Veecock says accounts for 1995, 1996 completed, ready to hold annual general meeting
The Guyana Public Service Cooperative Credit Union (GPSCCU) wants to hold an annual general meeting but cannot because the Chief Cooperative Development Officer (CCDO) has to give permission but the two are now before the courts over the GPSCCU’s administration.
In an interview, the GPSCCU Chairman, Maurice Veecock told Stabroek News on Tuesday that the 10,000-member credit union wants to hold an AGM because the 1995 and 1996 accounts are now completed and the 1997 accounts are being reviewed by the auditors but the CCDO has to give permission.
He explains that the reason why the CCDO has to give permission is due to the fact that a quarter of the membership makes up the quorum but attendance has never been less than 100 initially and not more than about 400 in the eighties and nineties. Because of this the CCDO has to waive the rules to ensure that AGMs are held.
Veecock claims that contrary to a report carried in last Sunday’s Stabroek that the last AGM was held in May, 1999 when the 1994 accounts were tabled and when he was elected Chairman. He said the report implied that all the wrongs committed were during his term but denied this saying that they were done during the stewardship of the previous chairman, Roy MacArthur. Veecock said he put a stop to a number of improprieties and got rid of a number of staff who were not functioning. He said “it is obvious that I have found out a lot of things in the credit union which I tried to solve and that’s why they want to get rid of me.”
Speaking about the May 31, 2001 order in which, the CCDO, Lilian Miller stated that the members of the committee of management had become incapable of managing the affairs of the society and assumed control of the society as well as appointed a seven-member committee headed by MacArthur, Veecock said “Miller apparently don’t like me because I am finding out the dirtiness that is going on in the credit union. From the time I know Miller, she after me.”
Veecock said that Miller appointed MacArthur, whom he is currently investigating. MacArthur, he said, was not a GPSCCU member as he was delinquent on his loan repayment. “He never paid back his loan. Then you going to appoint that man as chairman. When the man fought the elections, the people throw he out”, he said.
He added that MacArthur has to account for his stewardship as chairman. The accounts for all those years is in a mire. “We can’t get it out”, he said adding that it was during Mac Arthur’s term, 1995-1996, when the GPSCCU building was being constructed and computer was put in a store-room and the data, lost. “It is years now that they are trying to get the 1995 accounts in order”, Veecock said claiming that he called in several computer programmers to help but to no avail.
Veecock said that it was he who found out the `LP case’ in which a loan was approved for a delinquent member and uplifted by the treasurer based on an authorisation. In spite of protests by some of the members on the committee, Veecock said he took it on his own to suspend the treasurer. At the time, he said the man had just been appointed treasurer. “Not he didn’t know. He’s a scamp... the committee said he will pay back the money. He ain’t pay back. I fought them I said he can remain on the committee but can’t hold a position, What he did was totally dishonest.” The committee member could only be removed by the membership at an AGM.
He said he stopped the payment of $600 which committee members used to get to sign cheques, and $1,500 to attend special meetings.
Commenting on the inquiry conducted by retired public servant Claude Muller, Veecock said that he never met the inquirer. Veecock said he told Miller that “every page is erroneous.” Muller’s report, Veecock said, claims he is a “thief” because the report states that in 1998 the sum of $21 million had been withdrawn from the account No. 670-492-2. He said he has no knowledge of the sum being withdrawn and the union never had an account with the number provided. He said that when he took over in June 1999, “this credit union never had a bounce cheque.”
On that occasion, he said that he had been told that three previous members of the committee had gone to the bank to change the signatories and he stopped that. However, they had signed a cheque for $70,000 to hold an AGM in June. He wrote the CCDO about the signing of the cheque for the $70,000 and brought to her attention the report which noted the missing $21 million. “A man can’t write a report to say $21 million missing”, he said and advised her in a letter dated April 23, 2001 to call in the police to investigate.
Stating that the GPSCCU “never had insolvency problems. I always have money. Since I handling it we doing good.”, he said adding that “I put money in fixed deposits in December, January and February. I have to do it. We getting interest for the people. I just transferred $70 million.”
Stating that he has just removed the GPSUU account “with $175 million... I don’t know the exact amount” from the Guyana National Cooperative Bank because it is closing, he said that $70 million was in fixed deposits. He changed bankers, he said because he knows “that when they closing the government does say that they ain’t got money and they might stifle my members money so before they ain’t give me my members money I put it in the bank that is taking over.”
In relation to staff dismissal, Veecock said that on assumption to office he got “rid of all the jokers.” He said there was a delinquency officer, Ivor Cummings and a guard called `Benjamin’ because they doing the association no good. Cummings he said “for donkey years, had been doing nothing. He used to spend all he time in the racing service. He is a waste of time so I had to employ two delinquency officers.” Benjamin’s services were terminated because he felt that he was inadequate and as such took “on a guard service.”
He said that when he took office, he felt that the credit union had a delinquency problem so he employed two persons to look at the delinquency problem. He got a senior retired public servant to supervise them. The first report which was carried in last Sunday’s report, he said, this newspaper got from “from Cummings or Watson, them low class people.”
Veecock said that at present, “we investigating everybody there. Every single person who got delinquent loans and how they are paying. The GPSCCU had to get permission from the CCDO to recoup their loan from their share capital. Some still owe a balance.
All credit unions have delinquency problems, he said noting that it was more evident in MacArthur’s time. To deal with this problem, he said that the GPSCCU sent out letters and had tremendous responses.
In dealing with the issue of interest, he said that the committee took a decision not to charge the interest if the loan was taken several years ago.
Commenting on Edward Hardy’s position on the management committee after his services were terminated, Veecock said that Hardy was the only person in the union who did the accounts from 1987 to the present time. He said that Hardy was employed in 1992 and had to update the accounts from 1987 to 1992. The Credit union’s accounts were always late “so if you telling me we behind time... we always behind time”, he said.
Hardy was fired, he said because of personality problems he had with MacArthur during the construction of the GPSCCU building. he said the committee took away the supervision of the works MacArthur because “we feel he and the contractor were doing things that were not nice. We couldn’t prove it.” But MacArthur and Hardy “had words over it”, he said “because he was doing things that were unauthorised and was not telling the committee anything. The two had problems. I don’t know what was the problem.”
Based on MacArthur’s recommendation Hardy was sent on leave for three months without pay. Veecock said he voted against it but he was only one man. He accused MacArthur of being “a damn thief... That’s why I was elected as chairman because I told them plain and straight that what he did was wrong. This is why, MacArthur when he went to the elections, he lost bad. He get throw out and Hardy beat he at the elections.”
As to whether people were satisfied with the procedure in obtaining loans, Veecock said the GPSCCU is the only credit union in this country helping black people. In the GDF, the people who get the loans are the top people.” He said that “if I tell you we lend out $36 million every month, you know how many people we helping.”
He said that from March 1, you will see hundreds of people line up for loans, the maximum being $300,000. For the March, he said the GPSCCU will lend out about $45 million. The reason for lending $300,000 is that more people are helped with that amount. Loans must be guaranteed. Refinancing, he said was also available.
The peak periods when loans are sought are during the August holidays, mainly for schools; December for the Christmas and during March.
He said he has never heard any member making complaints. Miller, he said was lying because she wants the credit union. He said he told her at a meeting that she is dishonest, that she lies. He claims that members have not complained to her about being unable to obtain loans. “Not a soul” he said has complained. Again he said it was Cummings and Benjamin carrying tales.
Veecock said the government wants the credit union because it is the only credit union that helps small people. He said you know how many people “we help to survive - to pay house rent, sickness expenses.”
Another reason why Miller wants the credit union he said is because the GPSCCU is “giving the league a lot of money. We are the people who are keeping the league up. So they want to get in to get more money from us.”
Asked about the three injunctions, Veecock said it was a committee’s decision to go to court. He said he told them “not to fight because it is political. Again I don’t know what the lawyer’s doing. He is looking after our interest.” He said that at the end of the month, he said he will be out of office but “no one could manage the affairs of the credit union like me.” The third injunction, now before the Chancellor of the Judiciary is to be heard on February 28.
Veecock did not disclose the sum of delinquent loans outstanding but said “it might be about $80 million.”
Based on the article carried in the newspapers, Veecock said that a lot of people “tell me they going to resign. I tell them don’t resign. They getting rid of me. I wouldn’t resign.”
In relation to open membership, he said that, Miller feels that the GPSCCU was taking members from other places and that it should stick to the traditional public service “which the government is diminishing.” He said that apparently other credit unions were complaining that the GPSCCU was attracting their members. The actual public servants, he said “don’t have money.” He said that it was the membership coming from places like the CARICOM Secretariat, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company, the Bank of Guyana and the University of Guyana among other places that provide the money. He said that even members of the University of Guyana Credit union opt to join the GPSCCU. (Miranda La Rose)