Dear Editor,
Mehalai McAlmont et al, applicants of the case brought against the members of the Committee of Management (CoM), Guyana Public Service Credit Union Ltd (GPSCCUL) have observed the shenanigans being orchestrated by the CoM with tactical support coming from the Chief Cooperatives Development Officer (CCDO) and wish to state the following:
The applicants approached the court in July of 2022, via Court Action No. 2022-HC-DEM-CIV-FDA-797, requesting an order that the CoM hold a Special General Meeting (SGM) under certain conditions. On September 30th 2022, the Hon. Justice Singh agreed with the applicants and ordered that the SGM be held no later than October 24, 2022, under certain specific conditions, including the utilizing of the same mechanism used to conduct the GPSCCU’s 2021 AGM.
The CoM did not comply with the September 30th ruling of the Judge, resulting in contempt proceedings.
On July 25, 2023, more than nine months after the Hon. Justice Singh made his first orders, the court sat to hear the contempt motion. Stating that none of his orders were carried out by the CoM the judge ordered that Gillian Pollard; Ruth Howard, and Karen Vansluytman-Corbin be removed from their positions and not be allowed to conduct any business on behalf of the Credit Union. At that sitting, none of the three Respondents appeared in Court and in an effort to give effect to the September 30, 2022, orders, the judge further ordered that Patrick Mentore, Rajdai Jaggarnath, and Trevor Benn be appointed to manage the affairs of the Credit Union.
At a meeting held on Friday in the boardroom of the Ministry of Labour. The CCDO sought to alter the judge’s order by removing certain members appointed by the court from performing executive functions. It is our understanding that the CCDO further instructed the CoM to cancel all arrangements for the holding of the court-ordered SGM and bring an end to the audit recently instituted by the court-appointed members of the CoM.
We are appalled and disappointed by the press release from the Department of Cooperatives. For us it is in defiance of the July 25, 2023, court order, and an attempt to thwart the will of the general membership of the GPSCCU. It is our view the Department of Cooperatives aided by the Guyana Credit Union League has taken sides with the CoM, in an apparent move to ignore the order of the court and the express wishes of over two thousand members of the Credit Union who signed the petition that led to the court action.
We see this act as a violation of the September 30, 2022 Orders of Court which remains valid and in effect, and a serious attempt to evade complying with the wishes of the members as contained in a court-validated petition. We believe that the Ministry of Labour through its Department of Cooperatives is providing succour to the Committee of Management who are actively pursuing an agenda of entrenching themselves in that body, and benefitting to the detriment of the vast majority of public servants who are members.
Furthermore, we feel that the Department of Cooperatives has shown by its actions and utterances that it cannot be trusted to be an impartial arbiter, and ought not to be involved in a matter that is engaging the court’s attention.
This view is supported by the instructions given by the CCDO to the CoM to revoke the Notice of the Special General Meeting which Mr. Mentore as acting Chair caused to be legally published in the media. Additionally, we were told that instructions were passed to retrieve all financial documents which are being audited in an effort to derail the audit that was ordered by the court-appointed persons. We are deeply saddened that the membership of the Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union will continue to suffer if this issue is not quickly resolved.
We trust that good sense and justice will prevail.
Yours faithfully,
Mehalai McAlmont
On behalf of the Applicants
