Heeding to the demands of its members, the Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union (GPSCCU) will next month hold a Special General Meeting and Elections to pave way for a new Committee of Management.
GPSCCU issued the noticed on Wednesday (May 18), close to one week after its members petitioned the embattled Committee of Management to convene an emergency meeting within 14 days to discuss among other issues the Motion of No-Confidence against the now ousted Chairman, Trevor Benn.
They have also called for the nine Members who supported the No-Confidence Motion to be removed from Office.
In the notice, GPSCCU said the Special General Meeting is in keeping with Regulation 18 of the Cooperative Societies Regulations, Cap. 88:01.
The Special General Meeting will be held at10:00hrs on June 25, 2022 at the Credit Union’s Hadfield Street Office. During the meeting, complaints by aggrieved members will be heard, and the elections held for a new Committee of Management.
The notice was issued by GPSCCU’s acting Chairman, Patrick Mentore.
The Committee of Management on April 21 successfully moved a No-Confidence Motion against Benn. The move, however, did not win the support of the general members, many of whom signed the petition.
However, in a letter addressed to the Secretary of GPSCCU’s Management Committee, Gillian Pollard, the Chief Cooperative Development Officer (CCDO) Debbie Persaud not only acknowledged the motion purportedly passed on April 21, 2022, but in accordance with Regulations 22 of the Co-operative Societies Act Chapter 88:01, advised that the Management Committee can revoke the powers of the Chairman once there is a loss in confidence or mismanagement.
“As such, the Committee is ADVISED to elect a new Chairman as soon as possible and to notify the department of same. Also, in the interim the Vice Chairman should perform the duties of the Chairman,” a section of the letter dated May 4, 2022 read.
It noted that though Benn is being removed as Chairman, he remains a member of the Management Committee.
At a press conference last Monday, the Management Committee accused Benn of divulging confidential information in the public domain.
In an earlier interview with the Village Voice Newspaper, Benn submitted that the Motion is null, void and of no effect because the correct procedures were not applied.
Further, he submitted that the Chief Cooperative Development Officer was wrong for sanctioning the Motion without carrying out a proper investigation of the allegations against him.
But while Benn said he is unaware of the ‘charges’ against him, he suspects that the motion was as a result of attempts by him to root out corruption from within the Management Committee.
“They are uncomfortable with me because I have been putting checks on spending, and so they are annoyed,” he posited.
