VN November 2021

Vetnews | November 2021 3 the motion and debating thereof at the AGM. Many senior SAVA members and I were uncomfortable with the reverse logic of this solution. It would, however, have been a logistical nightmare to verify that several hundred zoom meeting attendees were indeed SAVA members in good standing that qualified to vote at the AGM. The AGM itself was initially highly charged with much controversy. I think my old laptop knew trouble was brewing as it refused to boot up and log in to the zoom meeting (it was fine for the FedCo meeting after that) I, therefore, had to jump between the SAVA MD and President-Elect's laptops so that the virtual attendees could see me. As the motion was tabled, it was requested that a SAVAMember present recuse himself from themeeting as he was implicated in the motivation for the motion and therefore conflicted. I replied that, as this member had allegations made about him, it was only fair that he had the right to respond so we could have balance in the debate. Astonishingly, I was then accused of bias by a senior member and asked to step down as Chairman for the motion! After pushing ahead amidst lively debate, load shedding hit Vethouse, and our giant, state-of-the-art generator would not switch over to supply power to the building. Just as I was requesting pliers from the in- person attendees (while the virtual attendees no doubt wondered what was happening), the lights came on before the SAVA President electrocuted himself! This was not the last time I suspect we had divine intervention at that meeting. Once we restarted, there was still vibrant debate. Still, thankfully eventually, my prayers for the protagonists' hearts to soften were answered, and we were able to table and overwhelming pass an amended motion. Thank you to all concerned for being willing to compromise on a positive and implementable resolution. We resolved to engage with the SAVC to form a Mediation Committee comprised of equal members of SAVA and the SAVC and other stakeholders. This committee will be guided by a professional mediator and investigate the circumstances around the resignations of the 5 SAVC Councilors during this term. (SAVA cannot form a Commission of Enquiry into the SAVC, we cannot force the SAVC to do so, and they couldn't do so if they wanted to as a CoE can only be appointed by the government) We have already contacted the SAVC to set up a SAVA-SAVC ExCo meeting so we can discuss this resolution, draw up the ToR's, and map the way forward in the best interests of the SAVC, our Association, the Veterinary and Para-veterinary Professions as well as the animals and people of our country. There is much work to do to address these challenges and some of the perceptions that have led to this conflict. We are going to work together and pray hard to achieve unity and harmony after this crisis. As you will no doubt gather, this was rather a torrid time for me. Thankfully I resolved to go to the front of my church to request prayer the Sunday prior to the AGM. I was blessed to receive an amazing anointing of the Holy Spirit, which imparted me with His Wisdom and enabled me to keep calm amidst the turmoil. I would also like to thank all those colleagues who supported and interceded in prayer for me. It is only through our faith that we were able to achieve a favourable resolution. v Yours in Oneness, Leon Source: Internet From the President