Chairing meetings and preparation
Category Newsletter: Did you know?
Let's start this article off with a quote by Arthur Ashe, "One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation."
Chairing an annual of special general meeting in a community scheme may seem like one of the most daunting tasks and is often shied away from by the chairperson of the trustees or directors of the scheme, and handed over to the portfolio / property manager of the managing agent of the scheme, or an external person, such as an attorney or a consultant. However, with proper preparation, any chairperson of a meeting can feel self-confident in their ability to run a successful meeting.
If in a sectional title scheme, my suggestion would be to start off with looking at the duties of a chairperson under Prescribed Management Rule 18 of Annexure 1 of the Regulations to the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011. To summarise, a chairperson, not necessarily being the chairperson of the trustees, must maintain order at the meeting; must ensure that all motions can be validly dealt with at the meeting; must ensure that duly authorised participants may speak uninterrupted (including by the chairperson); must act fairly, impartially and courteously to all attendees; settle disputes by making rulings on points of order and make procedural decisions; ensure the relevant body corporate records are readily available; adjourn the meeting if necessary; and step down if they wish to express their view, as they cannot influence participants or disclose how they intend to vote. This list may seem like a tall ask, but it is the law, and if you, as a chairperson, cannot abide, then it is a good idea to hand this very important responsibility over to someone who is able to comply.
The chairperson of any meeting is not a lone island, and thorough preparation is required long before the meeting is held, to ensure its ultimate success. In this regard, the date, time and venue must be decided upon and arranged, taking into consideration, the ability to, and ease of, participation, as well as the notice period; the agenda must be prepared depending on the nature of the meeting and business to be tabled; the pack must be prepared comprehensively and correctly and distributed; any query received should be dealt with or researched prior in order to have answers at the meeting; the attendance registration process and quorum calculation must be undertaken carefully; the voting system must be compliant; and the minutes of the meeting must be taken thoroughly, but not verbatim.
Should the outcome of any vote taken at a meeting, or the procedure of the meeting be queried or disputed, any person attending to the running of same must be confident with the preparation undertaken and that there is no doubt as to the validity of the meeting or votes cast.
Feeling self-confident? If not, it's ok, you'll get there.
About the Author
Please click on the following link to learn more about the Author and her company, TVDM Consultants - https://www.tvdmconsultants.com/zerlinda-van-der-merwe.
Author: Zerlinda van der Merwe, TVDM Consultants
