The Name of the Club, SOUTH AFRICAN CAMPING CLUB / SUID AFRIKAANSE KAMPEERKLUB
Membership is confined to the Territorial Boundaries of the Republic of South Africa.

(a)  To encourage the pursuit of outdoor living by means of camping and kindred activities. To enable people to use the country, thus promoting their health, spiritual welfare, education, as well to help all enjoy to the full their country’s heritage of space and beauty,

(b)  To protect the interest of accredited campers,

(c)  To obtain and make available information relating to camping sites, parks, etc.,

(d)  To encourage the development of camping equipment and to make such information available to members,

(e)  To maintain a high camping standard, which shall be observed by all members,

(I)   To sponsor meetings and exhibitions to promote camping as a sport and a recreation,

(g)  To co-operate with foreign organisations having similar aims,

(b) To encourage camping as a family pursuit,

(i)   To promote all forms of purposeful camping through field studies, sporting holidays and similar means,

(j)   To preserve the ecology and natural beauty of the South African countryside,

(k)  To assist the Government of the day in the preservation of sites and landmarks of national  and historical interest, including the enforcement of all laws protecting Nature and its environments.

ORGANISATION
NATIONAL

3.   The Club shall consist of territorial Sections in various parts of the Republic of South Africa and a National Committee. The composition and duties of the aforementioned are defined in the following clauses of this Constitution.

4.   A National Committee shall only be convened when considered necessary, by a majority request of Section Committees, to attend to urgent matters of national concern relating to the South African Camping Club.

A National Committee shall consist of two representatives appointed by each Section, one of whom shall be the Section Chairperson and the other a member appointed by the Section Committee. In the event of a Section Chairperson not being able to serve on a National Committee, the Section may nominate one of it’s Committee members to serve in his / her stead.

5.   The Sections concerned shall be responsible to arrange an appropriate venue for a National Committee meeting and each shall contribute towards their respective delegates traveling cost by own internal arrangement. A National Committee shall elect a Chairperson and a Secretary for the meeting from appointed delegates present. The Secretary shall submit minutes to all members of a National Committee within 14 days for approval and forward them to all Section Secretaries for distribution of notice to members.

6.   A National Committee shall be the only body authorised to recommend alterations and amendments to this Constitution. Before such alterations or amendments become effective, they shall be passed by a majority of 75 (seventy-five) percent of those present or represented at a National Committee meeting. Resolution having first been approved by a majority of Sections meeting at Annual General Meetings, at which a two thirds majority of those present shall be required for an alteration or amendment.

7    A National Committee may institute, conduct, defend, compound or abandon any legal proceedings by or against the Club, or it’s office bearers as it decides.

8.   A National Secretary shall be elected to oversee that protocols of the Club’s Constitution are adhered to nationally, and who shall interact and co-ordinate  with the secretarial commitments of the Sections, a National Committee, and preservation of records. A National Secretary maybe re-elected annually by the majority of Sections from a national nomination list at their A.G.MS.

 SECTIONS

9.     Each Section shall be distinguished by a local appellation, and shall control a specified area to be determined by mutual consent of other Sections.

10.   Each Section shall be controlled by a Committee, herein after  referred to as the/a Section Committee, consisting of a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer and not less than one other member. Three members shall form a quorum.

11.   Each Section shall be autonomous and shall have authority to act within the limits and parameters of this Constitution, except functions reserved for, and the authority of, a National Committee.

12.   Each Section shall by choice be entitled to grant Club membership to any person, subject to the rules and conditions herein stated, and be responsible for the adherence of it’s members to the Club’s required standards of camping equipment, conduct and Camping Codes.

13.   Each Section shall be responsible for collecting its own determined entrance and membership tees (annual subscriptions) and financial administration.

14.   The Financial Year shall be from 1 July to 30 June in each year.

15.   The Section Committee shall be entitled to appoint sub-committees of any number of members and for any purpose and to delegate to sub-committees such powers as it deems desirably, and to dissolve these sub-committees. The Section Committee shall be entitled to co-opt not more than two (2) members per Section Committee to serve on any committee or sub-committee, and the Section Committee shall be entitled to fill by co-option any vacancy caused on any Section Committee by resignation or death, until the next Annual General Meeting.

16.   A Section Committee may allow the appointment of a Teenage Committee, comprising of the children of members of the Section, such children to be between the ages of 13 (thirteen) and 18 (eighteen) years of age. A Teenage Committee shall elect a chairperson, secretary and treasurer and shall comprise of not less than four (4) members including the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer. The election of a Teenage Committee shall be dealt with at the Annual General Meeting in accordance with the procedures laid out for the election of a Section Committee.

17.   A Section Annual General Meeting shall be held within 60 (sixty) days of the end of the Financial Year, at such time and place as the Section Committee may determine, members shall be given at least 21 (twenty-one) days written notice to attend.

18.   A Section Committee may at any time call a Special General Meeting of members, by giving not less than 14 (fourteen) days notice in writing specifying the motivation and objectives for which the meeting is to be held, and the time and venue for such a meeting. A Section Committee shall, in a like manner, call a Special General Meeting upon receipt of a requisition signed by not less than 10 (ten) members of a Section entitled to vote, provided that if there are more than 50 (fifty) members entitled to vote in a particular Section, the requisition shall be signed by not less than 20 (twenty) percent of such voting members.

19.   The omission to send notice to any members of a meeting timeously, shall not invalidate such a meeting. Notice Of any resolution to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting, other than normal business, must be lodged with the Secretary at least 2 (two) months before the meeting and must be included by the Section Secretary in the agenda sent to members.

20.   No resolution passed at a General Meeting shall be rescinded expect by a majority of two thirds present and voting at a subsequent General Meeting specially convened. A quorum at all General Meetings oI Sections shall be 10 (ten) members entitled to vote.

21.   Section Committees shall meet directly after their A.G.Ms (August) to p1an  urgent actions and duties, November, February, May and July ( prior to A.G.M.). Minutes shall be recorded and posted in 14 days to all Section Secretaries and the National Secretary.

22.   The members of a Section Committee shall retire annually and shall be eligible for re-election without special nomination. If the nominations for election, together with those standing for re-election, fall short of the number required, the persons shall be declared elected. For the remaining vacancies, nominations shall be called from voting members present at the Annual General Meeting.

23.  Nominations for the posts of Section Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer and members of the Section Committee for the following year, duly proposed and seconded and with the written consent of the nominees, shall be lodged with the Secretary 30 (thirty) days before the Annual General Meeting. Section members shall be advised of their names and pending nominations in time for the Annual General Meeting.

24.   The chair at all meetings shall be taken by the Chairperson, or in his / her absence by the Vice Chairperson, provided that if for any reason neither of those two office bearers are able to be present at a meeting, a Committee member elected by the Committee members present, may chair the meeting.

25    The business to be transacted at the Annual General Meeting shall be -
(a)    To confirm the Minutes of the previous General Meeting,
(b)    To receive and consider the Committee’s report and the statement of accounts of the previous financial year,
(c)    Elect a Committee for the forthcoming year,
(d)   Elect a nominated member capable of being National Secretary, as in clause 8,
(e)    To appoint an auditor for the financial records of the Section,
(f)     To deal with any resolution concerning the affairs of the Section, of which due notice has been given and such other business concerning the affairs of the  Club that is brought under consideration by the report of the Committee.

26.   The Chairperson may with the consent of the meeting,  bring forward without previous notice, any business he / she considers requires urgent attention or action by the members of a Section.

27.   Every matter submitted to a meeting shall be decided by a show of hands, the Chairperson having a casting vote. No member whose annual subscription is in arrears shall be competent to vote. A ballot on any matter before the meeting may be taken of the members present and entitled to vote.

28.  Audited copies of Balance Sheets, plus Revenue and Expenditure Accounts must be presented annually by Section Committees, for inspection and approval by all members attending their respective Annual General Meeting.

29.   True copies of all relevant documentation and the Minutes of Annual General Meetings of Sections shall be forwarded to all Section Chairpersons and Section Secretaries and the National Secretary within 30 (thirty) days from the date of the A.G.M..

30.   In the event of any dispute arising between a Section and a Club member, a Section Committee may take decision, that it considers proper, or as the case may be, of any Special or General Meeting of the Section, shall be final, precluding any appeal to law.

31.   No member may make use of the name- of the Club or it’s address or emblem in any advertisement, or in any Court of Law, or for any business matters whatsoever, without the prior authority of a National Committee.

32.   The Club shall not be responsible for accidents or injuries to members or other persons attending a rally or their property during Club rallies, meetings or personal or group activities. Nor loss and damage of equipment and vehicles.

33.   A new Section may be formed only with conditional consent of a national consensus from all Sections. The new Section may appoint a provisional committee of not less than 3 (three) persons to hold office until such time as a Section Committee comes into being in terms of this Constitution.

34.   Any member who desires to transfer from one Section to another shall, on acceptance by the latter Section, be exempt from further entrance fee, though a member belonging to more than one Section shall have the right to vote in the Section the member elects as his/ her home Section for any one year.

35.  Trustees of Club property, applicable to each Section, shall be the Section Chairperson and Secretary or Secretary I Treasurer of each Section. An inventory of property shall be made and checked at each Section’s A.G.M.

36.   All Sections shall insure that every Club member has a copy of the Club’s Constitution. Every new member must receive a copy when obtaining membership. It is essential that members are acquainted with procedures and

rules. Sections shall donate such copies free of charge. Section Committees shall pay on order, copies per language group, which they require for members and allow for a minimum 20% stock. The National Secretary shall arrange for the printing to insure standardisation at predetermined cost.

37.   A Section must insure that all its members are issued with Club identification cards, annually renewable on payment of membership subscription. It is desirable that cards are of approved quality, design and standard for national recognition on presentation.