The General Secretariat shall consist of the Secretary General and other staff, appointed in terms of paragraph 5 (e) of Article VII of the Regulations, to perform the functions and to discharge the duties of the General Secretariat.
The Secretary General shall be appointed by the General Assembly for such period and on such terms and conditions as determined by the General Assembly at the time of appointment. The other staff of the General Secretariat shall be responsible to the Secretary General, and shall be subject to the supervision, direction, and disciplinary control of the Secretary General.
The Secretary General shall:
a ) be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Association;
b ) upon the request of the Chairman, convene a meeting of the Executive Committee Members;
c ) promote cooperation among all Members;
d ) organize conferences, symposia, regional training programmes and other gatherings as approved or directed by the Executive Committee Members;
e ) initiate proposals for joint action programmes with other international and regional bodies mentioned in paragraph 1 (e) of Article II of the Regulations;
f ) manage the funds of the Association as authorized by the Executive Committee Members and in accordance with Article IX of the Regulations;
g ) ensure the publication of a periodic news digest covering issues of interest to the Association, and be responsible to provide documentation services to the Members to facilitate access to information on rural finance and agricultural credit in the Region and in other regions;
h ) generally take action on all matters consistent with the objectives of the Association and the decisions of the General Assembly and the Executive Committee Members;
i ) maintain good relations with the Government of the country where the principal office of the Association is located;
j ) provide the Chairman with information concerning the Association, its agencies or other bodies, as he may request from time to time;
k ) perform such other functions as may be assigned to him by the General Assembly and/or the Executive Committee Members; and
l ) report regularly to the Executive Committee Members on matters concerning the affairs of the Association, its agencies and other bodies.
