Trevor Benn asserts status as Chairman of Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union
The Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union’s Committee of Management attempting to “correct misinformation” on current affairs being circulated in the media, at which time Trevor Benn arrived and contradicting claims they made against him.
Trevor Benn was recently removed as Chairman of the Guyana Public Service Co-operative Credit Union by the Management Committee who passed a no-confidence motion against him.
Notably, Benn has recently been slapped with a number of charges for misconduct in public office and had served as Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) under the former A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration.
Benn, however, questioned the legality of the move and refused to accept it, re-asserting that he is still the Chairman of the management committee.
Benn said, “For me, I have come to accept that doing good in Guyana can get you into trouble. I consider this to be very good trouble – in the words of the late great Senator John Lewis of the United States of America.”
“I remain the chair of the committee.”
He also affirmed that he plans to seek “re-election” for the Chairmanship of the Credit Union at the next election.
Mr. Benn was elected to the post by a landslide vote and the committee does not acknowledge him as chairman. The management committee is also far unable to provide the media with enough information from the Union rules to prove that the process was ordinary and legal.
The committee was also unable to provide a timeline for when they will host the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elections to members of the media present at the briefing.
Meanwhile the contentious ‘former’ chairman also made allegations of financial malpractice and breaches of confidentiality towards multiple unnamed members of the committee.
“I was summoned for a meeting with the Minister of Labour. And, five days before I got the official invite I knew that this meeting was going to happen and what would be discussed.”
“so somebody knew what the minister was going to be discussing”
“We attended that meeting and exactly what I heard is what was discussed”
“All of what I’ve been saying is what I am speculating may have caused the coup d'état”
“During the search for a new location, a committee of management member called me on the phone.”
“The member wanted me to meet with the possible seller of a property on Durban Street. I told him I prefer to meet with him first at the CU to understand what was on offer. We later met at the credit union office. The member then informed me that the seller has a plot of land on Durban Street, and if the member can get the credit union to purchase the land, he will be given $3M.”
“I immediately rebuked the member and brought this to the attention of the manager as well as members of the committee of management.”
He also claimed that the WhatsApp group for the board had become “combative” towards him as he voiced reasons he believes that the board decided to file a no-confidence motion against him.
Notably, as Mr.Benn attempted to speak to the media, members of the Committee of Management aggressively voiced their disapproval and shouted words such as “liar” at him.
The Committee continues to assert that the process was fair and legal and that claims Benn has made in online media sites such as “Sherod Duncan: In the ring”.
The Committee also highlighted some reasons why they made the decision to file the no-confidence motion as opposed to addressing issues with Benn directly or waiting until the next Elections to elect a new Chairman.
Section of press statement from the GPSCCU:
“On April 20, 2022 Mr. Hermanstyne noticed information regarding the credit union was being discussed on a popular online programme which was villainizing members and using derogatory names to describe Directors of the board.
On the said date he posted a message in a WhatsApp group that was created to disseminate information on board matters and is used frequently to inform the board of statutory meetings and other important issues.
The message was seeking to have an emergency meeting sanctioned by the secretary. A quorum voted in favour of the suggestion and the Secretary who is legally authorized to convene such a meeting, recognized that a majority of the Directors wanted the meeting and agreed to the request and therefore she called a meeting on April 21, 2022 in the credit union Board room.
All of the Directors attended the meeting with the exception of Mr. Trevor Benn and the Vice Chairman. Calls were made to their cellular phones and his vice Chairman phone which went unanswered. It was at the said meeting a motion of no confidence was tabled and approved by all ten Directors present.”
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