The police are not managers of the Police Wives Assoc- Exec. Member

Jun 23, 2014 News

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Members of the Guyana Police Wives Association say they are not surprised that the Police Administration has withdrawn its support for their organization.
The members say that the move was expected ever since the current Acting Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud took over.
The Police Force last week formally announced its withdrawal of support for the police wives association which has been in existence for the past 61 years, citing what it described as disrespect for one of its senior officers, by the group’s executive.
But the Police Wives Association, while dismissing the allegations of the police, is convinced that the current rift between the police and the organization has its origin in a much more sinister plan which is to destroy the organization all together.
The Force has locked out the members from their customary meeting place at Eve Leary, preventing them access to the Association’s possessions which are housed there.
The lockout has also forced the PWA to temporarily suspend a weekly youth outreach programme.
However, the PWA members have vowed to continue their work even if it means finding another building outside of Police Headquarters.
Speaking with this newspaper last week following the police’s withdrawal of support, group members said that since Mr Persaud took over the reigns of the Force, they have received absolutely no support from the police.
“What we got was a lock out of the building…and now the police are telling lies, a whole lot of lies,” one member stated.
The members said that they found it strange that the present Acting Commissioner’s wife has not responded to their request to become the organisation’s Patron, following the departure of the previous patron, Grace Brumell.
“Mrs Persaud is the first Commissioner of Police’s wife who has not accepted an invitation to become the patron of the Police Wives Association,” the executive member observed.
The PWA member refuted claims by the Police Force that the Executive Committee of the Police Wives’ Association consisted of persons among whom were not the wives of serving, retired or deceased members of the Police Force.
The Force had also claimed that there are persons on the Executive Committee of the PWA who ought not to have been members of the Police Wives’ Association in the first place, and therefore their presence on the Executive Committee is in breach of the Constitution.
But according to the PWA, the Police Force appears to be ignorant of the constitution of the PWA, which the police themselves illegally implemented under the late Commissioner Henry Greene.
“The constitution states that individual women, (not the wives of serving, retired or deceased members of the Police Force), registered before January 2009 will remain as members of the association. These women have been with us for over 20 to 30 years, so how can we just kick them out?” the PWA member explained.
The member went on to state that the current PWA executive only has two persons who fit into this category.
“Apart from these two, we have about three policewomen, three whose husbands have retired and one whose husband is still serving. Tell me where we are going wrong,” the member explained.
It is felt by the Force that the current composition of the Executive Body does not allow for the interests of the Force to be represented or advanced, regarding its objectives.
But according to the PWA executive member, the Police Force’s Administration is stepping out of its boundaries since it has no jurisdiction over the Police Wives Association which is registered under the Friendly Societies Act.
She produced a letter written by the Association’s Past President, which stated that “while there is a Welfare Officer/Liaison Officer, the police are not managers of the Guyana Police Wives Association.”
The Force had also stated that following consultation with the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, it was revealed that the Association has not met its legal requirements under the Act since 2007, in that audited financial statements have not been submitted.
However, the PWA stated that this is a total untruth.
The executive member explained that the last audit was done in 2008 when the duly elected executive body was in operation.
She explained that following the illegal taking over of the body by policewomen between 2009-2012 under Henry Greene, there was no audit.
“It was the police women themselves who did not have the finances audited when they unceremoniously took over the association. When the rightfully elected executive body was returned last year, they have taken steps to have the finances audited.”
In addressing the holding of elections, the member said that the constitution states that the process must be held every two years and since elections were held last year, the next one is due next year.
The PWA has solicited the services of an attorney to fight its cause.

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