Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne Wednesday said concerns have been raised about the method used to send the President of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr Hyginus “Gene” Leon, on administrative leave since January.
The CDB has remained mum on the circumstances surrounding the decision to send the St Lucian-born economist on administrative leave, with the acting president Isaac Solomon, confirming at a bank news conference earlier this month that “there is an internal administrative process involving the president.
“The bank is extremely focused on preserving the independence, confidentiality and integrity of the process and as you can well appreciate in order for us to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of the process, we are unable to provide any other details at this time,” Solomon said then.
Browne is attending the 46th regular meeting of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders where CARICOM chairman and Guyana President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali had indicated “yes leaders will be looking at the Caribbean Development Bank on the challenges we have”.
Browne, speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, said “well it is a process that is taking place and there were concerns about the procedure that led to that process and at some point we will have to address the issue of the procedures and the fact that subordinates within an institution can literally take disciplinary action against their superior without even consulting with the directors or the governors of the bank.”
“I mean there is something fundamentally flawed about that and you would have seen two developments, not only the sending on leave or the institution of disciplinary action against the president but even prior to that when the race for the candidature was taking place between Leon and Professor Avinash (Persaud of Barbados) I recall that same whistle blower system was activated.”
Browne told reporters by virtue of that “they practically would have eliminated Professor Avinash” and that the process “could be abused,” adding “we don’t know for a fact that it is being abused currently, but we have concerns it may have been abused and in that case we will have to make some changes.
“But I imagine that the investigation that is taking place will confirm whether or not the…suspended president is guilty of any malpractice within the bank or if he would have breached whatever rules and regulations.
“So I think we have to await the outcome of that investigation before we start to make the adjustments,” Browne said, noting “making too strident arguments about making adjustments against a system that may not be broken.
“On first blush I think the whole process is somewhat flawed and I am of the view that even if it may be applicable to lower members of staff, certainly when it comes to the president there has to be some, at least notification, even out of decency to the directors and the governors”, he stated.
He said based on the issue “there could be some form of intervention at the level of the governors.
“So it is a process we will be hopefully reviewing in the future to ensure that we do not have a system that potentially can be abused and could be weaponised against future presidents of the bank or senior members of the bank,” Browne told reporters.
Leon is the sixth president of the regional development finance institution. He was elected at a special meeting of the CDB Board of Governors held on January 19, 2021, for a five-year term, and assumed office on May 4, 2021.
Leon heads a team of more than 200 employees headquartered in Bridgetown and came to the assignment with 35 years of experience in economics, financial policy development, and executive management, more than 20 of which were spent working with the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He had succeeded the Jamaican-born Dr Warren Smith who retired in 2021 after serving as president for 10 years.
