The World Federation held its Fourth Executive Council Meeting hosted by Dar-es-Salaam Jamaat on Saturday 18th February 2006. The attendance at the meeting was heartening given the participation of both genders and the varied ages. We had patrons of 50 years plus to very young stewards, who are leaders in training to ensure the continuity of communal service.
The meeting commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran, followed by remembering the letter of Imam Ali (AS) to Malike Ashtar on good governance. The Executive Council remembered colleagues who had served the community for many years but were no longer with us.
In accordance with the agenda of the meeting the following papers and reports were discussed:
Pakistan Earthquake Relief, Tsunami Relief and the Bam Earthquake relief updates were presented and the progress of the excellent work done in partnership with various agencies and local Jamaats were highlighted. This is a unique approach of joint working in a locality coordinated by local agencies where the World Federation plays the role of a facilitator and an enabler.
The Executive Council was informed of the progress on the delivery of the Strategic Plan ‘Creating Futures Together’. It highlighted that approximately 70% of what was committed to be delivered by 2008 has already been delivered through the efforts of the Boards and Desks. The President highlighted that an independent evaluation of the strategic plan will be undertaken in May 2006 with the report presented at the 2006 Triennial Conference.
A progress report on the Africa Economic Upliftment Plan was shared with the delegates. The report highlighted the importance of education, housing, and identified the way this is being planned to be delivered. The proposed housing position at three targeted cities namely Mombasa, Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam was shared.
The Executive Council approved the processes and procedures for funding Capital projects within the remit of the World Federation, the Volunteer Handbook and guidelines for Mixed Gathering.
The Presidential statement to his community was based on a very strong message of the President’s love for his community. It was in this spirit that he urged us to modernize so as not to become extinct like dinosaurs. He stressed that the change required for modernization has to be within the framework of our religion and without losing our cultural identity. It is for this reason, that the President emphasized the crucial need for leadership development at various levels of our community. With the strategic planning objectives being met within the next two years, the World Federation is hosting a “vision for a generation” consultation meeting with futuristic thinkers of our community, to create a draft document on the objectives and needs of the community for the next ten years. In combating the problem of donor fatigue, the President emphasized the need for ensuring the success of the African Economic Upliftment/ Eradication of Poverty project, which will provide lasting financial independence to the Jamaats that were homes to most of us in our fledgling years. On engaging with our business community, the President expressed an intention to harness a working partnership with JIBA so as to bring together the business potential of our community. This in turn will contribute to our long term financial independence as an organization and enrich the community. The President also expressed a need to consider a council of religious advisers who would be available for consultation to the leaders of the community world wide on issues of Sharia compliance. The President commended the World Federation Communications Team for its resolute commitment in circulating a newswire every Wednesday since 2003. This is an exemplary team entirely made up of young professionals.
Azad Kanani, the Hon Treasurer gave an overview of the accounts for the year ended 31st December 2005 highlighting that for the first time in the history of the World Federation, income crossed £5 million and the secretariat overheads have once again decreased from the previous year. He also stressed that the prudent stewardship has meant that unprecedented resources have been allocated to ensuring that the commitments made in the Strategic Plan and the Presidential Manifesto have been delivered. The delivery by the Boards and Desks has been achieved through prudence and due diligence and that the World Federation now has a strong foundation on which to build this success. He also shared the way the accounts have been presented to the Executive Council highlighting expenditure by boards and desks thus ensuring greater transparency.
Dubai was the place chosen as the venue of the Tenth Triennial Conference. The dates for the conference are Wednesday 13th September (19th Shaaban) to Saturday 16th September 2006 (22nd Shaaban 1427 AH). As per the Constitution, the Executive Council also approved the draft agenda.
The Executive Council also appointed two members as part of the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission now comprises of Amir H Somji, Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Anver R Dhanji and Shabbir R Mamdani. The Electoral Commissioner also appointed two Executive Councillors as returning officers, namely Sabira M Lakha and Masum Somji.
For further information, email secretariat@world-federation.org