00:00In these things you never know what the facts are, but we will find out. We will most certainly find out what went on there.
00:06Surprising and amazing is how the former finance minister, Carl Minbut, describes the news of Dr. Alvin Haller's dismissal as central bank governor.
00:16Confirming the dismissal on Tuesday, finance minister Dave Tanku declined to say why the action was taken and told TV6 News to direct all queries on the firing to the attorney general.
00:28In the absence of the reasoning, Inbridge says one could only assume that the issue stemmed from the central bank's refusal to divulge information requested by the government.
00:39What I do know is that a governor can be terminated for misconduct. Now, revealing the names of persons who have received a foreign exchange based on information received by the central bank from the commercial banks, if you reveal that, that's an offense.
00:57In fact, it's a criminal offense. So I don't know what on earth went on there. I think we're going to have to find out.
01:05Inbridge notes the situation is particularly ironic, given the circumstances surrounding the removal of Haller's predecessor, Jawala Rambaran.
01:14The issue with the previous governor was over the publication of the largest users of foreign exchange in the country. That was the issue. And there were many opinions, legal opinions, and that was a breach of the law at the time.
01:31If now the present governor was being pressured by the government to reveal the names of persons who were interested in foreign exchange and he declined and he got fired for that, that would be very surprising.
01:45Inbridge was the minister of finance at the time of Rambaran's firing. But Rambaran took the matter to court and was awarded damages for wrongful dismissal. However, Rambaran is still awaiting information from the Ministry of Finance, requested under the then PNM government, on the reasons for his firing.
02:05With respect to Haller's removal, TV6 News also noted that there had been some contention surrounding the Auditor General and the central bank.
02:15TV6 News asked the former finance minister whether he could state definitively why the Auditor General's services were not utilized for fiscal 2024, to which he stressed that it was the Auditor General who declined to audit the accounts.
02:31I saw the correspondence. I saw the correspondence. I saw the Auditor General write the governor and say that she was not in a position to audit the 2024 accounts. That's what I saw. And then I saw a letter coming from the governor to me, asking my permission to approve this particular flow.
02:48I can't, I can't deal with...
02:49You are asking me some very strange questions. The letter from the Auditor General gave no reason.
03:01Okay. So you're asking me something. Have you seen the letter?
03:05You saw it. So at that point, what did you then do? Have you seen that letter?
03:10I'm asking you. Have you seen the letter?
03:15I'm sure you have invited it to me, sir.
03:17It's in the public domain.
03:19The central bank had retained the services of BDO Financial Advisory Services Limited, formerly Young and Associates Limited, from the financial year beginning October 1, 2023.
03:31Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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