More to Latibeaudiere's dismissal than being told, says Omar

Saturday, November 21, 2009 8:28 PM

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Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Former finance minister in the previous People's National Party Administration, Dr Omar Davies, yesterday dismissed the Government's explanation for the sacking of Central Bank Governor Derick Latibeaudiere, saying that there was more to the decision than was being made public.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding yesterday told Parliament that the former governor had been let go because of certain provisions of his employment contract which included an exorbitant compensation package which shot from a basic $11.2 million per annum in 2006 to $38 million in 2009.

However, Davies told journalists after the sitting of the House that persons were approached and offered the position of governor before last Friday when the Government announced Latibeaudiere's departure.

Davies, who Golding had blamed for allowing the salary situation to occur, admitted that the amount was "excessive" but said the avenue for resolution in the case of the former governor was not necessarily instant dismissal.

"It could have been negotiated through... the only answer cannot be the immediate dismissal, it's not that there was no possibility of negotiation," Davies told journalists.

He also pushed aside comments by Golding that the contract did not pass through the normal processing and vetting arrangements of the Ministry of Finance.

According to Davies, the contract, which only made reference to the basic salary and rent as at September 2007, was a standard contract and as such did not need to be taken before Cabinet.

"There is no history of bringing such contracts to the Government," he pointed out.

In the meantime, he said the country could not afford to treat persons with the level of professional experience as Latibeaudiere shabbily, noting that the former governor has possibly more experience in negotiating with multilaterals such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) than himself.

That aside, the former finance minister said he had full confidence in the abilities of Financial Secretary Dr Wesley Hughes, who has been appointed to take over the role as lead negotiator in the current negotiations between the IMF and Jamaica, and former Financial Services Commission boss Brian Wynter who will replace Latibeaudiere on December 1.

- Alicia Dunkley

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