An investigation will be launched into allegations by the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) that the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Union’s credit union has been spending large sums of money without proper authorisation.
This was revealed by President of the GPSU, Patrick Yarde last evening at a meeting with members of the Union to apprise them of the situation with their Credit Union.
In July, Yarde had told the media at a press conference that they had written President David Granger to launch a Board of Inquiry (BoI) after they received information about irregular spending by the IMC.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Yarde said that they had received communication from Granger on Tuesday stating that an investigation will be launched.
Yarde said the response from Granger pointed out that he acknowledged the letter detailing the series of allegations about the IMC making decisions without proper consultations. As a result, an investigation will be launched.
He also added that Granger said the letter was also forward to Minister of the Public Service, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, who will then respond to them. The letter was also shown to the members at the meeting.
“We are very encouraged with his response. I was very encouraged with his response and we have communicated back to him that we will fully cooperate with his inquiry into having this matter solved,” Yarde said, while noting that it appears as if Granger recognises the seriousness of the accusations.
Yarde also told the meeting they have found more situations with members as the credit union that are “insensitive and cruel.”
He said that while under the Elected Management Committee (EMC), members of the credit union were offered four waivers annually to repay their loans, the IMC has since ended such a payment system and members are now required to pay the full amount in 12 months.
“Members also want to leave. Over 400 have left but many more want to leave but they can’t. They were told that the people who they guaranteed, which is a reasonable position, has to pay off their loans and then they can leave. A member also said here today that she got over $200,000 saved and she doesn’t want a loan, she just wants to reduce her savings by $12,000 to buy school clothing for her kids and they refused to give that money out,” he said.
Yarde added that it was clear that persons who wanted to get loans from the credit union were “digging a hole to fill a hole.”
The meeting was called to inform the members of the ongoing tussle between the Union and the credit union. However, the GPSU found last night that not many of their members were properly apprised of what has been going on and as a result, they will be launching an awareness and updating campaign around the country.
He said that they will also be consulting their lawyers to review the judgments of the cases they would have lost.
“We are in consultation with our lawyers reviewing all of the court decisions, which in our view seem not to be in the interest of correcting what is irregular. We [Executive Committee] are meeting tomorrow and there is a report that should reach us and we will proceed with legal action right through if it has to go to the CCJ [Caribbean Court of Justice],” he said. Yarde had said that a number of contracts have been awarded to companies and individuals without going through the proper procurement procedures, including the award of a contract in excess of $10 million for construction work.
That, he had said, could only be approved by an Annual General Meeting (AGM) decision. He also pointed out that the AGM had set a $1 million limit on spending and anything over that had to be approved by the AGM.
Another contract worth US$25,000 ($5.2 million) was also reportedly awarded for human resources activity, which, he said, is ridiculous.
Yarde had also highlighted that a $2 million contract was awarded for air conditioning, a $2.5 million contract was awarded for a telephone system and a contract worth $1.6 million was awarded for reviewing the security systems.
He had also noted that the employment cost moved from $3.8 million in May last year to $6.9 million in April this year and that 400 members had also resigned, withdrawing over $38 million of savings.
Last night he also noted that new information has shown that the IMC has spent over $800,000 for an outreach in Essequibo, and normally they would only spend $80,000 for such an exercise.
