Credit Union defends No Confidence Motion against Trevor Benn

May 10, 2022 News

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– embattled chairman refuses to step down

By Zena Henry

Kaieteur News – Chairman of the Guyana Public Service Co-operative Credit Union, Trevor Benn is refusing to step down from the post following the passage of a No Confidence Motion less than a week ago. Benn has described his “illegal” removal as a “coup d’état”.

But in defending its move to remove Benn, the credit union’s Management Committee argued that a number of actions by Benn led to the ultimate decision to remove him.
At a press conference, on Monday, venued at the union’s Hadfield Street, Georgetown office, a statement was read by the Committee’s Secretary, Gillian Pollard, which summed up the matter.
It was revealed that Benn was not the only one responsible for the transformation and ideas that have caused significant improvements to occur at the organisation and that despite signing a confidentiality agreement as a committee member, Benn had gone public, including on Facebook, to divulge sensitive information about the financial institution.
According to the committee, Benn had wanted to merge his position as Chairman with the post of Chief Executive Officer of the credit union, a move they claimed would have given him significant powers.
“Many of the Directors refused to accept his proposal based on its illegality and the fact that Chapter 88:01 of the governing Co-op laws does not allow us to do that,” Pollard said. A motion was subsequently presented by the Vice Chairman, Patrick Mentore, to merge the two positions, but again the idea was turned down. That is when the management committee claims that the relationship between the Chairman and other Directors began to “slide”.
The management team has noted, however, that Benn as well as the other Directors were elected to serve on the committee by the union’s membership at the Annual General Meeting last year. “He was not elected chairman at that meeting, but rather, his election to the position of Chairman was done by his fellow Directors in accordance with Rule 43 (a) of the Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union Rules,” it was revealed.

It is under this same rule that the Committee is saying it voted to remove Benn. The Directors said that the removal of Benn did not require consultation with the organisation’s members since Benn’s election to chairman had been done at the level of the Committee. They said that the no-confidence meeting took place on April 21, last, where all the Directors were available. They said calls were made to the phones of Benn and the Vice Chairman, to which there was no answer.
Immediately after the presser, which was held in the credit union’s boardroom, Benn spoke to media operatives in the avenue opposite the building. He rejected any claim that he had gone public with sensitive information about the credit union. He highlighted too that while he is being so accused, other directors have done the same thing.
Benn confirmed his suggestion to merge the chairmanship with the CEO post but clarified that the idea was offered as a temporary one. He said that, at the time, he was dealing with a legal matter involving the Chief Coop Development Officer (CCDO) in relation to his chairmanship so he could not have vacated the chairman position at the time. Benn highlighted that after the Interim Management Committee was replaced by the Board, the position of Officer in Charge became redundant and he “unofficially” performed the role of CEO as well as his substantive post as chairman. After the Committee voted against the merging of the posts, Benn said he withdrew his application since he would have needed to relinquish the chairmanship had he been successful.
Benn went on to mention that decisions at the Board’s statutory meeting, there had been loggerheads among some members, for example, over the cost and location of land to construct a building for the credit union, among other issues. He spoke of a proposal to allow for staff to attend overseas seminars and events rather than Committee members and about ensuring that Committee members make requests for grants in writing after some had sought money for deceased and sick relatives. Benn is alleging, however, that these moves, among others, strained the relationship between him and the other Board members.
Benn stated, however, that he remains the chairman of the committee and he would be discussing with members to determine the best way forward, especially since a statutory meeting of the Committee is scheduled for Saturday. Benn, moreover, has asked credit union members to pay more attention to what is happening at the organisation. “I am encouraging the members to become involved. This is your money and how it is spent, how it is utilised, whatever happens to that money is your responsibility…to be involved,” he said, adding, this is important so that proper representation could be made by people who are looking out for their best interest.

 

 

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