The Board of Directors in a letter to the membership, dated 16th January, called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for Sunday, February 11th at 3 p.m. at the Community’s premises in Stanmore.
LISTEN TO
Εξελίξεις στην Κυπριακή Κοινότητα της ΝΝΟ 2/02/2024
04:29
At this meeting the financial future of the organisation will be discussed, with emphasis on the use of its building, and various resolutions will be put to a vote and discussion.
In the printed material sent to members, there are several suggestions, which can be summed into the following: either selling the building and relocating the Community to another site or utilizing the building in partnership and joint venture with a developer.
The Board invites members to attend and states that members are invited to attend and states that those who wish to obtain more information or have questions they can contact the office of the Community.
The notice of the EGM was sent on Tuesday 16 January with the signatures of Mr. Andrew Costa, as President and Mr. Peter Kitas, as Secretary.
Since then, Mr. Costa, in a communication we had with him on Monday 29 January, confirmed that he resigned from his position as President, leaving open the possibility of whether or not he will remain on the Board (Since then he has made it known that he will remain on the Board).
He told us that the Board had become dysfunctional and noted that he disagreed with certain actions taken by some Board members.
Source: Supplied / Cyprus Comminity of NSW
Yesterday (Wednesday, January 31), the Cyprus Community posted on its online presence, a notice to members informing them that the Board had decided to hold the Annual General Meeting on Sunday, April 7 2024 at 3:00 pm.
Further information will be made available in the "near future," the notice said, listing Mr. Michael Kyriakou as President and Mr Peter Kitas as secretary.
The resignation letter of Mr Costa
In a letter addressed to the members of the Cyprus Community, the outgoing President, Mr. Andreas Kostas, among the reasons of his resignation states the following:
- Consistent opposition to filling vacancies on the Board. Despite the Community’s Constitution stipulating guidelines for a nine-member Board, my proposal to appoint two additional members to the current seven-member Board were met with opposition.
- Issues with Cyprus Capital Ltd. As per a resolution from the Community’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in 2019, Cyprus Capital is currently the only legitimate lender to the Community other than Bendigo Bank. Despite the resolution and ongoing support from Cyprus Capital in 2023, the Board has failed to cooperate with the lender’s efforts to refinance the Bendigo Bank loan which matures on March 19 this year.
- Unauthorized Actions by the Assistant Treasurer. Chris Papantoniou's attempt to refinance our community debt by negotiating a $12 million loan with a private lender adding an extra $3 million in debt, was done without the Board’s knowledge of the lender or approval of the terms of the loan.
- Restriction of Presidential and Directors Duties. I have repeatedly been denied access to daily communications and critical documents by the Secretary, Peter Kitas, which has severely hampered my ability to fulfill my responsibilities as President. Other Board members have been similarly kept in the dark. Important information about financial matters including loan negotiations have been withheld from the Board and have not been tabled by the Secretary.
The replies of Mr Kitas and Mr Papantoniou
In response to the above a, Mr Kitas and Mr Papantoniou sent a joint statement to the media to "correct misconceptions", as they said.
They note, among other points, the following:
- the CCNSW Constitution states a maximum of nine members, not a minimum. The constitution requires a quorum of six board members, as stipulated in Article 25.”).
- the Corporations Act, overrides our constitution in any dispute and only requires a minimum of three directors for a quorum in board meetings.
- On the Cyprus Capital Ltd issue, they state that the board has been diligently seeking alternative financing options and has been acting in the best interest of the Community based on legal advice obtained. Mr Papantoniou says that the Board authorised him in October 2022 to go the market to refinance the current loans. Mr Papantoniou says that he and Mr Kitas at no time have breached their fiduciary duties as directors of the Club.
- Regarding the claim that the Secretariat did not allow the former President access to communications and documents of the Community, the Secretary, Mr. Kitas rejected the claim saying that the only item that has not been provided to the President or board members is the membership list of the Club… This is essential to maintain the confidentiality of the members for privacy and security reasons, as agreed upon by the board.
