GUYANA-Guyana will seek “official” information regarding CDB’s “ongoing administrative process.”

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Guyana Thursday said it would “try to find out a bit more” regarding the announcement by the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) that it is currently undertaking “an ongoing administrative process” involving its president, Dr Hyginus’ Gene’ Leon.

The CDB has, however, remained silent regarding reports that senior officials of the region’s premier financial institution had been sent on administrative leave.

Speaking at a news conference here on Thursday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters that while Georgetown has not been officially informed of the situation, “we are going to try to find out a bit more about what’s going on and from official sources.”

He said he had been unsuccessful in getting information about the situation early on Thursday, adding, “I did not find anything in detail about it; you probably have more information than we have at this point.”

Jagdeo told reporters, “I know the press conference was postponed,” adding, “The media tends to get even reports ahead because they deal with leaks.”

The Barbados-based Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) had reported Wednesday that it was reliably informed that senior officials of the CDB had been sent on administrative leave but that its sources could not provide further details.

However, in a terse one-paragraph statement late on Wednesday night, the bank said, “Caribbean Development Bank acknowledges an ongoing administrative process involving the President. The Bank will not be making any further comments on this internal matter at this time”.

The statement coincided with the announcement by the bank Wednesday that it had postponed its annual news conference to next month, where it was expected to outline recommendations on how it intended to harness regional and international alliances to broker new partnerships for holistic and inclusive development.

The news conference was initially scheduled for Tuesday next week, but the one-paragraph statement announcing the postponement to February 20 gave no reason.

“The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will now hold its 2024 Annual News Conference on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. Subsequent updates will be shared directly and published via Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn,” the statement said.

But when CMC asked why the postponement, the CDB responded, saying, “The Bank’s teams needed more time.”

When it announced the news conference earlier this month, the CDB said it would be held under the theme “Facilitating Resilient Prosperity” at its headquarters in Wildey, on the capital’s outskirts.

It said the participants would have been Leon, the Vice President of Finances and Corporate Services; Gregory N. Hill, the director of the Projects Department; Mrs. Therese Turner Jones; and the director of the Economic Department, Ian Durant.

Leon is the sixth president of the regional development finance institution. He was elected at a special CDB Board of Governors meeting held on January 19, 2021, for a five-year term and assumed office on May 4, 2021.

Last week, Leon was in Guyana holding talks with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) chairman, Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali, and CARICOM Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett.