For his presentation, former Attorney General and current UDP Senator, Michael Peyrefitte, focused on the news which broke on Friday, that Gustavo Manuel Vasquez, the new Governor of the Central Bank was abruptly terminated after being holding the post for a little more than 4 months.
As we told you last week, officials in the Ministry of Finance felt that that Vasquez was inflexible and difficult to work with. Other reports indicate that he may have been concerned that the Finance Ministry was trying to run the independent bank like an arm of the Ministry.
In a quite remarkable email he wrote the Central Bank Staff after his termination, he said quote, "my appointment as Governor was terminated by the Governor-General with immediate effect on instructions from Ministry of Finance… I tried my best to restore the integrity and operational autonomy of the bank, and certainly faced stiff opposition from the Ministry of Finance and special financial and economic sector interests… I (will) take ALL necessary actions to defend myself and my reputation and that of the Central Bank." End quote.
This morning, the UDP's Michael Peyrefitte said that the Government owes the public an explanation for the sudden departure of the now-former Governor:
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte - UDP Senator
"I have in my possession a letter, or an email, sent purportedly by Mr. Vasquez to the Central Bank staff. And it's very telling, and I think it will be interesting for the media to find Mr. Vasquez and ask him about this. He says, 'Dear staff - this was on Friday - the 13th of August at 4:14 p.m. - I regretfully inform you that my appointment as Governor was terminated by the Governor-General with immediate effect on instructions from Ministry of Finance.' Now According to the Governor, in this letter, his appointment has been terminated. I would take it that - I doubt very much or I would give the benefit of the doubt that the Governor-General didn't pick up the phone and tell the Governor, well, I terminate your appointment, pursuant to the Central Bank Act. I think the Governor-General would have sent a letter if that were the case. So, if the Governor-General sent that letter, we would like to see that letter and see what it says because he can only be terminated for cause. If the Governor doesn't resign, he can only be terminated for cause. So, if he is being terminated, and terminated for cause, then what are the causes of his termination? The Belizean people ought to know, and according to Mr. Vasquez, he's being terminated by the Governor-General on instructions from the Ministry of Finance. Who from the Ministry of Finance? Is it the Minister, the Minister of State, [or] the entire ministry that wants him gone? Who wants him gone? He continues, 'I have been in recent discussions with the government that wanted to buy out the remainder of my contract and was still in discussions with them up until yesterday, without resolution. So, if you follow this letter, it seems as if the government was trying to tell him, listen. We'll pay you the remainder of your contract. Just go. We just want you gone, which begs a series of questions. Why would you want a recently appointed governor to just leave?"
