By Sulayman Bah
National arbiter Joseph Dalliah has faulted Gambia’s Chess Federation (GCF) for failing to conduct a mandatory Annual General Meeting (AGM).
The federation has had a change of leadership following polls held on July 2016 leading to the ushering of Amadou Jallow as its head.
However, yearly meetings in which the GCF’s executives are meant to explain state of the federation to delegates is yet to be organised, according to Dalliah.
‘The GCF had not convened an Annual General Meeting since the year 2012 when they were first elected to office until their mandate elapsed in 2016.
‘From 2016 to date, they have not convened one yet too. The mandate for the executive to administrate the affairs of Chess in the Gambia is four years, meaning that they avoid convening annual general meetings so as not to reveal the yearly statement of accounts. The constitution of the GCF indicates that there should be an Annual General Meeting,’ Dalliah tells Foroyaa Sport.
Reached for comment, GCF’s boss Amadou Jallow confirmed to Foroyaa Sport the non-holding of an AGM but blamed funding issues for the setback saying a meeting with stakeholders was intended before the December political impasse triggered delay of the process.
‘We have not had funding too as we are not receiving subvention from government and it also met us preparing our team for the Olympiads but it’s in our plans to organise an AGM,’ Jallow tells this publication.
Weighing into the matter, National Sports Council Executive Director Marcel Mendy says a step has been taken to ensure GCF gets to stage the obligatory face-to-face with its members stating a communiqué has been written to that effect.
‘They do not have good enough reasons not to hold an AGM. We have checked in our files and found out they have not been holding AGMs and we have written a letter to them to that effect,’ Mendy said yesterday afternoon.
Harping on the need for stability in affiliate sporting associations, he said: ‘Associations or federations must operate within the dictates of their constitutions for the development of the sport. Stakeholders or members must not interpret their constitutions wrongly to suit their whims and caprices or the executives manipulating portions of the constitution in their favour. It must be done the right way for the stability of the sport.’
