Guyana govt to ask for more info about situation at Caribbean Development Bank

Last Updated on Thursday, 18 January 2024, 18:51 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana government would be seeking an official explanation from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) about what is going on at that Barbados-headquartered financial institution after news surfaced that a number of officials were sent on leave, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said Thursday.

“We’re going to try to find out a bit more about what is going on and from official sources,” he said when asked by Demerara Waves Online News. Asked whether he was worried that Guyana, as a borrowing member, was not informed, Mr Jagdeo believed that the delay might be a “timing issue” and said the first information that surfaced was due to media leaks.

The Caribbean Media Corporation’s Caribbean News Agency on Wednesday quoted unnamed sources as saying that senior CDB officials were on administrative leave.

The CDB late Wednesday night stopped short of confirming that there were problems which it described as an “internal issue”. “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 bank said.

First confirmation that something was amiss at the CDB came on Wednesday when the bank tersely announced that its annual press conference that was scheduled for January 23, 2024 would now be held on February 20, 2024.

A  CDB spokeswoman had on Wednesday only maintained that the press conference was “rescheduled” but declined to say whether senior bank officials were sent on leave or asked to go on leave.