Dear Editor,
As much as it pains me to be enmeshed in the acrimonious environment attending the petition of the members of the GPSCCU for a Special General Meeting, I consider it my duty to address the false narrative perpetuated by Ms. Karen VanSluytman-Corbin on Friday February 2, 2024, on Channel 101.1. I therefore refer to my notes of the statutory meeting of the Committee of Management (COM) on December 20, 2023, for as near an accurate version of what transpired when I attempted to have a discussion on arrangements to hold the SGM on February 5, 2024, as ordered by High Court Judge, the Honourable Mr. Justice Navindra Singh
Under the heading of “Any Other Business” I asked and received the permission of the Chair, Ms. VanSluytman-Corbin, to read a correspondence dated December 19, 2023, addressed to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), related to certain prerequisites for the SGM. One member, Ms O. Saskia Eastman-Onwuzirike stated that the COM needs the Court Order to be guided and that the CEO is not authorized to carry out any instructions outlined in the correspondence in the absence of a Court Order. Mr Jermain Hermanstyne was adamant that he did not accept the letter which I read, and insisted that any correspondence should be addressed to the COM for consideration. Mr. Arthur Gibbs advised that I use the correct channel to bring information to the board. The Chairperson stated that what I had read would not be recorded because the letter was not addressed or sent to the COM. The COM using its built-in majority decided that there will be no discussion on the SGM until the court order was received.
At 09:30 hours on December 22, 2023, I delivered a letter to the CEO, addressed to the Chairperson, in which I repeated all of the operational preconditions in preparation of the SGM, and enclosed therein a copy of the court order. Conscious of the time constraints, I requested on behalf of the three court-appointed committee members, a response from the Chairperson. None was forthcoming! All of the foregoing sets out to prove that at all material times I sought to engage the COM on the matter of the SGM.
Editor, this has been the attitude of the COM for going on two years, and the will of the general membership is being trampled on. In this regard, a few things are worthy of note: 1) the COM by a majority of nine, remains inflexible in its stance that no SGM will be held regardless of two court orders to that effect; 2) the respondents (COM) through their attorneys, sought to have a date way beyond the February 5, 2024 date set by Hon. Mr. Justice Singh, but give no plausible reason for so doing; 3) all parties responded in the affirmative to the judge’s question as to whether his orders were clear 4) the CEO who is in charge of the operations of the GPSCCU, was very present in court when the Hon. Mr. Justice Singh made his ruling, as were two of the three respondents in the persons of Ruth Howard, and Gillian Pollard, as well as a battery of five attorneys, including Ms. Leslyn Noble who is also a committee member; 5) bereft of vision the Committee of Management’s only recourse is character assassination and a flagrant disregard for facts. It is way past time for the members’ refrain to be shouted “Enough is enough.”
Faithfully!
Patrick E. Mentore
Vice-Chair, GPSCCU
