African Federation of ICT Associations
BYLAWS
(As PROPOSED by the AFICTA STEERING COMMITTEE, NOVEMBER 2004)

1. The African Federation of ICT Associations (AFICTA) is a voluntary , non-profit making, non-political organization of African national associations of information and communication technology (ICT) and services companies.
2. The AFICTA has the objective of promoting the interest of the information technology and services industry throughout the African continent by, inter alia, strengthening the associations representing industry through the sharing of knowledge and experience, the exchanging of information, the promoting of trade and investment and providing a forum for identifying common issues and views.
3. Membership of the AFICTA is open to the association which best represents the interests of information technology and services companies in its country or region. Such associations must be or intend to be members of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA).
4. Applications for new membership must be made in writing to the Secretariat and should contain material which supports the association's claim that it best represents the interests of information technology and services in its country or region. New members will only be admitted with the approval of two-thirds of the members present at a General Assembly or with the approval of two-thirds of the overall members of the Steering Committee.
5. Each member is entitled to one vote in the General Assembly. Votes have to be presented by members at the General Assembly and cannot be transmitted through other members.
6. The AFICTA is organized as follows:

A. General Assembly of Members: To be held at least once every other year.
B. Steering Committee shall constitute the board of directors and has responsibility to plan arrangements for General Assemblies and to supervise all administration relating thereto. The Steering Committee shall consist of no less than eight representatives from national associations and shall include the association serving as Secretariat, and all AFICTA member associations signifying their interest in serving on the Steering Committee provided that they meet all the following criteria:
(i) are elected to the Steering Committee by the General Assembly, or between General Assemblies by a two thirds vote of the Steering Committee
(ii) are AFICTA members in good standing
(iii) agree to make a strong contribution to AFICTA policy issues
(iv) agree to attend a majority of AFICTA Steering Committee meetings
(v) pay an additional amount of membership dues to be established annually by the Steering Committee.
C. Secretariat: Provides administrative and organizational support to the Alliance. The Secretariat will reside with a member association and its operation will be reviewed by the General Assembly.
D. The association to provide Secretariat services and the Chairman shall be elected by the General Assembly. These elections shall be effective at the conclusion of the General Assembly, and the term of office for each will be until the conclusion of the next General Assembly, which term shall normally be two years. In the event that the post of Secretariat or Chairman is vacant between General Assemblies, it may be filled by a majority vote of the Steering Committee. Steering Committee votes may be conducted by electronic mail or facsimile transmission.
E. The association from which the Chairman of the Federation is elected and the association which provides Secretariat services shall normally be the same association. The Chairman shall chair the Steering Committee meetings and the General Assembly. The association which provides Secretariat services shall normally appoint an officer of the Secretariat who shall have the title of Executive Director of AFICTA.
F. The Chairman of the Steering Committee, after consultation with members of the Steering Committee, shall nominate up to 4 Vice-Chairmen representing their member associations in the English speaking, French speaking, Portuguese speaking and Arabic speaking regions of Africa. The nominations shall be made annually and are subject to the approval of the Steering Committee. The Vice Chairmen, along with the Chairman, shall in general, have responsibility for recruiting AFICTA members in their regions.
G. The Steering Committee may elect a Chairman Emeritus who shall serve in an advisory role to AFICTA.

7. A formal agenda and accompanying papers will be circulated at least 30 days prior to all meetings. Each member association will be given an opportunity of contributing to the Agenda of the General Assembly. Formal minutes will be kept of all meetings and circulated to all member association within 30 days of each meeting.
8. These Bylaws may only be amended by a two-thirds vote of all members present at the General Assembly.
9. The General Assembly may be held in conjunction with the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) or any other meeting attended by AFICTA members.
10. All votes of the General Assembly or Steering Committee shall be carried with a simple majority of members present unless otherwise stated.

AFICTA - the background

This blog is to track the development of the African Federation of ICT Associations (AFICTA) and is principally for the benefit of its members and their representatives.

National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry associations from across Africa, meeting in the Pilanesberg, North-West Province, South Africa, agreed on 26 September 2004 to establish the African Federation of Information and Communication Technology Associations (AFICTA).

AFICTA is an alliance of African ICT industry associations, committed to the development of information and communication technologies in Africa. Among its objectives are advocacy with African governments and regional organizations, representing African ICT issues in international fora, promoting information and communication technologies into African economies and governments and support for ICT research and development in Africa.

AFICTA is associated with the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), a global grouping of 65 national ICT industry associations. WITSA held meetings of its Public Policy and Steering Committees in South Africa, at which the decision to establish AFICTA was made. This was the first WITSA meeting to be held in Africa in the 28 years of its existence.

A Steering Committee has been set up to prepare a nd implement a budget, structure, constitution and detailed objectives for AFICTA. This Committee consists of representatives of national ICT associations from Tunisia, Algeria, Senegal, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The Convenor of the Steering Committee and first Chairman of AFICTA is Adrian Schofield, the President of Information Industry South Africa (IISA). South Africa was selected as the initial host country for AFICTA.