{UAH} My Thoughts About The Future Of The Ugandan North American Association (UNAA)

My Thoughts About The Future Of The Ugandan North American Association (UNAA)

By:          Moses R. Wilson, PE

Disclaimer:          The following commentary presents the opinions and thoughts of one individual and is not representative of any position proposed or adopted by any official body of the UNAA leadership.

Introduction

The 2010 UNAA constitution stipulates the holding of an annual general meeting during the Labor Day weekend in association with the annual UNAA convention.  In addition to the presentation of a report on the operational and financial state of the organization, other key objectives of the meeting include a discussion on the future of the organization and an opportunity for UNAA members to directly question and challenge the actions of the UNAA leadership.

In advance of the discussion on the future of the organization at the upcoming general meeting in Dallas, I would like to present some of my thoughts on the matter.  As these thoughts are quite extensive and diverse, I will present them systematically in several short commentaries over the next few days.

Please note that these thoughts are not presented in any hierarchical degree of importance.

The 2010 UNAA Constitution

During my presidential acceptance speech in Chicago, I made a pledge that one of my very first actions would be to ask the new UNAA Board of Directors to approve the creation of a Board Oversight Committee.  I was personally driven by a desire to bring about a reasonable limitation to the powers of the UNAA President which I thought, at the time, were too extensive and subject to abuse.  Soon after the BOD approved the creation of this committee, it took a further step and authorized the creation of a Constitution Review Committee.  All of these steps culminated in the creation and approval of a completely new constitution that I have referred to above as the 2010 UNAA Constitution.  A key aspect of this new constitution was a system of checks and balances embodied in the creation of a 3-body leadership structure.

The last three years have seen the gradual implementation and realization of this constitution to a point now whereby all of the organization's activities are now governed by this one document.  However, this document is not perfect and its literal interpretation has come under intense scrutiny and challenge in recent months.

I have taken the time to review the 2010 UNAA Constitution in great depth during my tenure on the Board of Trustees and most specifically over the past few weeks.  The simple fact is that, in my opinion, the document has some often quite stark weaknesses that leave it vulnerable to interpretive abuse.   Indeed, in some cases, what appears to be a very clear article can actually be interpreted in two very different ways.

It is my opinion that while the actual written wordage of the constitution may be sometimes vague, the purpose and intent is very clear.  One of the biggest mistakes that I think we can make now is to begin to undermine the integrity of the constitution with efforts to effect last minute amendments.  We must all remember that any ill-conceived actions we take today may well serve as the basis for other similar and potentially more detrimental actions by future members of UNAA's leadership. 

As such, I believe that in the coming year the Board of Trustees should appoint a Constitutional Review Committee with very strict instructions to perform a thorough review of and recommend appropriate amendments to the existing constitution.  However, what we don't need is an entirely new document.  This process should very strictly follow the procedures detailed in the current constitution with the results being brought before the UNAA membership for consideration and action during next year's convention in San Diego.  It is imperative that this process be conducted in a very thoughtful and methodical manner that honors and respect the integrity of the existing constitution.

Tomorrow I shall present my thoughts on the setting of achievable goals and a new approach to attaining the organization's objectives.

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Moses Wilson has been an active member of UNAA for over 20 years and held a variety of leadership positions in the organization including member of the Board of Trustees, UNAA President, Convention Director and Senior Advisor.  Moses has attended each and every UNAA convention since 1992 – 21 conventions in total.