2024
End of an Era - Time to move On
Considering that the Boland Falconry Club (BFC) 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM ) had to be held before 29 February 2024, I waited. On 2 March 2024, I contacted a fellow falconer requesting the status of the 2023 AGM to be held. I was referred to the BFC 2023 secretary, whom I contacted, only to be informed that he had resigned his BFC membership. When contacting the BFC 2024 secretary, I was referred to the 2024 BFC chairman, who was handling all BFC management, finances, and administration.
Informal efforts to contact the BFC 2024 Chairman failed. On the 2nd of March 2024, I contacted the BFC 2024 chairman via email. I requested information regarding when the BFC 2023 AGM was going to be held.
On 4 March 2024, I received a response from the BFC 2024 chairman stating that the BFC 2023 AGM was held on 25 November 2023.
The response and I quote “.. we removed you from our group communications and you were not included in our annual meeting held on the 25th of November 2023.
Additionally, we did not receive any payments from you for club fees during this time. If you have indeed made payments for the years 2022 and 2023, we kindly request that you provide us with your payment advice or any relevant documentation to rectify this matter.
Should there have been any misunderstanding or oversight on our part, we sincerely apologize.”
Upon receipt of this response, I rendered my proof of payment with concern. If any form of debtors’ control of membership fees were current and reconciled, my account statement would have reflected my payment, as my reference for my payment was my BFC Membership number and name.
On 14th March 2024, I rendered my proof of payment, stating my disappointment and requesting all club correspondence, the BFC 2023 AGM, agenda, minutes, and the 2023 financial statements as presented at the AGM, also requesting the administrative processes now in place, considering the new CapeNature 2023 WC Falconry Policy.
No response was received. I instructed an attorney to address the matter on my behalf. Following a letter from my attorney to the BFC 2023 chairman responded, committing to respond by 22 May 2024 to my request of 14 March 2024. No response was received as committed to.
On legal review, the question arose that where a falconer is unfairly disenfranchised by his/her club, can he/she approach CapeNature (CN) for mediation and/or intervention?. The opinion, as CN is the conservation authority that regulates falconry in the Western Cape (WC) there is a fiduciary obligation that where the rights of a WC falconer is unfairly undermined by his/her club, CN when approached by such a falconer has an obligation and can intervene to protect the individual rights of a falconers.
On the 19th of June 2024, an email was received from the BFC 2024 chairman: “We regret to inform you that the Boland Falconry Club (BFC) has been officially disbanded. Additionally, we would like to extend an invitation for you to join the Cape Falconry Club (CFC). We apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding.” As the member holding the oldest BFC membership, this news came as a shock. What resulted in the disbandment of the BFC? On 20 June 2024, I requested full disclosure of the process being followed, including the documents. I again requested the outstanding BFC 2023 AGM, agenda, minutes, and the 2023 financial statements as presented at the AGM.
On the same day, 20 June 2024, the following response was received: ” We have no further interest in continuing this correspondence. The club is abandoned, it has no more members, and we are finished talking to you. Do not expect any response or action from our side. Cease all communications with us immediately.”
So up to this point, the BFC 2024 Chairman could not produce the BFC 2023 AGM, agenda, minutes, and the 2023 financial statements. I had to accept that the BFC was gone. Furthermore, my request for the disclosure of the process that was followed by the BFC 2024 management committee in the disbandment of the BFC was shut down with no further engagement to be accommodated. This “convenience” of no further engagement was unacceptable, as in the interest of the SA falconry heritage in the WC and the BFC, a long-standing club (2003 -2024) deserved more. The further lack of transparency led me to further investigate the matter.
In conversations with fellow senior BFC falconers, it emerged that a WhatsApp was merely circulated on 17 May 2024 to all members, reading :
“Dear BFC Club Members,
I hope this message finds you well. After much consideration, we have decided to disband the BFC and join forces with the CFC to form a single, unified club in the Western Cape.
This new chapter will allow us to strengthen our community and provide even better opportunities for all our members. We will be setting up a voting process so everyone can express their views on this move.
However, please note that the transition is inevitable, and we will proceed with the merger.
We appreciate your understanding and support during this transition. More details will follow soon, and we look forward to this exciting new beginning together.”
Upon this disclosure, I realised I was deliberately kept out of this loop, despite my membership being reinstated on 14 March 2024. The reason I would have queried the decision, and BFC 2024 chairman wanted to be spared the inconvenience of accountability and responsibility. The disbandment process followed was not transparent and not in the interest of the BFC, its members, and the WC falconry heritage. So what are the final facts?
As per other BFC members, the BFC 2024 chairman decided to disband the BFC on his own accord, not at the request of the BFC members.
The reason “no more members” does not add up. As per the SAFA website (www.safalconry.co.za/boland-falconry-club), as updated in 2023 reflected the BFC had 26 members. It’s accepted that before the BFC editorial was published on the SAFA website, the information was validated and current.
The collective voting process and/or views of members, as collected by the BFC 2024 chairman, were not transparently shared among BFC members. The Cape Falconry Club (CFC) confirmed there was no “merger agreement ” with the BFC. BFC members could apply for CFC membership on CFC terms and conditions, not as a result of a merger agreement.
What remains unanswered is what decision was taken regarding the archiving of BFC records, club assets, and funds, and how the financials were rounded up, as no final meeting was held to disclose the final actions and timelines to be taken, let alone the constitutional guidelines when disbanding. We will probably never know, and did the South African Falconry Association (SAFA) guide the BFC as the “overarching body”?
In hindsight, the last elected BFC 2024 chairman originally joined the BFC, then resigned and migrated to the CFC, bad-mouthing the BFC. Then, in 2020, he resigned from the CFC, re-joining the BFC, badmouthing the CFC. Now, lastly, he disbands the BFC without a member mandate and re-joins the CFC. This in itself shows the character that you need to be cautious about, as when going into battle, it’s better to let these characters walk in front of you, as if they are behind you, they will shoot you in the back. So be cautious who you allow onto your ship; some will board just to sink it.
Finally, we cannot turn back time, but considering the facts and the idea of the “strong man” comes to mind.
“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” The quote, from a postapocalyptic novel by the author G. Michael Hopf, sums up a stunningly pervasive cyclical vision of history. This quote, often attributed to Andrie de Vesme, highlights the cyclical relationship between external conditions and personal character. It suggests that individuals who are forged in challenging environments (hard times) develop resilience and strength, which can lead to prosperous periods (good times). However, during these times of abundance, people may become complacent and lose the very qualities that helped them succeed, ultimately leading to vulnerability and the creation of poor conditions (hard times) once again.
To the contrary, I believe bad times do not create strong men. If you’re the man who waits around for bad times to create strong men, you are probably the weak man who created the bad times in the first place.
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