The St. Lucia Teachers’ Credit Cooperative Ltd celebrates forty years of growth and resilience in the midst of existing economic realities.
Indeed, when Jesus began his mission, he chose 12 apostles. However, they were chosen gradually. The first five apostles were Peter, James, John, Andrew and Philip.
Now the mission of the St. Lucia Teachers’ Credit Cooperative Ltd began in a similar manner. The Holy Spirit chose Mr. Robert Augustin, the founding ‘Father’, President, in 1984. Four other apostles were chosen to propagate the mission as follows: Sylvestre Phillip, Vice President, Francis Suraj, Treasurer and Philbert Francis, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer. These apostles founded the SLTCC, and formed the first Board of Directors in 1984.
Now, it was the duty of the initial five board members to call or invite other members to serve, and at the same time conduct the business of the organization until such time that there were sufficient members to conduct other business aspects of the SLTCC.
Indeed, the membership grew by “leaps and bounds” and the work of the SLTCC continued to grow. The organization began to take the proper organizational structure of a credit cooperative: Board of Directors, Credit Committee, Supervisory Committee and several other subcommittees.
Now as we are on the issue of membership, I need to point out that the SLTCC started with less than 0ne hundred members in 1984.Todate, the shareholder membership is 5096.
Now since there were no staff members to conduct the business of the cooperative, officers took turns at conducting the business of the organization. Mr. Francis Suraj, the treasurer went around to meet members who needed to do business. Mrs. Jane Augustin, Secretary, now deceased, and Mr. Thomas Boulogne proceeded to Vieux Fort on the fourth Saturday of every month to serve members in the South.
Indeed, in the meantime, other officers took turns at volunteering their time on a weekly basis to conduct the business of the organization.
The SLTCC prides itself in having a staff complement of 20 persons. What a magnificent shift or growth in performance!
What is the Vision of the SLTCC? The SLTCC is” A dynamic financial Institution delivering valued products and services to members and developing the capacity to cope with the demands of a modern co-operative movement.”
We come now to the Mission Statement of the SLTCC. “The SLTCC will provide quality products and services to members, encourage member participation in planned activities and together promote the growth and development of the society.”
The most meaningful service provided to its members is the availability of loans.
The SLTCC offered its first loan to members of $250 in 1985. The member needed to have a similar amount of $250 on shares in the society. That service was well utilized by the members which enabled the society to grow. This is reflected in the fact that members in 2024, have access to the amount of $800,000 per member in loans. What a fantastic turn of event! This also explains why the SLTCC celebrates forty years of growth and resilience: And the journey continues.
Now let me track the development and growth of the SLTCC from 1985 to present.
Let us take a close look at the balance sheet as at 31st December, 1985:
Capital Employed
Members shares: $31,345.00
Mem. Deposits: $19,145.53 Excess for the year: $416.03
Accounts payable: $200.00
Total: $42,101.56.
Represented by
Loans ………….$10,108.00
Receivable (Gov’t) $7335.00
Bank Account: $24,482.61
Cash in hand: $95.95
Total: $42,101.56
Now let us look the Income and Expenditure Statement for year ended 31st December, 1985:
Income
Interest on Loans $179.37
Interest on Investment $39.91
Entrance Fees $410.00
Total $629.28
Expenses
Office Expenses $4.30
Stationery $263.05
Total $276.35
Excess Income $361.93
Indeed, we need to compare the 1985 Financial Statements with that of the 37th Annual General Meeting of 2022. The following are items from the balance sheet for Year Ending 2021.
Members Shares $9,816,009
SSSA Shares $49,080,045
Mem.Deposits $11,177,615
Loans to mem. $61,800,290
In the interest of space, I have highlighted the areas which clearly shows the major service to the members and members participation in the SLTCC as evidence of growth and resilience.
Now, other services that are available to members are:
Medical Insurance Scheme, Funeral Indemnity Plan (FIP), Education Assistance Scheme, Insurance Protection on Loans, to name a few.
Indeed, as a direct result of members involvement and participation of members in their cooperative, the SLTCC has recently been able to move from their building on Chaussee and Riverside roads to a new and spanking building in the centre of the city.
Now the Annual General Meeting has been held in the Jaycees Office in 1985, to R.C. Boys Infant School, Gros Islet Primary School, the Babonneau Primary School, Soufriere Girls’ Primary, the Stadium in Vieux, and several other venues. The SLTCC has also utilised private organizations as venues.
In conclusion, I wish to commend the current board and management, officers and staff, officers and staff that have continued the legacy of growth and resilience.