Please read carefully and tag your Pastors and church leaders to this thread. For starters, the newly amended Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) is not evil! Calm down, relax let me explain!
Dear pastor, cast your mind to the beginning, before that church you oversee became what it is today. Do you remember saying “Counsel, the Holy spirit has given me a name for the church and I want to register it in CAC so that we can have legal backing” (as most of you would say).
Do you also remember how your counsel informed you that for that to be possible, you would have a list of Trustees, make a publication in two newspapers, have a constitution etc? Good, those requirements were only possible because CAMA said you must do it in order to register with CAC.
After you obtained your certificate of incorporation, do you also remember how you hold meetings annually and give notice of your meetings to CAC? And how you also prepare and file your annual returns not earlier than 30th June or later than 31st December each year? You did all that because Companies Regulation which was enacted pursuant to CAMA prescribed it.
Can you now see that registering your name with CAC to have legal backing came with responsibilities imposed by CAMA?
To the matter at hand, I know you’re worried that someone told you that by the amended Act,”the Commission (CAC) can wake up one morning and appoint a manager to oversee the affairs of the church and you do not have access to the Court to challenge the actions of the Commission” Well, that person LIED to you and liars go to hellfire if they don’t repent!
Firstly, no Act whether expressly or impliedly can take away your access to Court. Do you know why? It is subject to the Constitution that says you cannot be denied access Court (Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended))
It is your fundamental right to have access to Court and the Constitution is supreme!
Do you know that only the Court can order the Commission to suspend the Trustees or even allow the appointment of a manager to oversee the affairs of the “association” (church)? (Section 839 (1) CAMA 2019)
Do you also know that before the Commission can suspend the Trustees or be empowered to appoint a manager, it must prove its case? It is not automatic! It must prove misconduct, mismanagement, fraud in the administration of the association (church).
It must also prove that the suspension of the trustees or appointment of a manager is necessary in the interest of the public, that it is doing so in order to protect the properties of the church, etc.
Do you also know that the Commission is not the only one that can bring this petition to the court? It will shock you to know that at least one-fifth of members of the church (association) backed up with all evidence of fraud, misconduct, mismanagement can also approach the court to suspend the Trustees or appoint a manager. (Section 839 (2) CAMA 2019)
To our Pastors, your focus should be on what God called you to be and the impact on his people. Remember what the Bible says
“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God” (Acts 20:28).
This amended CAMA is a wakeup call to all organisations. The Act was only amended to conform with the present reality!
By the way, “Part F” in the amended CAMA that deals with Incorporated Trustees is not only applicable to churches but also mosques and NGOs! With these few points of mine, why then are you saying that the amended CAMA is evil?
I will rather see the good in the new provisions of the CAMA as heeding to the call for enthrenching good corporate governance structures in our churches and NGO which will neccesiate our leaders to pay attention to proper re ords and book keeping, engage core professionals to work on their behalf and enhance transparency in the system.
Written by Favour Njoku
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