On the 22nd of April 2023 my colleague Malcom Lethole wrote an article on this website about the PLFA’s convening of the Ordinary Congress, at long last. The Article can be found on this link: https://stridesfc.org.za/plfa-gearing-itself-for-a-congress-at-long-last/
In that article we painted a grim picture about the state of affairs at PLFA where governance is concerned. We said “At last” PLFA is gearing itself to hold the Ordinary Congress, which was supposed to have been held in January this year. But we pointed out that we had to be the ones prompting them to convene this Congress (Article 17.3), otherwise it is never going to happen. We wrote a letter to them nominating a date in April, which they ignored. Only when we escalated the issue to SAFA Tshwane did they send a notice for the Congress.
But when we escalated to SAFA Tshwane, we nominated another date, which was the 10th of June. We did this firstly as a statutory requirement in relation to nominating Congress dates. But we did this to also assist them to have enough time to prepare for the Congress. To be precise, we gave them 45 days. In a surprising move, they responded by giving a notice for a Congress to be held on the 13th of May 2023. To be precise, this was exactly a 28 day notice from the time the notice was received by Members.
Why would they give such a short notice (Article 17.2), we do not know. This made them non-compliant with the duration of the notice first and foremost. There is no longer time for Members to submit their proposals and motion (a requirement is 30 days).
Okay, what is done is done. However, seeing that nothing was coming through from PLFA to its Members regarding the preparation of the Congress, we then sought to advise them to do the best to comply with the rest of the other elements. We wrote a letter to them on the 23rd of April 2023 to assist them with preparation elements that need to be complied with. See the link of the letter here-below:
23042301 – Compliance with the Ordinary Congress Time Limits
PLFA neither acknowledged the letter nor did they respond.
To date, none of the things pointed out in the said letter were executed. In fact, no Congress-related activity was done since the PLFA Notice of the Congress. As we write this article on the 9th of May 2023, 4 days prior to the Congress, the following have not been done:
1. Members have not been prompted to submit proposals and motions. and by extension none have been circulated for the Congress (Article 17.4),
2. The Executive Committee has not circulated its proposals and motions, and by extension none have been circulated for the Congress (Article 17.4). It is important to say that PLFA is struggling with Judicial processes and resources. This was a good time to beef up the Panel of Judicial Chairpersons. An opportunity missed.
3. No reports (Activity Report, Financial Report, and Audited Financial Statements) have been circulated for the Congress (Article 17.5),
4. The Mandate of the Auditors has expired. No submission for the new mandate has been circulated. Okay, according to the Constitution, the Audited Financial Statements may be circulated 3 days prior to the Congress. Maybe this will still be done. Let’s see.
5. No communication with regards to the Credentials (Article 17.6).
6. The Congress Venue is yet to be communicated since the notice was circulated.
Since I returned to Pretoria and to this association in 2010 I have never witnessed such blatant governance lapses. It is as if there is not Executive Structure. I ask myself, will there be a Congress on the 13th of May 2023. Nonetheless, should the date be communicated, Strides FC will attend. Strides will raise the following (but not limited to) the following issue:
Oppose a declaration that the Ordinary Congress has been convened and composed in compliance with the Constitution of PLFA. The opposition will be done within the provisions of Article 17.8.
Because of the above, the Congress should be declared unconstitutional. Instead of proceeding with the Congress, the club will request the Executive Committee and (in particular) the Chairperson to take up the opportunity to take the Members into confidence on the issues that they face leading to these apparent lapses, and to also provide a remediation plan.
The important thing is NOT to boycott the Congress if the venue is communicated.
We do have problems as an LFA, but the problems are soluble. We just need a positive attitude towards solving the problems. We are of the view that we need to apply correct solutions for the problems we have. That is why we want to give the Executive Committee (and, in particular, the Chairperson) to take the association into confidence about the issues. It is important that they see, acknowledge and own the problems that we see, and come up with ways to resolve them. For them to resign, or for us to dismiss them is not necessarily a solution, especially if we do not know the Leadership’s take on the issues. Therefore we urge all Members to rather take a posture of seeking to first understand the problems holistically, get the perspective of the Leadership, and then engineer solutions according to the specification and size of the problems identified.
Looking forward to the gathering.
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