Dearest Community Members,

Salamun Alaikum,

Thank you very much for those who have contributed so far.  The concepts for consideration include those listed below.

(i) Associate Membership to be opened to non-Khoja Shias.

(ii) ‘Strategic Planning’ type function to be imbedded in our Constitution to deal with new one-time initiatives and establish a dedicated process to pursue such initiatives beyond a term of the EC (as distinct from the on-going tasks of the Jamaat).

(iii)  Change the structure of our organisation to either a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) or a Company Limited By Guarantee.

(iv) Change the Secretary’s seat to be an appointed and paid one akin to a COO rather than it remaining an elected seat.

(v)  Have the concept of “vote of no confidence” imbedded within the constitution including “vote of no confidence in just one trustee”.

(vi)  Review how we can avoid “elected unopposed” situations so that our community always has an elected leader, considering in particular these two options: (a) if there are less then two nominations by the time nominations close, an extension is provided for additional candidates to come forward, and/or; (b) have “re-open nominations” (RON) as an option for every position and if RON wins any election, the incumbent(s) stay(s) on for a stated period and the contest is re-run for the relevant position(s).

(vii)  Consider reviving the concept of the distinction between “rules” and “the core constitution” again with “rules” having a lower threshold (i.e. 50%+) to allow rapid changes to the provisions that deal with operational aspects of the workings of the Jamaat.

(viii)  Review the entire election process including whether limiting two consecutive terms continues to be appropriate for participation in every role in the EC as well as decreasing the membership age to 16.

(ix) Review of governance and procedures in place in relation to the day-to-day workings of the EC.

(x) Consider having a new workable process for approving the budget in advance of the relevant year or within the first calendar month of the relevant year (i.e. decoupling the budget approval from the AGM process).

We continue to welcome your suggestions before the end of this month to help shape the discussions in public meetings, the first of which is currently scheduled to be on Tuesday 15 October 2024. During the meetings, community members can raise any matters concerning the constitution including but not limited to the suggestions provided in advance. At the end of the review meetings the proposed changes in the constitution will be reviewed by legal experts (and the Charity Commission, as is required) and it is then for the EC to call a General Meeting as per the provisions of our Constitution.

Many thanks in advance.

With salaams and duas.

CRC Committee.