Process to select host for the permanent SCECSAL Secretariat to start in May

SCECSAL General Council adopts guidelines for the selection process in Entebbe

Delegates at the opening session
of the XXIIrd SCECSAL conference in Entebbe

The process to select the SCECSAL member Association to host the permanent SCECSAL
Secretariat will be initiated in May following the adoption of the guidelines for the process on 24 April in Entebbe, Uganda by the SCECSAL General Council.

Since its establishments in 1974, the functions of the SCECSAL secretariat have been carried out on a rotation basis by the member Associations hosting the biennial SCECSAL conferences, an arrangement that has resulted in organization losing most of its records.

The SCECSAL General Assembly resolved, in April 2016 in Ezulwini, eSwatini, to establish a permanent SCECSAL Secretariat which is currently hosted on a temporary basis by the Swaziland Library and Information Association (SWALA).

The decision of the SCECSAL General Council in Entebbe, composed of the representatives of member Associations from eSwatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, to go ahead with the process of selecting a host for the SCECSAL secretariat is a bold move considering that SCECSAL member Associations have since 1998 resisted the idea to establish a permanent Secretariat to coordinate and monitor activities and decisions of the organization.

Copies of the guidelines for selecting the host for the permanent Secretariat will be distributed to the member Associations and published soon on the SCECSAL website, and members will be asked to express their interest to host the secretariat, and later submit detailed bids to be evaluated by a five-person independent committee.

SCECSAL member Associations from Botswana and Tanzania were absent from the Entebbe General Council meeting.

SCECSAL General Council reaffirms its decision to establish a permanent secretariat for SCECSAL

The SCECSAL General Council last week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, voted overwhelmingly to implement its

Members of the SCECSAL General Council at the XXII SCECSAL
conference in Ezulwini, Swaziland in April 2016.

29 April 2016 decision to establish a permanent SCECSAL Secretariat.

In a secret ballot held on the Ballotbin.com platform, nine out of 11 SCECSAL member Associations took part and 88% voted to go ahead with the 2016 decision while 12% voted against.

The vote was called following weeks of delays and hesitations to discuss and approve the draft guidelines for selecting the host and the terms of reference for the proposed permanent Secretariat.

The members voted on the motion: Should SCECSAL go ahead and establish a Permanent Secretariat?

The members will now hold further consultations on the draft terms of reference for the permanent Secretariat, guidelines for selecting the permanent host, the memorandum of understanding to govern the arrangements for the Secretariat, and discuss the best way to implement the decision without losing the autonomy they currently enjoy, especially in organizing the biennial SCECSAL conferences on a rotational basis.

In April 2016, at the XXII SCECSAL conference in Ezulwini, Swaziland, the General Council adopted a resolution  to establish a permanent secretariat for SCECSAL and to amend the constitution to include a provision and terms of reference for the secretariat.

The Swaziland Library Association has been hosting the SCECSAL Secretariat on a temporary basis since April 2016.

The General Council is made up of Presidents/Chairpersons of SCECSAL member associations that currently include Botswana Library Association, Kenya Library Association, Lesotho Library Association, Library and Information Association of South Africa, Library and Information Association of Zambia, Malawi Library Association, Namibia Information Workers Associations, Swaziland Library Association, Tanzania Library Association, Uganda Library and Information Association and Zimbabwe Library Association.