Chess Kenya goes to the polls

One of the major problems with Chess Kenya over the years has been the fact that chess players have been very reluctant to pay membership fees due to various flimsy reasons.  A common excuse we hear is that what benefits do I get as a member or I have never seen audited accounts.

Those beliefs are flawed as every federation needs the cash flow from membership to survive and carry out its basic functions.

Chess Kenya has it’s long awaited AGM on 2nd April 2017 at the Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi starting from 2.30 pm.

This represents a fantastic time to re-launch the membership drive this time with some kind of stick and carrot approach as it is very clear that persuasion has not worked and will not work.

My proposal is very simple to solve this problem;

Only players who are registered membership can participate in FIDE rated tournaments.  The current rate is KES 1,200 (USD 12) if paid as an individual or KES 500 (USD 5) if paid through a club.

Children will only allowed to play in the Kenya National Youth and Cadets Championship if their school is a member.  The school membership in this case is KES 2,000 (USD 20). A provision might have to be made for kids whose schools do not want to become members.

I am not sure if the candidates vying for these Chess Kenya posts are going to take this membership point with the seriousness it deserves or are they going to keep trying to “persuade” chess players to pay membership.

This is the cartoon that I came up with!

This is the official announcement for the AGM.

REMINDER: CHESS KENYA ELECTIVE AGM
DATE: April 2nd 2017
VENUE: Nyayo Stadium, KNSC Boardroom from 1430Hrs

Agenda:
1. Presentation of Audited Accounts
2. Elections