SECTION 1: NAME, PURPOSE AND COMPOSITION
1.1 There is constituted an association of researchers and specialists in population issues with name and appellation: Population Association of Southern Africa (in abbreviation PASA) hereinafter referred to as the Association.
1.2 This Association shall be a non-profit, non-political and secular organisation, consisting of individual and institutional members, having, as its aim, the furtherance of the scientific study of population in Southern Africa.
1.3 The organisation shall exist in its own right, separate from its members; be able to own property and other possessions, and be able to sue and be sued in its own name.
1.4 The organisation shall continue to exist even when its membership changes and different office bearers are elected.
SECTION 2: OBJECTIVES
The Association shall:
2.1 develop and promote scientific capacities for undertaking research, training and discussion in and of population matters in Southern Africa;
2.2 stimulate and foster collaboration among persons and institutions involved in the study of population issues in Southern Africa;
2.3 stimulate interest in population matters among governments at various levels, national and international organizations, scientific bodies and the general public in Southern Africa;
2.4 organize research activities and scientific meetings, conferences and publish scientific information dealing with population matters.
SECTION 3: LANGUAGE MEDIUM
3.1 The language medium of the Association is English.
SECTION 4: MEMBERSHIP
The Association shall be composed of ordinary, student, honorary and corporate/institutional members with privileges and obligations as set out in Section 15.
4.1 Ordinary Members
Ordinary Members shall be persons who have made contributions to the scientific study of population by their research, writing, teaching, activism or otherwise.
4.2 Student Members
Student members shall be registered Honours or Masters students in any institution of higher learning in any discipline related to the field of population studies.
4.3 Honorary Members
Honorary Members shall be eminent individuals who have significantly contributed to the discipline of population studies. The General Assembly of the Association may grant this membership to any individual or individuals so recommended by the Council, after obtaining the consent of the individuals concerned. Honorary members do not have voting rights and may not serve as officials.
4.4 Corporate/Institutional Members
Institutional Members shall be national and international organizations involved in population-related work in the region. Institutional members do not have voting rights and may not serve as officials.
SECTION 5: PATRONAGE
5.1 At the discretion of the Council a suitable person, persons or organization(s) can be designated as patron(s) of the Association.
SECTION 6: THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
6.1. The General Assembly
a) The General Assembly shall be the supreme organ of the Association and comprises members as defined in Section 4.
b) An annual meeting of members of the Association shall be convened once every year. Members of the Association attending such a meeting shall constitute a General Assembly.
6.2. Powers and Obligations of the General Assembly
The General Assembly shall:
a) determine the overall direction and policies of the Association;
b) adopt the constitution, its internal regulations as well as their amendments;
c) approve the administrative and financial reports of the Council;
d) elect the members of the Council in the manner laid down in Section 17;
e) approve and confer the title of member upon honorary individuals and upon institutions;
f) approve auditors who shall examine the books, vouchers and accounts of the Association and determine whether they have been properly kept.
6.3. Meetings of the General Assembly:
a) The General Assembly shall hold an Annual General Meeting [AGM], which will be different from (though it may be included in) the Annual Academic Scientific Conference;
b) During the annual scientific conference, time shall be allotted for an AGM in order to attend to administrative matters affecting the association. Such issues include the annual report of activities, the financial report, the election of Council members and other relevant matters;
c) A Special Meeting for the discussion of urgent matters can be convened by the Council or on the written request of at least 40 percent of the members of the Association. At such a meeting no other business than that for which the meeting is convened shall be discussed;
6.4. Scientific Conferences of the Association:
a) The Association holds an annual scientific conference at a venue and
time determined by the Council;
b) The Council shall arrange scientific meetings on specific subjects dealing with Southern African or global population issues;
c) Meetings organised by the Association shall be open to all members of the Association. Other persons may be invited or upon their request, be permitted to participate on conditions laid down by the Council;
d) The Council shall appoint an Organizing Committee for each conference or seminar and delegate powers to this committee. The Committee must report to the Council through the President of the Association;
e) The Council may make rules governing the preparation and presentation of communications to conferences by members. Such rules shall regulate the selection of papers for each conference;
f) The Council notifies members, not less than three months before the Conference, of the dates when the Conference is to be held;
g) The programme of the Conference should be approved by the executive management of the Council. Members of the Association can make suggestions to the executive for the programme during the Conference, with the qualification such suggestions reach the Executive Management not less than one month prior to the date determined for the Conference;
h) The programme of the Conference shall be forwarded to members two weeks before the date of the commencement of the Conference.
SECTION 7: THE COUNCIL
7.1 The Council of the Association shall consist of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, one additional member, a student representative, and the Editor-in-Chief as an ex-officio member.
7.2 Council members must be ordinary members (or student member for a student representative) of the Association.
7.3 Council is elected for a period which runs from one AGM to the next.
7.4 The President shall serve for a period from one AGM to the next and shall be eligible to serve a maximum of three successive terms.
7.5 All other members of the Council shall be elected to office for a period from one AGM to the next and shall be eligible to serve a maximum of three successive terms, if they so wish.
7.6 Councillors will only be eligible for re-election after leaving council after being out of office for at least one term (one AGM to the next).
7.7 The President, Vice President and Secretary shall form the Executive Management of the Council, and in urgent cases act on behalf of the Council. Such action must be laid before the Council for approval or ratification within three months.
7.8 Duties and Obligations of the Council:
a) The Council is the supervisory organ of the Association;
b) The Council shall exercise its authority to mobilize resources in fulfilment of the objectives of the organisation;
c) The Council shall prepare the agenda for the meeting of the General Assembly;
d) The Council meetings shall be convened by the President, or with his/her permission by the Vice President, at his or her initiative;
e) The Council fills vacancies in its ranks occurring between AGMs resulting from resignation or death;
f) The Council shall appoint committees to deal with internal matters concerning the Association or its external relations;
g) The Council shall approve applications for thematic study of specific problems in the field of population studies;
h) The Council shall review the activities of each of the Association’s committees;
i) The Council shall take other actions that will promote the objectives and interest of the Association;
j) The council shall appoint auditors who shall examine the books, vouchers and accounts of the Association and determine whether they have been properly kept.
SECTION 8: VOTING
8.1 Only ordinary and student members of the Association are eligible to vote.
8.2 All eligible voters shall have equal voting rights.
8.3 Votes must at all times be taken by secret ballot.
8.4 All resolutions during AGMs or special meetings, constitutional amendments or dissolution of the Association, shall take place through a majority of votes of all members present.
SECTION 9: MEETINGS
9.1 The Association holds an annual conference at a venue and time determined by the
Council.
9.2 During the annual conference, efforts shall be made to realise the
objectives of the Association by means of lectures and papers,
discussions and so forth.
9.3 A special meeting for the discussion of urgent matters can be
convened by the Council or on the written request of at least 40 per
cent of ordinary members of the Association. At such a special meeting no other
business than that for which the meeting is convened shall be
discussed.
9.4 For a special meeting, members must receive notification thereof not
less than three weeks before the date of the meeting.
SECTION 10: QUORUM DURING MEETINGS
10.1 Forty per cent of members entitled to vote, constitute a quorum during a general
or special members meeting.
10.2 In the case of Council meetings, three Council members, including at least the
president or vice-president, shall constitute a quorum.
SECTION 11: ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS AND VOTING PROCEDURES
11.1 Election of officers of the Association, shall be during the Annual General Meeting or at a special members meeting.
11.2 During nominations for the election of officers, a nomination in order to be valid, must be seconded by another member.
11.3 During nominations for the election of officers, members nominated by members shall, whether they are present at the particular meeting or not, give their consent that they be nominated.
11.4 Before an individual is elected into office, he or she must be a fully paid-up member.
11.5 Officers of the Association can only be elected by members (ordinary and student) by a simple majority of votes cast.
11.6 Ordinary and student members, unable to attend a meeting where an election is to be conducted, have the right to nominate a proxy, in writing, to vote on their behalf.
11.7 The period of office of the elected Council commences immediately after the termination of the AGM or special meeting concerned.
SECTION 12: AMENDMENTS
12.1 The Constitution can be amended by a two-thirds majority of members who record their votes during an Annual General Meeting or a special member meeting.
12.2 Amendments to the Constitution can be proposed either by:
a) the Council or
b) by a written application by at least ten (10) members of the Association.
12.3 All proposals to amend the constitution in accordance with Section 12.2b, must
be submitted to the Council not less than three months before the Annual
General Meeting or special meeting where it is to be discussed.
12.4 If the amendment is proposed according to Section 12.2a, the Council
circulates proposed amendments to the constitution at least two months before
the Annual General Meeting or special meeting to all members of the
Association.
12.5 At the AGM or special meeting the proposed amendments shall be first discussed by members and final decision taken by a secret ballot.
SECTION 13: DISSOLUTION
13.1 The Association can be dissolved if two-thirds of the fully paid up members of the Association, record their votes to this effect during a general or special members meeting.
13.2 In the event of dissolution of the Association, the meeting must take a decision
in respect of the distribution of documents, assets and liabilities of the
Association.
13.3 Upon its winding up, the de-registration or dissolution, the assets of the
Organization remaining after the satisfaction of all its liabilities shall be given
or transferred to some other Organization or institution or Organizations or
institutions having objects the same as or similar to its main object to be
determined by the members of the Organization at or before the time of its
dissolution.
SECTION 14: FINANCES
14.1 The resources of the Association shall be derived from:
a) Membership and annual dues paid by the members;
b) Gifts, awards, bequests and subsidies;
c) Proceeds from the sale of publications;
d) Conference registration fees.
14.2 Members of the Association shall pay annual dues except if they are excused by a resolution of the General Assembly.
14.3 The Council shall be responsible to the General Assembly for the finances of the Association.
14.4 As a non-profit organization, no fund of the Association can be used to the benefit of any founder, council member, official, member or other person associated with the Association subject, however, to the proviso that this would not preclude the payment to persons of compensation for services rendered to or in the name of the Association within the scope of one of its objectives. The President of the Association should approve all payments.
14.5 Members or office bearers of the organisation shall not have rights over assets or property that belongs to the organisation.
14.6 The Association shall operate an account with any registered bank in the Region.
14.7 The signatories to the Account will be the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
14.8 Withdrawal can only be made by at least two signatories to the account. One of whom must be the President or, in his/her absence, the Vice President.
14.9 The financial year of the Association shall be the 12 (twelve) month period ending on 31 December each year.
SECTION 15: MEMBERSHIP RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
15.1 All members of the Association have the right to attend and participate in all the meetings of the Association.
15.2 Ordinary and student members have voting rights in the Association, provided they are fully paid-up members.
15.3 Only ordinary members are eligible for election as members of the Council (except
for the student representative who will be a student member), an editor of the
Association's journal, or chairman of any committee which is established in
accordance with Section 17 of the constitution.
15.4 All intending members apply for membership through the Council (represented
by the Secretary in this case) with the necessary applicable fee(s).
15.5 Members are entitled to complimentary copies of the Association’s
publications, except where Council decides otherwise.
15.6 All members owe it as a duty to defend and uphold the integrity of the Association as a professional body.
15.7 Where a member contravenes the constitution, the Council shall have
the power to reprimand the contravening member or in serious cases
that border on lack of professional integrity (i.e. plagiarism, embezzlement and
other corrupt tendencies etc), summarily to revoke his or her
membership.
15.8 Any member who resigns from the Association for whatever reason or whose
membership is revoked or who fails to renew his registration for upward of two
years, will forfeit any benefit of membership or forfeit any fees which have been
paid in respect of a particular year.
15.9 Membership fees shall be determined from time to time by the Council.
SECTION 16: OFFICE BEARERS
16.1 The President
a) The President of the Association shall act as the chairperson during all meetings of the Association including meeting of Council.
b) S/he acts on behalf of the Association, and is the only person who may issue press statements on behalf of the Association and or Council, except in cases where the Council specifically delegates such a right to another member.
c) S/he shall present an annual state of the Association report to the General Assembly.
16.2 The Vice President
a) In the absence of the President, the Vice President acts in his place, with all powers and duties of the President.
b) S/he may carry out any other function that may be assigned to him/her by the President or Council.
16.3 The Secretary
a) The Secretary of the Association shall keep minutes of all general, special and Council Meetings; manage all correspondences of the Association and present a secretarial report to the general meeting.
b) The Secretary shall also coordinate the publication of the Association’s Quarterly Newsletter (PASA BRIEFS).
16.4 The Treasurer
a) The Treasurer shall administer the financial affairs of the Association in close collaboration with the President and Secretary and under the general direction of the Council.
b) The Treasurer receives all membership and annual fees and other monies that may accrue to the Association.
c) The Treasurer opens a bank account in the Association's name, makes payments on behalf of the Association and draws up an annual financial statement which in audited form is presented to the Council as well as to the AGM for approval.
d) In all financial transactions by the Treasurer, the President shall authorize all expenditures.
16.5 The Editor-in-Chief
a) S/he shall be nominated by the Council.
b) S/he shall recommend members of the Editorial Board for the Council’s approval.
c) The Editor-in-Chief together with the Editorial Board shall manage the publication activities of the Association.
d) S/he shall be directly responsible to the Council.
16.6 Student Representative
a) Student Representative represents and coordinates the interests of the
student members of the Association.
SECTION 17: COMMITTEES OF THE ASSOCIATION
17.1 The Council shall appoint committees to deal with internal matters concerning the Association.
17.2 The Council shall convene Thematic Sessions to study specific problems in the field of population studies.
17.3 All the Association’s committees shall take office immediately upon appointment.
17.4 The Chairpersons of such committees shall make a technical and financial report on the Committees’ activities to the Council.
17.5 The Council shall extend the mandate of a committee or revise its terms of reference after receiving the committee’s report(s).
SECTION 18: PUBLICATIONS
18.1 The Association shall publish as a regular publication a Journal to be known as South African Journal of Demography [SAJD].
18.2 The Journal shall have an Editor-in-Chief who will be nominated by the Council. The Editor-in-Chief will nominate members of the Editorial Committee subject to the approval of the Council.
18.3 The Editor-in-chief and the Editorial Committee shall hold office for a maximum period of three years.
18.4 The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Committee shall be responsible to the Council of the Association in their operations.
18.5 The Association shall also publish or collaborate with other organizations in the publication of matters appropriate to the objectives of the Association.
18.6 Members of the Association who have paid the appropriate dues shall receive all regular publications of the Association. The Council shall decide conditions under which special publications shall be made available to members.
SECTION 19: THEMATIC SESSIONS
19.1 Any group of at least ten members of the Association may organize a Thematic Session in any field in the study of population matters.
19.2 Application for recognition of a thematic session can be made to the Council.
19.3 The Council has power to withhold recognition of any Thematic Team if, in the view of the Council, the interest of the Association is endangered.
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