Public Service Coop Credit Union faction refuses to hand over election figures to govt

Last Updated on Monday, 18 March 2024, 19:37 by Denis Chabrol

Member of the Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union (GPSCCU), Patrick Mentore has refused to immediately hand over specific figures and other information about the Special General Meeting (SGM) of that financial institution, instead saying that the matter is still before the High Court.

“Relative to the requested information, we are prepared to provide same, but have been advised by our Attorneys-at-law that all matters relative to the SGM are currently under the jurisdiction of the Court, and it would be contemptuous for any third party to seek to intervene at this stage. We are advised to await further instructions or the ruling of the Court,” Mr Mentore told Chief Co-operatives Development Officer (CCDO), Janaknauth Panchu in a letter dated March 14, 2024.

That was in response to the CCDO’s letter dated March 4, 2024 in which he requested Mr Mentore to provide a list of persons who attended the Special General Meeting virtually and physically, list of persons who voted in the election, and confirm that the credit union has 25,385 members.

Up to late Monday, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton said the CCDO maintained that Mr Mentore had not submitted any names,  and that he was writing a letter to the privately-owned independent Stabroek News newspaper debunking that GPSCCU member’s claim. When contacted, Mr Mentore said the newspaper’s reporter misquoted him.  At the weekend, Mr Hamilton said the CCDO had reiterated in a second letter that Mr Mentore and his 11 other members “must refrain from installing themselves.”

When asked on Saturday whether information about the elections was provided to the CCDO, Mr Mentore said, “I cannot confirm or deny that.”

Reacting to Mr Panchu’s previous position that the members must refrain from assuming duties of the Committee of Management or transact any business whatsoever on behalf of the GPSCCU, Mr Mentore on March 15, 2024 told the head of the cooperative societies’ regulatory authority that they have complied with that request.  “Out of due deference to your good office, we have not transacted any business on behalf of the Credit Union, nor have we assumed any physical office of the Society. This is notwithstanding that our election to those offices took effect before we received your correspondence,” he said.

Mr Mentore at the weekend said the installation of the 12-member Committee of Management based on the March 2, 2024 election “will be determined in the coming days.”

The controversy over the GPSCCU stemmed from a formal complaint by Ms Karen Van Sluytman-Corbin that the Special General Members Meeting breached the Cooperative Societies Act 88:01 because  Mr Mentore, who chaired the proceedings, had failed to announce the quorum.

On the day of the election, Mr Mentore had said that at least eight or nine requests for the register of members had been made to the Van Sluytman-Corbin-led Committee of Management but none was provided. Further, Mr Mentore had said that the 25,000 odd members had included “dead, delinquent and dormant members.”

By the calculation of the Van-Sluytman-Corbin-led faction, there should have at least been 6,538 members present at the meeting to make up a quorum rather than 1,907 participants in-person and Online.

Of the 1907 votes that were cast, the new committee of management members are Trevor Benn (1816), Patrick Mentore (1636), Vanessa Kissoon 1,608, Mehalai Mc Almont (1504), Christopher Thompson (1504), John Anderson (1495), Eslyn Harris, Judah Louisy (1490), Kirk Fraser (1403), Candance Enmore (1255), Rajdai Jagernauth (1251) and Beverley De John (1133).

The SGM had voted to bar Ms Van Sluytman-Corbin and eight other persons from occupying any post on the Committee of Management. They are Gillian Pollard, Ruth Howard, O. Saskia Eastman, Charles Ogle, Jermain Hermanstyne, Leslyn Noble, Michelle David and Arthur Gibbs.