[ad_1]
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC): The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) confirmed on Sunday that it has completed “internal administrative procedures” involving its President, Dr. Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon, and that he “is no longer in office as the President of the Bank.”
The CDB said in a four-paragraph statement that Deputy Governor Isaac Solomon will continue to exercise the powers of the governor until a new governor is elected.
The company said the election process for a new president has begun and the board has been invited to submit nominations for the position by August 26.
“The election process is expected to be concluded in October 2024,” the statement added.
In April, Saint Lucian-born economist Leon tendered his resignation from the regional financial institution “with immediate effect” after his lawyers wrote to the bank saying he felt “he would never be treated fairly” since being suspended in January.
“It is clear that the bank has lost all trust and confidence in our customers as a result of the board’s failure to prevent the bank from continuing to violate its charter, policies, rules and regulations regarding its elected president.
“As a result, our client has made the extremely difficult decision to resign immediately from his elected position as bank president,” the lawyer said.
They asked CDB to “negotiate an amicable separation” by May 4 and said their letter should be considered “our client’s pre-action agreement” regarding the entire situation.
In the April 21 letter, Leon’s lawyers said they would file suit in the courts of Barbados — “or any other more appropriate jurisdiction” — to preserve Leon’s legal and constitutional rights.
In January, it was revealed that Leon would be suspended until April this year due to “ongoing administrative proceedings” at the financial institution.
The CDB has remained silent on the background of the decision to place the former senior IMF official on administrative leave.
In February, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who was attending the Caribbean Community Summit in Guyana, said there were concerns about the way Leon was placed on administrative leave.
“At some point we have to address the process and the fact that subordinates within an institution can take disciplinary action against their superiors without even consulting with the bank’s directors or president,” Brown said.
In May, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Finance Minister Camilo Gonsalves called on other CDB presidents to stop “subjecting” the financial institution to “further ridicule and undoubtedly more lawsuits” and to start with the “resignation” of the previous president.
In a speech to the country’s parliament in May, Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philippe J. Pierre attributed Leon’s removal to a “conspiracy.” “I want to place on record Saint Lucia’s full support for Jean Leon’s work at the Caribbean Development Bank and to deplore the conspiracy,” he said. “I will be frank about this. This is not an act against anyone personally, nor against any function of the bank. It was a conspiracy that led to Jean Leon’s resignation.”
Leon is the sixth President of the China Development Bank. He was elected at the special meeting of the Board of Directors of the China Development Bank held on January 19, 2021 for a term of five years and took office on May 4, 2021.
He succeeds Jamaican-born Dr. Warren Smith, who retired in 2021 after 10 years as president.
[ad_2]
Source link
