Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 11, 2022 News
…stakeholders demand “free, fair, and transparent electoral process”
Kaieteur News – Five months after members of the Guyana Public Service Co-operative Credit Union (GPSCCU) signed a petition demanding a special general meeting where they were expected to vote out the majority of the agency’s management committee, the organisation has finally issued a notice to host the forum on October 24.
The notice comes after a High Court judge ordered the Committee of Management (COM) to adhere to the members’ demands by issuing a notice in 10 days of the ruling. Once more than 25 credit union members sign a petition, the COM is legally required to have the meeting but had denied the members the opportunity. The special general meeting will be held at the New Central High School on Princes Street, Georgetown on October 24 from 8:00a.m.
Information reaching the Kaieteur News is that while members are happy to finally be getting their hearing, they are very much concerned about the elections being free and fair. They said that based on the notice that was sent out by COM, it is clear that body is not working in the best interest of the members. The source said that first the notice failed to provide specific information relating to the meeting. The newspaper was told that the notice is in contravention to the credit union rule that speaks to stating the purpose of the meeting and wide circulation. Yesterday’s notice was published only in the Guyana Chronicle in a small and obscure manner, the source said. The problem with that however, is that part of the credit union rules says that the COM cannot be held responsible if members do not see the notice. The source claimed that the COM deliberately issued the notice on a holiday and in the “…least read newspaper when compared to the prominent notices they (COM) published in all the different newspapers when they wanted to say that the [earlier] members’ Special General Meeting published by Patrick Mentore was not authorised.”
Credit union members are also calling for all mechanisms to be put in place for a free, fair, and transparent electoral process during the Special General Meeting. “We need to be assured that an effective process is in place that allows for the free expression of the will of our members. The COM must endeavour to provide an enabling environment that allows for widest possible participation of the GPSCCU members at this most critical juncture of the credit union’s history.”
The source said that election is supposed to be countrywide, and measures must therefore be put in place earliest. “However, it is not likely to be smooth sailing since there is also considerable concern that attempts may be made to disenfranchise eligible members from voting by not putting in place the mechanisms that were demanded in the members’ petition and ordered by the Court. These include that the meeting be held virtually and in-person in all ten (10) Administrative Regions, utilizing the same mechanism used to conduct the 2021 Annual General Meeting at which the present Committee of Management members were elected, and that the same e-voting service provider be utilised.”
Come October the credit union members will vote for the recall of the GPSCCU COM, hold an election to replace the said COM and recommend that nine of the COM members never serve on the committee again. The petition by the credit union came after the majority of the COM had voted to remove Trevor Benn as chairman claiming that he was not acting accordingly in his post. Without warning and in his absence, Benn called the move a coup d’ etat and sought members support for the special meeting via the petition where he secured the necessary names. The credit union members demanded that Benn be returned as chairman as many praised the massive upgrade at the institution since being posted. They were especially receptive of the mortgage and car loans which came on stream. That facility was stopped when Benn was replaced, but current Chairman, Karen Vansluytman-Corbin told the newspaper that it was paused for annual review.
The COM was taken to court after they failed to host the meeting after the stipulated 14 days of the petition’s signing. In fact, Vice Chairman Patrick Mentore on receiving the members’ demand at the time did issue a notice in all the local dailies. The other faction of COM had issued a notice in similar fashion recalling the earlier notice.
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