T&T Central Bank Governor dismissed

The embattled Central Bank governor of Trinidad and Tobago, Jwala Rambarran has been dismissed by Minister of Finance, Colm Imbert.

Rambarran attracted controversy recently when he released the names of the biggest foreign exchange users in the country.

A statement from the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) said that Deputy Governor Dr Alvin Hilaire, a career central banker, has since been appointed to replace Rambarran who fell afoul of the new Keith Rowley administration when he declared that the country was “officially in a recession” and also named a number of firms in the private sector that were gobbling up foreign exchange here.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert said while the law does not permit a minister to terminate the appointment of a governor of the CBTT, “Cabinet, which is empowered under Sector 12 of the Central Bank Act, took a decision yesterday after considering a number of legal opinions primarily dealing with the disclosure of the names and users of foreign exchange in Trinidad and Tobago to request the president to terminate the appointment of the governor of the Central Bank”.He said Hilaire was appointed “because of his qualifications and experience having worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 11 years and the CBTT for 19 years.

The CBTT said that the new governor has “extensive experience in macroeconomic policy, development and implementation and monetary policy matters.