Members allege irregularities as TTRCS elects new pres

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Despite objections from senior members of the T&T Red Cross Society (TTRCS), Anne-Marie Quammie-Alleyne has been elected the organisation’s new president. Calls to Quammie-Alleyne for comment went unanswered before press time.

Outgoing president Jill de Bourg, who has served since 2018, announced earlier this week that she would not seek re-election. While many members welcomed the end of her tenure, questions arose over the TTRCS constitution, which bars any president or executive member who has served two consecutive terms (six years) from contesting another term until a three-year lapse has passed.

Members allege that the elections, held yesterday at Hillview College, El Dorado, were flawed and lacked transparency. Attempts to raise points of order were reportedly rejected, and members were instructed to submit queries in writing.

Some members only learned of the nominees on election day and questioned the selection process. Names reportedly on the ballot included Edward Moodie for Vice President and Solange Devenish as Secretary, while positions for Treasurer and Medical Director remained vacant. Quammie-Alleyne was also listed as a nominee for Vice President and International Relations Officer.

The media was barred from entering the compound, but several members expressed frustration with the process.

“From the time I reached the bus route, I wanted to turn back,” one member said.

A representative from the now inactive North Branch, who has served in the TTRCS for 15 years, criticised de Bourg’s leadership.

“She wants to be a one-person ‘me,’ not ‘we’ or ‘us.’ Everything she did was ‘I.’ We had a Welfare Department—she closed it without reason. Questions went unanswered, emails ignored by the executive,” she said.

She also described being denied participation in the election process despite attempting to register multiple times.

“I have been giving my all to Red Cross, and to see that you don’t care about the people doing the volunteering, it hurts. Volunteering is for everybody,” she added.

Guardian Media sent questions about the election process to the TTRCS but received no response before press time.

Concerns over the organisation’s governance are not new. In December 2024, an International Federation of the Red Cross report concluded that the TTRCS is not functioning properly and faces serious management, financial, and governance challenges. The month prior, the Government suspended the society’s $730,000 annual subvention due to outstanding audits.