Coalition accuses Govt. of trying to take over Public Service Credit Union

Sep 02, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The A Partnership for National Unity+ Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) said it is convinced that efforts are afoot by the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) administration to take over the Guyana Public Service Co-operative Credit Union Limited (GPSCCU).

APNU+AFC Parliamentarian, Corretta Mc Donald.

During its weekly Press Conference, held by the Office of the Opposition Leader on Tuesday, APNU+AFC Member of Parliament (MP), Coretta Mc Donald, said that the party has taken note of the attempts made by the PPP/C to “seize control” of the Credit Union. Mc Donald noted that the GPSCCU is one of the country’s largest and most prosperous coop societies, with several hundreds of millions of dollars in assets.

She said too that the GPSCCU has long been a reliable and accessible source of credit for public servants. However, she noted that the recent intensified efforts by the Government to take control of the credit union could not be ignored. In making her point, the Opposition MP alluded to what she said is a clear example of the attempts by the PPP/C to take over the organization which, she said Afro-Guyanese workers mostly depend on and benefit from. She explained that “In April 2021, at the Annual General Meeting, the membership democratically elected a new executive, headed by Trevor Benn who had served with undisputed success as Chair of the Interim Management Committee of the Credit Union from 2018.”

Mc Donald continued: “However, true to form, under the directions of the PPP/C, the acting Chief Cooperatives Development Officer [CCDO], Debbie Persaud, wrote Mr. Benn to ask him to show cause why she should not direct that he be removed as Chair. Mr. Benn received this letter less than one month after he was democratically elected by the highest number of votes anyone has ever received in the history of the Credit Union.”

The APNU+AFC Parliamentarian explained that Benn later took the acting CCDO to court and in July 2022, Chief Justice (CJ) Roxanne George ruled that the CCDO acted irrationally, considered irrelevant matters, and blatantly breached the rules of natural justice. CJ George also granted an Order prohibiting the acting CCDO from proceeding to direct the Credit Union to dismiss Benn as Chairman of the Committee.

However despite having its case thrown out, she said the PPP/C has not given up and has filed an appeal.

According to her, the frenzied efforts by the ruling party to unseat the democratically elected leadership of the Credit Union can only be described as it was by GTUC General Secretary, Lincoln Lewis as, “The cooperative sector where the African economy dominates, is now under siege by Government who rather than work with the coops is using the power of the state to take full control. The cooperative economy is worth approximately $50 billion and represents workers’ assets including money and lands.”

Despite the attempts, Mc Donald said the Opposition is adamant that those being used as elements to destroy the Credit Union can, and must choose a different path, one that promotes political and economic inclusion, equality of opportunity, and social justice. “We call on all Guyanese to resist the PPP’s politics of domination and control,” Mc Donald said. The battle for control of public service credit union has been ongoing with some -members seeking removal of the management. Last May, the continued infighting led to three of the members taking the body’s Management Committee to court over the non-compliance of a petition demanding a special general meeting to iron out matters plaguing the executive.

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