date of the meetings.
(ii) The agenda for any annual general meeting shall consist of the following:
(a) Confirmation of the minutes of the previous annual general meeting.
(b) Consideration of the accounts.
(c) Election of office bearers (if due) and the committee members (and
trustees where necessary in accordance with rule 10)
(d) Appointment of auditors in accordance with rule 11 (a).
(e) Such other matters as the committee may decide or as to which notice
shall have been given in writing by a member or members to the secretary
at least four weeks before the date of the meeting.
a) Admission of new members or expulsion of members and setting entrance and
subscription fees
b) Report from Trustees
(f) Any other business with the approval of the Chairperson.
 (c) A special general meeting may be called for any specific purpose by the committee.
Notice in writing of such meeting shall be sent to all members not less than 7 days
before the date thereof and where practicable by Press advertisement not less than 7
days before the date of such meeting.
(d) A special general meeting may also be requisitioned for a specific purpose by order in
writing to the secretary of not less than two thirds of the members of the society and
such meetings shall be held within 21 days of the date of the requisition. The notice for
such meeting shall be as shown in rule 8 (c) and no matter shall be discussed other than
that stated in the requisition.
(e) Quorum for general meetings shall be not less than to 2/3 of the registered members of
the Society.

9. PROCEDURE AT MEETINGS
(a) At all meetings of the Society the Chairperson, or in his/ her absence, the Vice-
Chairperson, or in the absence of both these officers, a member selected by the meeting
shall take the chair.
(b) The Chairperson may at his/ her discretion limit the number of persons permitted to
speak in favour of and against any motion.
(c) Resolutions shall be decided by simple voting by a show of hands. In the case of
equality of votes, the Chairmperson shall have a second or casting vote.

10. TRUSTEES
(a) Trustees of the Society shall draw trustees from……:
(i)
 All land, buildings and other immovable property and all investments and securities which
shall be acquired by the Society shall be vested in the names of not less than 5 and not
more than 7 trustees who shall be members of the Society and shall be appointed at an
annual general meeting for a period of three years. On retirement such trustees shall be
eligible for re-election for one more term. A general meeting shall have the power to
remove any of the trustees and all vacancies occurring by removal, resignation or
death, shall be filled at the same or next general meeting.
(b) The trustees shall pay all income received from property vested in the trustees to the
Treasurer. Any expenditure in respect of such property which in the opinion of the
trustees is necessary or desirable shall be reported by the trustees to the committee
which shall authorise expenditure of such moneys as it thinks fit.

11. AUDITOR
(a) 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 the 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.
(b) A copy of the auditor's report on the accounts and statements 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
him.
(c) No auditor shall be an office bearer or a member of the committee of the Society.

12. FUNDS
(a) The funds of the Society may only be used for the following purposes :

(i) Promotion of the objects of the network as set forth in this constitution.
(ii) Compesation of officers or any member or the network, in return for services
actually rendered to the network based on clear terms of reference
(iii) Out-of-pocket expenses for committee member or any other member of the
society while on official duty.
(iv) Rent for any premisies leased by the society in furtherance of its objects stated
in rule 2 above.
(v) Expenses for organizing the society AGM,
 (vi) Transport faciltiation for committee while representing the society in
functions/events
(b) All moneys and funds shall be received by and paid to the Treasurer and shall be
deposited by him in the name of the Society in any bank or banks approved by the
committee.
(c) 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.
(d) A sum not exceeding KES 5,000 may be kept by the Treasurer for petty disbursements
of which proper account shall be kept.
(e) The committee shall have power to suspend any office bearer who it has reasonable
cause to believe is not properly accounting for any of the funds or property of the
Society and shall have power to appoint another person in his place. Such suspension
shall be reported to a general meeting to be convened on a date not later than two
months from the date of such suspension and the general meeting shall have full power
to decide what further action should be taken in the matter.
(f) The financial year of the Society shall be from 1st July to 30th June.

13. BRANCHES
Branches of the Society may be formed with the approval of the ADOK national committee,
in consultation with the Registrar of Societies and they will adopt the same constitution as that
of the NNC and duly registered, with the following exceptions:

(a) The aims and objects of the branches will not include the formation of sub-branches.

(c) The provisions of rule 15 shall apply to branches but, in addition, branches will not be
dissolved without consultation with the NNC

14. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

Amendments to the constitution of the Society must be approved by at least a two-thirds
majority of members at a general meeting of the Society. Those amendments cannot,
however, be implemented without the prior consent in writing of the Registrar, obtained upon
application to him/her made in writing and signed by three of the office bearers.
15. DISSOLUTION
(a) The Society 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. The quorum at the
meeting shall be as shown in rule 8 (e). If no quorum is obtained, the proposal to
dissolve the Society shall be submitted to a further general meeting which shall be held
one month later. Notice of this meeting shall be given to all members of the Society at
least 14 days before the date of the meeting. The quorum for this second meeting shall
be the number of members present.
(b) Provided, however, that no dissolution shall be effected without prior permission in
writing of the Registrar, obtained upon application to him/her made in writing and
signed by three of the office bearers.
(c) When the dissolution of the Society has been approved by the Registrar, no further
action shall be taken by the committee in consultation with the Trustees or any office
bearer of the Society in connection with the aims of the Society other than to get in and
liquidate for cash all the assets of the Society. Subject to the payment of all the debts
of the Society, the balance thereof shall be distributed in such other manner as may be
resolved by the meeting at which the resolution for dissolution is passed.

16. INSPECTION OF ACCOUNTS AND LIST OF MEMBERS

The books of account and all documents relating thereto and a list of members of the Society
shall be available for inspection at the registered office of the Society by any officer or
member of the Society on giving not less than seven days notice in writing to the Society.

Chairperson
(Name) Signature: _________________________

Secretary
(Name) Signature: _________________________

Treasurer
(Name) Signature: _________________________

Member Signature________________________
(Name)

Member Signature________________________
(Name)