PEOPLE’S National Congress Reform (PNC/R) Member and Parliamentarian, Coretta McDonald, was elected the new President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) during the union’s triennial elections and ballot counting exercise at the Headquarters of the GTU, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.

Based on the ballot count, Mariska Williams is the First Vice President; Karl Vanier Second Vice President; Collis Nicholson, General Secretary; Heathcliff Peters, Deputy General Secretary; Rarlene Phillips, Treasurer; Mehalai McAlmonth, Regional Vice President- Berbice; Regional Vice President- Demerara, Randy Mingo; Regional Vice President- Essequibo, Thakurdeen Durga.

McDonald had recently faced accusations of holding her previous position of GTU General Secretary in contravention of the union’s rule book, which is essentially the constitution of the union.

Concerns were also previously raised about the way the union was being managed.

It was reported that approximately $2 billion collected from teachers by the GTU was unaccounted for, according to the Auditor General’s Office.

The Auditor General’s Office had issued a statement, saying: “The last Financial Statement submitted by the Guyana Teachers’ Union to the Audit Office of Guyana for audit was 1989.”

Notably, the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority had also issued a statement, which revealed that the GTU last filed its financial returns 20 years ago.

According to a brief statement from the registry, it received queries from the media about the audited financial statements of the GTU, and upon examining the records, it found that “Annual Returns required by Section 35 of the Trade Unions Act, Cap. 98:03 to be filed annually by registered trade unions was last filed by the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) for the Year ending 31st of December, 2004 on the 31st of March, 2005.”

Under this Act, unions are required to submit a “general statement of the receipts, funds, effects, and expenditure to the Registrar before the 1st May in every year, and shall show fully its assets and liabilities at the date…”

The Act states that every trade union which “fails to comply with or acts in contravention of this section, and also every officer of the union so failing, shall each be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of seventy-five dollars for each offence.”

Owing to concerns over financial management, the government had stopped automatic deductions of union dues from the salaries of teachers.