2019 to 2020
In 2019, a significant breach of regulations occurred when the BFC chairman authorized raptors for members without consulting or obtaining approval from the BFC2018MC. This action violated both the BFC Statutes and CapeNature (CN) regulations. Alarmingly, this was the same chairman who, in 2015, had arranged a bird for a member without proper club authorization, indicating a persistent pattern of disregard for responsible governance. Consequently, CN took action against both the BFC and the BFC Chairman. Accepting personal responsibility, the BFC 2018 Chairman resigned from his position and his BFC membership. Had he remained a BFC member, disciplinary action was inevitable, potentially leading to suspension or termination of his membership under the club’s disciplinary code, effectively preventing him from practicing falconry in the Western Cape (WC) indefinitely.
This incident and its ramifications warrant careful consideration. CapeNature is known for its stringent falconry control, making this a particularly damaging event that drew unwelcome attention and prompted CN to scrutinize falconry clubs more closely in the Western Cape, negatively impacting the trusted foundation partnership. Given the past struggles to legalize falconry, this was an incident the WC falconry community could ill afford.
Within Western Cape falconry clubs, a member transferring between clubs typically requires a Letter of Good Standing from their previous club, or a formal resolution process between the clubs must be initiated. However, no such letter was issued in this instance. This omission suggests the resignation may have been a strategic maneuver to avoid disciplinary proceedings while allowing the individual to continue practicing falconry.
Notably, the former chairman resigned on May 25, 2020, and promptly joined the Cape Falconry Club (CFC). The South African Falconry Association (SAFA), of which both the CFC and BFC were members, took no action regarding this situation. This inaction further incensed BFC members, who felt it created a loophole allowing falconers to evade accountability through resignation. This situation garnered negative attention and raised concerns with CapeNature, which took note of this conduct and SAFA’s apparent lack of intervention.
Following the chairman’s resignation, the club secretary/treasurer assumed his responsibilities. The BFC management committee was now composed of just two ordinary members and the acting chairman/secretary/treasurer. This unprecedented situation, the first since the club’s inception, placed the BFC in a precarious position.
The BFC Constitution stipulated that the AGM for the 2018 club year (September 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019) should have been convened within six months following the year’s end, specifically by February 2020. However, this deadline passed without an AGM being held, resulting in a violation of the club’s constitutional requirements. In early 2020, BFC members began inquiring about the overdue AGM, but no progress was made, and no alternative solutions were proposed. Subsequently, the COVID-19 pandemic began. In March 2020, I was asked to join the BFC Management Committee, taking over the secretarial duties from the acting chairman/secretary/treasurer. Despite my efforts to arrange a committee meeting, no progress occurred. Consequently, I left the BFC WhatsApp group, informing the remaining committee members that I would formally step down once the acting chairman/secretary/treasurer committed to a meeting for the handing and taking over process. The two ordinary committee members then attempted to ascertain the club’s compliance status, but their efforts proved unsuccessful.
By August 31, 2020, the BFC had been in constitutional non-compliance for two consecutive years. In response, the two ordinary committee members decided to convene a Special General Meeting (SGM) on November 7, 2020, to elect an interim committee to govern the club until the overdue AGM could be held. The BFC membership was duly informed, being accepted with consent.
The SGM proceeded as planned, resulting in the election of a new interim committee. All BFC members were notified of the SGM’s outcome and the composition of the interim committee. The acting chairman/secretary/treasurer was absent from the meeting, effectively indicating his resignation as a BFC member. Comprehensive details of the SGM were communicated to all members, and no objections were raised, reflecting a shared understanding of the club’s precarious situation and the necessity for decisive action.
The resigned acting chairman/secretary/treasurer only handed over all BFC records and documentation on November 20, 2020. Upon receiving these materials, it was discovered that the BFC’s annual CapeNature falconry club permit was due to expire on December 12, 2020. Given that falconry is the club’s primary activity, renewing this permit became the immediate priority, followed by the scheduling of an AGM. The imminent permit expiration posed a significant threat to the club’s ability to practice falconry and possess raptors, making it a critical issue requiring urgent attention. SAFA was informed of the SGM and the establishment of the five-member interim management committee (IBFC2020MC). The interim BFC 2020 chairman and I, the secretary/treasurer, were added to the SAFA WhatsApp group.
On November 23, 2020, I, the secretary/treasurer and interim BFC chairman, participated in the online 2020 SAFA AGM via Zoom. At this point, the full extent of the BFC’s administrative and financial disarray was not yet entirely clear, as we had only had the club’s documentation for 3 days in our possession.
Therefore, as of November 30, 2020, the status quo of the BFC was as follows:
a. The minutes for the 2018 AGM, held in June 2018, were missing; only an audio recording existed.
b. No BFC AGMs had been held for the 2019 and 2020 club years.
c. BFC bank statements had not been electronically downloaded from January 2020 to November 7, 2020, so account reconciliations are not up to date.
d. A 2015 resolution authorizing the secretary/treasurer to change banking institutions to reduce costs had not been implemented.
e. The financial statements for the 2019 club year were found to be flawed, and no financial statements had been prepared for the 2020 club year.
f. Annual hunting reports from members had not been collected or compiled for either the 2019 club year (September 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019) or the 2020 club year (September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020).
g. The BFC Raptor Register was not up to date and contained inaccurate information, raising concerns about its reliability.
h. The CapeNature annual falconry club permit had not been renewed within the required 60-day window before its expiration date of December 12, 2020.
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, I contacted CapeNature to inform them of the BFC’s circumstances and request permission for a late submission of the BFC permit renewal application, which was granted. Consequently, as the year concluded in December 2020, the BFC was facing a severely challenging situation constitutionally and administratively.
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