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AFC calls for acquitted NBS managers to be compensated
The Alliance For Change (AFC) has come out in support of the senior managers of the New Building
AFC Executive Member, Gerhard Ramsaroop
Society (NBS) who were recently acquitted of charges of conspiracy to defraud.
In June 2007, the then Director/Secretary/CEO, Maurice Arjoon; Operations Manager, Kent Vincent and Mortgage Manager, Kissoon Baldeo were charged.
According to AFC Executive Member, Gerhard Ramsaroop, it is almost five years and the three accused have not been paid monies due, including the pension for the CEO, to which he has contributed for 30 years. It is therefore evident that an investigation is urgently needed.
He explained that the party is of the firm view that it should not live in a country where laws are blatantly broken and the victim must resort to the courts to prove his/her innocence, which can then take years.
“Staff, in support of the three men, soon after signed a petition confirming that the following day the Chairman of NBS said to them, ‘I know that none of these gentlemen did not benefit from a penny; I looked at the Principles of Accounts (POA) and having 41yrs of service, I could not detect that it was fake. Up to now the police don’t know nor do we know if this document was forged. We know that they are innocent but the matter is now in court so we have to wait’,” Ramsaroop said.
He explained that the NBS Board of Directors did not wait, and the services of the three officers were terminated shortly after. Further, despite the statement by the Chairman, Directors of NBS later held press conferences implying the guilt of these men, with one even stating “the Perpetrators were handed over to the Police.”
Ramsaroop said, former Director David Yhann, publicly confirmed that at no time did the NBS Board contemplate that the three men were criminally or otherwise involved in the fraudulent withdrawal of funds from a member’s account.
He explained that the AFC has noted that soon after the men were charged, they wrote to the Minister of Finance, Attorney General and Cabinet Secretary to have the matter investigated, with information provided on how their innocence can be proven.
“We have been informed also that the Bank of Guyana and the External Auditors of NBS may have conducted investigations indicating that the three men were innocent,” Ramsaroop told members of the media recently.
In 2008 two Directors, Leon Rockcliffe and David Yhann, wrote to the media reaffirming their resignations and their wish not to be associated with NBS board decisions, which they felt could cause harm to the good name and reputation of the NBS.
“They asked that their resignations should also be seen as a protest against the direction in which some Directors appear bent on taking the New Building Society, one which they feel will ultimately not serve the best interests of the members and Guyana as a whole.”
In July 2010, Amendments to the NBS Act was forced through the National Assembly, changing the maximum 100 members ( required to apply to the Minister to inspect the books and examine into and report on the affairs of the NBS if they felt it was necessary) to approximately 10,000, a virtually impossible feat. The AFCs Khemraj Ramjattan had felt that the Bill was aimed at “empowering and entrenching” the board members who were close friends of the administration. He had noted that while the AFC supported a majority of the proposed amendments, there were some which were a “degradation of good governance” and were aimed at “outfoxing” certain persons. He said too that this did not reflect transparency.
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