Up until news broke earlier this week that Dr. Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon had tendered his resignation as President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), there had been a lengthy period during which a paucity of information prevailed in the matter of the reason(s) why the St. Lucia-born economist had earlier been sent on ‘administrative leave’ by the Bank’s Board of Governors. That the reason for the decision to, in the first instance, remove the CDB President from his job had not been made public is a matter that had since then been a talking point among Caribbean people who were aware of the importance of the Bank to the development of the region.
The information void created by the decision to go no further than simply announce that the CDB President had been ‘sent on leave,’ predictably, gave rise to vigorous speculation with regard to the action taken by the Board. There were mixed views on whether the handling of the events associated with Dr. Leon being sent on leave had been appropriate and whether, moreover, the way it played out was pleasing to the people of the Caribbean. What made matters more discomfiting was that there appeared a decided official unwillingness to make any further, more enlightening public disclosures on the matter.