Hindu Parivaar Credit Union Co-operative Society Ltd held its 3rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday 26th March 2022 at its headquarters located at #779 Papourie Road, Barrackpore.
The meeting was attended by two officers of the Cooperative Division of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. In addition to sitting through the meeting and ensuring the smooth running of the meeting, their main role was the conducting of elections to ensure that officers are democratically elected.
Observing Covid protocols, the members present proceeded with the affairs of the credit union. After the singing of the national anthem and the opening prayer, the minutes of the 2nd AGM was read and adopted. Following the reading and adoption of the Board of Directors’ Report, Auditors’ Report, Treasurer’s Report, Supervisory Report, Credit Committee Report, and Education Report, the AGM proceeded to the election of officers to serve in the Supervisory Committee, Credit Committee, and Board of Directors.
The following were elected to the Supervisory Committee: Sieupersaad Motilal, Krishna Sirju, and Rookmin Sookdeo; to the Credit Committee Ramcharran Motilal, Gowtam Maharaj and Kevin Sinanan and Sudarshan Motilal, Rajnarine Sookdeo, Sunil Ramdass and Lalchan Dookie to the Board of Directors.
The officers of the Cooperative Division were pleased with the democratic manner in which the AGM was conducted and in particular the election of officers to serve the management of the credit union.
Ramcharan Motilal is happy that “the Credit Union is successfully meeting all its needs- requirements of the FIU-Financial Investigation Union, monthly statutory meetings and all the obligations to conduct its AGMs. To put it in a nutshell, the credit has successfully moved from the docks to the open sea, always mindful of threats and looking ahead for the unseen icebergs.”
Gowtam Maharaj said that ‘the credit union is needed now more than ever as traditional banking institutions are failing to reach out to the needs of the marginalized in the society. The growth in financial technology has placed small people at a disadvantage … a credit union is more small man-oriented with less rigid requirement to access loans.”
The unfortunate experience among Hindus with credit unions still lingers on. However, the determination of the Hindu Parivaar Credit Union to work diligently and democratically would certainly rebuild trust in the community with relation to public finances in the long run. The Hindu Parivaar Credit Union is an opportunity for Hindus to prove to themselves that more than falling flat on one face, is to pick up oneself and continue the journey.
With the astute leadership of Lalchan Dookie, Gowtam Maharaj, Ramcharan Motilal, Rajnarine Sookdeo, and others, I can see a bright future ahead for Hindu Parivaar Credit Union.
By Dool Hanomansingh
