Article No.1

 

Provincial / Regional Chapters

1.     There shall be 5 regions namely i)  Punjab  ii)  Sindh iii)   NWFP   iv)  Balochistan   V).  Islamabad, FANA, FATA & AJK elected for a period of two years.

2.     The local Thalassaemia Associations, Societies, Trusts and Foundations shall form the provincial / regional chapters.

3.     The provincial / regional chapters shall be independent of each other and shall be governed by the respective provincial / regional chapter under the supervision and direction of the Federation.

4.     The Federation shall be not be liable for any debts or liabilities of its provincial / regional chapters.

5.     The provincial / regional chapters shall elect their own Executive Committee and Office Bearers for a period of two years under the supervision of the Federation.

6.     The provincial / regional chapters shall elect the Executive Committee members for the Federation (in accordance with the provision laid down in Article No.8-2-a)

7.     The provincial / regional chapters shall elect their own Medical Advisory Boards, of the Federation.

8.     Fifty percent of the membership fee and the registration fee shall be redistributed to the respective provincial / regional chapters.

 

Article No. 2

 

A. Membership:-

There shall be four classes of membership, namely;

1.                 Full members

2.                 Provisional members

3.                 Associate members

4.                 Honorary members

 

        I.      Full Members 

Any non profit / charity association, society, trust or foundation can become a full Member of the Thalassaemia Federation of Pakistan with voting rights subject to the condition that:

i.                    It is registered charity in Pakistan.

ii.                  Working primarily for Thalassaemics.

iii.                Looking after the treatment of at least 50 verifiable Thalassaemics.

iv.                Agrees with the Aims/ Objectives and the constitution of the Federation.

v.                  Regularly pays membership fee.

vi.                Is a full member of the provincial / Regional Thalassaemia Federation.

vii.              Attends Annual General Meeting and has the right to vote, if all arrears and membership fees of the federation have been duly paid.

viii.            In case of absence during the election shall be able to send a replacement in its absence but can use a proxy for voting through fellow members. The instrument appointing proxies shall be in writing under the hand of the appointer and must be deposited at the registered office of the Federation not less than 72 hours before the time of holding the meeting.

      II.      Provisional Members

Any non profit / charity association, society, trust or foundation can become a provisional member of Thalasaemia Federation Pakistan without voting rights subject to the condition that:

i.                    It is a registered charity in Pakistan.

ii.                  Working primarily for Thalassaemics.

iii.                Looking after the treatment of Thalassaemics between the numbers of 1 to 49.

iv.                Agrees with the Aims / Objective and the constitution of the Federation.

v.                  It is a provisional member of the Provincial / Regional chapter of the Federation.

vi.                Can apply for full membership after the registration of 50 patients.

vii.              Regularly pays membership fee.

viii.            Attends Annual General meeting but does not have the right to vote.

 

    III.      Associate Members

Any association, society, institution, organization, company, firm or a person can become an Associate Member of thalassaemia Federation of Pakistan without voting rights subject to the condition that:

i.                    He/she has interest in the welfare of Thalassaemics.

ii.                  Agrees with the aims, objectives and constitution of the Federation.

iii.                Regularly pays membership fees.

iv.                Attends Annual General Meetings but does not have the right to vote.

 

  IV.      Honorary Members

Any natural person who can be helpful to the Federation due to his/her knowledge, experience and deep interest in social welfare activities or is affiliated with such agency, which can be helpful for achieving the objectives of the Federation, can be nominated as honorary member of the Federation by the Executive Committee.

 

B. Nature of Membership:-

i.   Full members shall pay one time registration fee of Rs. 2,000/- and an annual membership fee of Rs. 6,000/- (May also be paid in quarterly installments with the permission from the president).

ii.  Provisional members shall pay one time registration fee of Rs. 1,000/- and an annual membership fee of Rs. 3,000/- (May also be paid in quarterly installments with the permission from the president).

iii. Associate members shall be one time registration fee of Rs. 1,000/- and an annual membership fee of Rs. 1,000/-.

 

C. Modus- Operandi for Seeking Membership:-

Each member who is constitutionally eligible for membership, may apply for the membership on a prescribed form to the executive committee. Executive committee is empowered to accept or reject their applications, in case of rejection the executive committee shall intimate in writing the reasons or rejection of the application.

 

D. In Case of Rejection of Application for Membership:-

Each one, whose application has been rejection by the executive committee, may appeal before a panel of 5 members (Who are not the members of executive committee) appointed by the general body against the rejection of the membership. This panel shall present the report to the general body and general body’s decision shall be final.

 

E.  Rights of Membership:-

·        Full members shall be members of its general body. They have a right to vote and contest elections.

·        Provisional members, associate members and honorary members shall have to right to vote. They may only participate in general body meetings and express their opinion and ideas only with the permission of the chair.

 

     F.  Suspension and/ or Cancellation of Membership:-

Membership can be suspended/ cancelled:-

i.        If a member does not pay membership fee within three months of the starting of the fiscal year, his/her/it membership shall stand suspended and if he/ she fails to pay their membership fee within the next quarter, his/her/it rights of voting shall be withdrawn. However, on the clearance of dues/ membership fee, the voting rights shall be restored.

ii.      If any member after proper notice of the meeting fails to attend 02 consecutive meetings of General Body/ executive committee without prior permission of the president of not attending the meeting, the General Body General Body/ executive committee is empowered to cancel his/ her/ it membership. A copy of such approval shall be submitted to federation office before the commencement of such meeting.

iii.    If Executive Committee has solid reasons to believe that the conduct of a member is against the aims and spirits of the Executive Committee shall seek an explanation from such member. In case of an unsatisfactory explanation, the Executive Committee shall issue a warning or shall demand the resignation of his / her membership. If a cancel his/her/it membership, with reasons, in writing.

iv.    If a member wishes to resign voluntarily, the Executive Committee is authorized to accept his/her resignation subject to the condition that he/she has paid all their dues.

v.      If a member no longer fulfils the membership criteria, its/his/her membership shall stand suspended.

 

Article No.3

A. Administrative Structure:-

The administrative structure of the Federation consists of General Body and Executive Committee.

 

1.                 General Body:-

 

a.                 Formation:- The General Body shall consist of Full Members, Provisional Members, Associate members and Honorary Members.

b.                 Rights and Duties

i.                    Formation of policy.

ii.                  Approve the proceeding of meetings.

iii.                Approve the annual report after due consideration.

iv.                Decide over vote of No-Confidence after all due consideration.

v.                  Approve proposed amendments in the constitution, but these amendments shall be subjected to final concurrence by the registration authority.

vi.                Decide over appeals and other matters.

vii.              Use al powers of the General Body conferred by the constitution in other clauses.

 

2.                 Executive Committee

 

A). Formation:-

The Executive Committee shall consist of 21 members, who shall elect 9 office bearers (from within) in the first meeting of the Executive Committee after the election. The formation of the Executive shall be as follows:

i.        Provinces / Regions                     (15 Members)

There shall be 5 provinces / regions namely  i). Punjab  ii). Sindh  iii). NWFP iv). Baluchistan &  v) Islamabad, FANA, FATA & AJK.

ii.                  Chairman Medical Advisory Board (1 member)

Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board shall be elected by the Executive Committee for two years in its first meeting after the Executive Committee election . The Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board shall also automatically become a member of the Executive Committee.

iii.                TIF Representative              (1 member)

Thalassaemia international Federation’s Representative for Pakistan shall also be a member of the Executive Committee.

iv.               Members Nominated by Executive Committee           (2 members)

Executive Committee may nominate two persons as Executive Committee members, who can be helpful to the federation due to their knowledge, experience and deep interest in Thalassaemia or are affiliated with such an agency, which can be helpful in achieving the objectives of the Federation.

v.                 Members Elected by Provinces / Regions                  ( 2 members)

Provinces with the highest and second highest verifiable number of patients shall elected one additional Executive Committee Member each.

 

b)    Rights and Duties:

i.                                The Executive shall strive and take practical steps in achieving the aims and objectives of the Federation in accordance with the policy guidelines laid down by the General Body.

ii.                              May use a proxy vote through a fellow member but is not authorized to send a replacement in his/her absence. The instrument appointing proxies shall be in writing under the hand of the appointer and must be deposited at the registered office of the Federation not less than 72 hours before the time of holding the meeting.

iii.                            Shall elect Chairman Medical Board.

iv.                            Shall elect two Executive Committee Members (as in the provisions laid down in Article No.8-2-a) approval of which shall be taken in the next General Meeting incidental steps for it.

v.                              Shall be responsible for internal administration and shall take necessary and incidental steps for it.

vi.                            Shall select a scheduled Bank/s for financial operations.

vii.                          Shall prepare annual report and future budget, the concurrence of which shall be sought from the General Body.

viii.                        To raise, receive administer funds for the advancement of the objectives of the Federation.

ix.                            Shall appoint a Chartered Accountant for the scrutiny and audit of Accounts.

x.                              Shall use all powers given in other articles of this constitution.

 

Article No. 4

 

Office Bearers

1.                 President

2.                 Vice President

3.                 General Secretary

4.                 Assistant Secretary

5.                 Treasurer / Finance Secretary

6.                 Fundraiser

7.                 Public Relation Secretary

8.                 Chairman Medical Advisory Board

9.                 Patient / parent representative

 

A.      Duties

          1.       President

i.        Shall be the constitutional head of the Federation and shall preside over all General / Executive Committee meetings.

ii.       Is authorized to approve expenditure up to Rs. 200,000 (at any one time) to achieve its objectives, the approval of which shall be sought from the Executive Committee at its next meeting.

iii.      In situations of equal votes, his/her vote shall be the deciding factor.

iv.      Is authorized to postpone the proceedings of meeting being held in an unruly form.

 

          2.       Vice President

Shall use all powers of the president in times of his/her absence. Shall also perform all the duties assigned to him/her by the Executive committee.

 

3.       General Secretary

i.        Shall be the General Secretary of both the bodies (i.e. General Body & Executive Committee)

ii.       Shall be from the city, where the head office of the Federation is situated.

ii.                  Shall call meetings of the Executive Committee General body with the consultation and consent of the President and shall issue agenda.

iii.                Shall record the proceedings of regular meetings of Executive Committee / General body and circulate the minutes of the meeting with in 4 weeks of the meeting and seek concurrence from the President in its next meeting.

iv.                Shall organize a conference along with the elections of the Executive committee every second year.

v.                  Shall keep the record of the Federation in his/her custody and shall be the protector of the Federation’s property.

vi.                Shall present an annual report to the General body after its approval from the Executive Committee.

vii.              Is authorized to approval of which shall be sought in next the Executive Committee meetings.

 

4.       Assistant Secretary

Shall use all powers to perform all duties of General Secretary in times of his/her absence and shall perform all duties assigned to him/her by the Executive Committee.

 

          5.       Treasurer / Finance Secretary

i.        Shall be responsible for expenditure and other financial matters.

ii.       Shall present monthly income /expenditure statements to the Executive Committee in its meetings.

iii.      Shall present annual financial report to the General Body.

iv.      Shall get the accounts audited from the appointed Chartered Accountant and shall received thereof in the Bank.

v.       Is authorized to keep up to Rs. 50,000 as an earnest amount for expenditure.

 

          6.       Fundraiser

Shall be responsible to raise for the Federation.

 

          7.       Public Relation Secretary

          Publication for the Federation.

 

          8.       Chairman Medial Advisory Board ( MAB)

i.        Chairman and Coordinate the activities of NAB.

ii.       Link between federation and NAB as well as World Wide Medical and Scientific Community (s).

iii.      Initiate Medical and scientific activities relevant to the Federation with the prior approval of the Executive Committee.

iv.      Provide advice to the Federation on medical and scientific matters directly or by seeking input from MAB.

 

          9.       Patient / Parent representative

He/she shall act as a link between federation and Thalassaemic patients and parents.

 

B. Other Authorities of Office Bearers:

In addition to the above-mentioned authorities, all other powers rest with the Office Bears as mentioned in other article of this constitution.

 

C. Honorary Posts

i.        Patron:  The Executive Committee may requested a person whose services can be beneficial for progress and experience of the Federation programme, to become its patron, subject to the condition that he pays a minimum amount of Rs. 500,000 as a lump sum contribution to the Federation and readily accepts this Patronship of the particular person is more valuable than the contribution amount. The post of patron is honorary and shall not have any administrative or constitutional powers or rights.

ii.       Honorary Chairman:- the federation may request a person whose service to thalassaemia in Pakistan are invaluable to become its honorary chairman shall be nominated in the first meeting of the executive committee after the election and his/her term shall expire along with tenure of the existing executive committee. The honorary chairman shall act as an ambassador and may also visit different place to promote the goals of the federation. The post of honorary chairman shall not have any administrative or constitutional powers or rights.

 

Article No.5

 

Conduct of Meeting:-

Issuance of agenda to its members is compulsory for calling meeting of the executive committee and General Body members.

If be president or general secretary do not call a meeting of the Executive Committee/ General body despite repeated requests from members, the members of the executive committee/ general body shall issue a “Call Meeting Notice” to the president or general secretary. Even then if the meeting is not called, the concerned members comprising of 2/3rd majority are authorized to call a meeting. They shall issue an agenda to the members through “registered post” and the decision of this meeting shall be constitutionally valid.

Members of the provisional chapters can propose points for the federation executive committee agenda. The provisional chapter may then choose which points they wish to send to federation’s Executive Committee and the president of the Executive Committee may choose whichever points he wishes to include for the agenda.

 

Article No. 6

 

Duration of Notice and Quorum for General Body

a.     15 days (fifteen days notice for elections or regular meetings)

          7 days (seven days notice for special meetings)

                 2 days (two days notice for urgent meetings).

b.     Compulsory:

          Participation of 1/3rd of its voting members is compulsory; otherwise the meeting shall be postponed.

c.     The General body shall hold no less than one meeting in every year and it shall also hold a conference every second year (year of the election) in which election of executive committee shall also be held.

 

Article No.7

 

Duration of Notice of Quorum of Executive Committee

i.                    To call regular meeting 21 days notice, 3 days notice for special meetings and 2 days notice for urgent meeting is compulsory.

ii.                  The participation of 2/3rds of its totals members, is compulsory for each meeting of the executive committee; otherwise the meeting shall stand adjourned and reconvened subsequently for which condition of quorum is not compulsory.

iii.                The executive committee shall hold no less than two meetings in every year.

 

Article No.8

 

Finances:-

i.                    the financial year of the federation shall be in accordance with the financial year of government of Pakistan.

ii.                  The signature of the president/vice president or general secretary shall be compulsory along with the signature of the treasurer for drawing amounts form the bank and in times of absence of treasurer, president/ vice president and general secretary shall be authorized to sign the cheques.

iii.                The income of the federation shall be utilized only to achieve its set objectives.

iv.                The annual audit of accounts of the federation shall be conducted by the chartered accountant/ auditors approved by the executive committee.

v.                  The annual financial report shall be presented to the general body for approval.

vi.                The funds and income of the federation shall be generated through membership fees, donations, investments by the federation, fund raising events and any other such sources as may be authorized by the general body.

vii.              The dues including the membership fee, subscriptions or any such dues payable to the federation shall be submitted within three months of the due date. Failure to do so shall result in suspension of the membership.

 

Article No.9

 

Constitutional Amendment:

Amendment to he constitution can be proposed by a full member six months before a general body meeting and these proposed amendments shall be approved by a 2/3 majority of the present members attending the meeting. These amendments shall be subject to a final concurrence by the registration authority and shall not be operative prior to its concurrence.

 

Article No.10

 

No Confidence Motion:

On the written demand of at least 1/3rd of total members of executive committee or general body no confidence motion against any office bearers can be moved only in the general body meeting; the approval of which is subject to the approval of a 2/3 majority of the present members attending the meeting.

 

Article No.11

 

Others:-

i.                    the duration of the working of office bearers and members of executive committee through elections shall be for 2 years.

ii.                  Decisions on all maters, keeping aside such maters specifically mentioned in the constitution, shall be taken on simple majority.

iii.                Counting of votes in executive committee meeting and general body meeting shall be through a show of hands and if considered essential, through a “secret ballot”.

iv.                If a member is absent from the general body/ executive committee, a member/ executive committee member cannot send a replacement in his/ her absence but can vote by proxy.

v.                  If any member/ executive committee member is missing for two consecutive meeting his/ her/ its membership may be cancelled by the general body/ executive committee, the said member may be replaced (following the given election procedure).

 

Article No.12

 

Voluntary Dissolution:-

If ¾ voting members of the federation wish to voluntarily dissolve the federation, they shall have to act in accordance with the rules and regulations of the registration authority. Once the organization is dissolved the remaining funds and property shall be passed on to a similar organization(s) with the mutual consent of members.

 

Article No.13

 

Arbitration:-

In case of disputes between the office bearers, members of executive committee/ general body, the matter shall be referred for arbitration shall be appointed with the mutual consent of both/ all the parties. If both/ all the parties do not agree on the appointment of an arbitrator then the Thalassaemia international federation shall automatically become the arbitrator in resolve the controversy between the parties. The decision(s) of such arbitrator shall be final and binding to all parties to the dispute.