It is always sad to see an Association struggling. When I took over the chairmanship of the Johannesburg Attorneys Association, they only had R60 000,00 in the bank and in the three years I was Chairman, I took steps to ensure that those reserves were increased eight times. An Association that has desperate financial circumstances is unfortunately weak.
I see that the Shareholders Association of South Africa is threatened with closure, due to its membership decreasing with no new members being attracted and the older members retiring, and it is sad that there is no independent voice for shareholders in South Africa and an organisation formed to do just that is basically on the edge of closing in part, because they have not been able to afford the finances to establish a decent website and use that to attract new blood and membership. I guess it is no different to the problems that a whole host of charity organisations and other good causes face, and at a certain stage, sometimes it is better to close the door and give up, especially when there appears to be no outside interest, but it is still very sad.