Latest update July 27th, 2024 12:59 AM
Apr 12, 2022 News
– plans to take legal action
“We ain’t no thief, thief man couldn’t get lights running all the time.” – Ms. Esme Yangapatty
Kaieteur News – The Linden Utility Services Cooperative Society Limited (LUSCSL) Management Committee, which was recently dissolved by the Ministry of Labour, has rejected a correspondence informing them of this development and that of the installation of an Interim Management Committee (IMC). Chairman of the Committee, Charles Sampson said, the IMC is not recognised and the management committee will take legal action towards the ministry for not executing due process in dissolving the board.
The LUSCSL has been in existence for over 60 years. Staff and members of the committee continue to participate in sit-outs as they await proper engagement with the Department of Cooperatives.
However, in a correspondence to the Coop, Acting Chief Cooperative Development Officer (CCDO), Debbie Persaud, explained that the move to install an IMC was based on mismanagement, unaccountability and the lack of transparency.
Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton has revealed that the Management Committee has “broken all of the rules”.
No Annual General Meeting was held since 2014 – despite an existing mandate that it be conducted annually, conflict of interest, no audit and no payment of dividends to members, are some of the reasons that have been listed for the disbanding.
Meanwhile, in an engagement with the members of the Coop last Friday, Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton said that this move is not about accountability and transparency as is claimed by the Ministry of Labour, but about political control.
“This is not about accountability and transparency, but this is about political control; to ensure domination and control. They want to remove the subsidies so that they can do as they like with Linden, to put them under pressure so that they can become more dependent on them,” he claimed.
Some members who turned up to the meeting said they are pleased with the way the management committee is managing the affairs of LUSCSL, despite some limitations. Some expressed their concern that only one member of the management committee has been placed on the IMC and alleged that this is because of his political affiliation.
Secretary of the dissolved committee, Ms. Esme Yangapatty, who worked at the LUSCSL for over 20 years before joining the committee, said the committee is aware of the areas in which it fell short, and revealed that efforts were being made to put the records in order to take to membership. “Somehow we were doing it, even though the cost of electricity hardware and services have been inflated,” said Yangapatty. She said too that the committee has been working together as a team, paying over 50 workers and raising their salaries with a five percent Christmas bonus yearly. “We ain’t no thief, thief man couldn’t get lights running all the time,” she continued.
Countering Norton claims was Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, who said the electricity subsidy will not be removed. Government, he revealed currently expends $2.3B and $500M to subsidise electricity for the town of Linden and the Upper-Berbice community of Kwakwani respectively. “The most recent of such is his peddling of the lie that the PPP/C Government plans to remove the electricity subsidy from Region 10. This is totally untrue as the government has no such plans. Jagdeo also revealed Guyanese should therefore not fall prey to Norton’s attempt to mislead and cause panic,” the Vice-President urged.
At his recent outreach to Linden, VP Jagdeo revealed that a 15 megawatt solar farm will be constructed in the mining town to provide reliable power through renewable energy.
The IMC members are Ms. Renee MacDonald, Mr. Winston Caesar, Mr. Hilton Lyle, Ms. Wanda Richmond, Mr. Courtney Handy, Mr. Leon Greaves and Ms. Latoya Walks.
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Jul 27, 2024
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