…cites underperformance of IMC

THE Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has approached President David Granger to have the Interim Management Committee that is currently overseeing the operations of the Guyana Public Service Co-operative Credit Union (GPSCCU) removed on the grounds that it is under-performing.

At a press conference on Wednesday, GPSU President Patrick Yarde disclosed that the union formally wrote President Granger on Wednesday July 17, 2019, requesting that the Interim Management Committee, which was installed on May 26, 2018, be removed.

GPSCCU’s elected management committee was removed from office on May 26, 2018 and replaced by the Interim Management Committee by the Chief Co-operative Development Officer, Perlina Gifth. The embattled committee was informed of its removal by way of a letter. On Wednesday, Yarde said the Union has not only asked for the Interim Management Committee to be removed but also, for an investigation to be launched into the credit union’s operations by the Ministry of Social Protection. “We would like a board of inquiry to be mounted into the affairs of the Credit Union”, Yarde told reporters.

In justifying this request, Yarde stated that the interim management committee has incurred large unauthorised expenditure. He stated that the guidelines that govern the allocation of monies for contracts, state that the management committee had the power to allocate no more than $1M, and any amount exceeding that must be approved by way of an Annual General Meeting.

He contended that the interim management committee has failed to meet these guideline and has allocated $10M without approval from an Annual General Meeting. Yarde further made alleged that the employment cost during the interim Management Committee’s governance has increased from $3.8M to $6.9M in just one year. These were the circumstances he used to highlight that the interim management committee has been showing clear mismanagement of the funds received from members.

He expressed concerns over the impact these “irresponsible” actions would have on members of the union. “Already, approximately 400 members out of the total 15,000 members have resigned, and are withdrawing savings from the Credit Union of $38M,” Yarde stated.

Yarde contended that the interim management committee has changed the organisational structure of the credit union. He expressed that the interim management committee has no authority to change the internal structure of the organization.

Yarde remains resolute that he is calling for an urgent response from the Ministry of Social Protection, as it relates to launching investigations into the actions of the interim committee. He told reporters that the removal of the elected committee stemmed from its refusal to pay over approximately $50M in audit and supervision fees. The Ministry of Social Protection had ordered the payment but the elected management committee objected. According to the GPSU President, the committee was working well within its limits in its refusal, as there was a prior agreement that the union retained control over that fund and would utilize it when necessary to oversee audits and developments.

Poor management
Meanwhile, it would be recalled that the IMC was imposed at the credit union owing to alleged mismanagement of Yarde and others. The Ministry of Social Protection had said that it was sorely disappointed with the conduct and behaviour of the Committee of Management of the Credit Union which it accused of acting against the interest of its members and against the principles of prudent management styles.

In a statement in July 2017 the ministry’s Department of Labour stated that members of the society who are in excess of 14,000 and had not been paid dividends for several years now because of the society’s inability and in some respects blatant refusal to hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM). An AGM is usually held upon the completion of the Audit of the Accounts of the Society in conformity with the Provisions and Regulations as are contained in the Co-operative Societies Act, Chapter 88:01, of the Laws of Guyana.

“For more than one year now, the Ministry of Social Protection under whose supervision Co-operative Societies fall has been advising the Guyana Public Service Co-operative Credit Union (GPSCCU) on the necessary legal steps to be followed to ensure that the Audit of its accounts were completed so that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) could be held, to facilitate, among other things, the payment well deserved dividends to the members.
On the contrary, the Committee of Management demanded that the Ministry permit the society to continue enjoying a certain unfair advantage which had prevailed in the past, and which had been developed under suspicious circumstances.”

According to the ministry in spite of the several meetings and exchange of correspondences which clearly outlined its position of discontinuance of the unfair advantage to the Guyana Public Service Union Credit Union, its Committee of Management continued to defy the Ministry’s advice and even threatened to institute legal proceedings if the unfair advantage, which, for all intent and purpose was discriminatory, was not allowed to continue.

“In a final attempt to develop an amicable solution to the matter, the Ministry invited the Committee of Management to a meeting scheduled for 1:30 pm on 25th July, 2017. Rather than attending the meeting, the Committee rudely responded to the Ministry’s invitation and suggested that it would attend only when it was convenient to them to do so. That position adopted by the Committee is not only disrespectful but reflective of a desire to enjoy preferential treatment which borders on corruption.”