Selby Dora re-elected chairman of Seychelles Credit Union |18 April 2016

Members of the Seychelles Credit Union (SCU) present at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Saturday afternoon, re-elected Selby Dora for a 3rd three-year mandate as the chairman of the cooperative’s board.

During the same meeting members also elected other members to serve on the board as well as on the SCU supervisory committee.   

The SCU which held its annual general meeting (AGM) at the end of September last year, was unable to hold an election of its board and supervisory committee members because in line with recent amendments by the National Assembly to the Credit Union Act, the Central Bank of Seychelles as the financial regulatory authority had not yet completed a review of and vetted a list of potential candidates  aspiring to fill those positions.

The other members of the board include Bernard Elizabeth, Brian Julie, Emile Esparon, Divino Sabino. Three persons were also vetted for the supervisory committee and they are Patrick Bonnelame, Patrick Pierre and Nicholas Woodcock.

Following the election of the chairman and other board members, a meeting will soon be held for it to choose its vice-chairman, treasurer and secretary. Patrick Pierre not being present for the meeting, members approved the two other members for the supervisory committee.

Expressing their disappointment with lack of gender equality and balance among the members approved, the chief executive of the SCU Ingrid Sinon explained that there were 26 potential candidates at the start of selection process which is a very complicated one where they needed to submit a lot of information including personal details. She added that as a result, many of the candidates, among them several women, decided to pull out.

Amendment to the Credit Union Act followed a break-in at the cooperative a couple of years ago during which a large sum of money went missing.

Speaking after receiving members endorsement for another mandate on Saturday, Mr Dora said with his team of dedicated professionals he will continue to ensure they work to meet members’ expectations.

‘’We will work to ensure SCU remains relevant, build on its achievements, attract more new members and we are confident that we will continue to deliver on promises made to members and these include introducing ATM services,” Mr Dora said.

He added that this is in its last stage of being finalised. New initiatives in terms of loans to satisfy members and encourage new members to join the cooperative are also being introduced.

In spite of all its financial woes over the years, the cooperative has maintained its popularity and continue to attract new members.

Mr Dora said the cooperative has well over 10,000 members and this continues to increase and more young people are also joining.

‘’This shows that the SCU has a great legacy which continues to be passed on by family members and I also believe because the quality of our products are not necessarily the same as those offered by other banks makes the SCU, in spite of everything, still strong, relevant and a financial institution of choice for many  people and this is something we want to maintain,” Mr Dora stressed.