Labour Ministry’s Co-op Department, all co-op societies to be audited
Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton
Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton

GIVEN the lack of transparency and accountability despite the billions of dollars in assets — including cash and land — in the more than 500 co-op societies in Guyana, Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton has said that he will be ordering integrity audits for all co-ops.

He made this disclosure during a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle, during which he explained that the integrity audits will have to come after a forensic audit of his ministry’s co-op department has been completed.

According to him, the cleaning up will have to start in-house.
“I have instructed the Permanent Secretary [Bishram Kuppen] to have a forensic audit look at the ministry’s Co-op Department, because the way I see it, that’s where I have to start. They are the custodians of the clients,” Hamilton told this publication.

He added that: “Coming out of the audit of the co-op department itself, we will move to an integrity audit of all the co-ops. After that, I would be in a better position [to be] advised by independent people on how we move forward and then we would have to make decisions about who lives and who dies, whether it is needed, is it serving or should we dissolve it.”

Hamilton noted that since taking over as Minister of Labour last year August, he has already had need to have a number of Interim Management Committees (IMCs) installed at several co-operative societies across the country, given the level of mismanagement that was happening.

“When I came in, the state of things [was] non-transparency and non-accountability, in large measure. So, we had to take steps with the Chief Co-op Development Officer (CCDO). For those who have been recalcitrant we brought an end to those management committees and we have appointed IMCs,” Hamilton said.

In most cases, IMCs were deemed necessary to be installed after it was discovered that only a few members had taken control of the co-ops’ executive.

“Most of them were not being run in a way that makes the contribution that it should be making to the community and to the nation. And we are talking billions of dollars and tens of thousands of acres of property; and so it was just out there with just a couple people running with it. That I will bring to an end. My position is once you are not serving the purpose for which you were formed then you shouldn’t be around,” Hamilton asserted.

He noted that the aim now is to bring the management of these co-ops to a functional state so that official Annual General Meetings (AGMs) can be held and new executives, elected from the members, can be installed.

Notwithstanding the need to bring in line or end dysfunctional co-op societies in Guyana, the minister emphasised that co-ops play a significant role in society and he still continues to encourage persons, particularly young people, to continue to form co-ops.

A co-operative society is a voluntary association that starts with the aim of the service of its members. It is a form of business whereby individuals join their hands for promotion of their common goals.

In Guyana, co-op societies are governed under the Co-operative Societies Act Chapter 88:01, which is enforced by the Ministry of Labour through the office of the Chief Co-op Development Officer.

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