Cleviston Haynes, Acting Governor of the Central Bank

Acting Governor Cleviston Haynes is expected to share with the public this week the six month economic review of the Barbados economy. It will be his first major public outing since being elevated to the post of governor of the Central Bank of Barbados.

The controversial circumstances surrounding his appointment continues to be a concern for right thinking Barbadians who have always been encouraged in the perception that the Central Bank of Barbados is an independent institution -until the recent stewardship under Dr. DeLisle Worrell.

Governor Haynes’ task will be to dispassionately deliver information and interpret data on the current state of the economy and in the process help to retrieve the reputation the Central Bank has earned since it was established in 1972.

The BU household continues to be somewhat cynical when we have to refer to the Central Bank of Barbados as an independent institution stoked by the knowledge that the appointment of the Governor is made by elected politicians. In this case the minister of finance.

Governor Haynes will have to demonstrate integrity and communication skills of a high order to convince the cynics among us that he is not unduly being influenced by the political headwinds gusting across the land as a general election approaches.   How will he explain the routine printing of money by the central bank against the best advice from local, regional and international financial analysts? What about the concomitant effect it continues to have on the  foreign exchange reserves? Then there is the questioning by the International Bank of the integrity of the data collection process that informs analysis and forecast. Will he be in a position to share information on the ongoing and protracted restructuring at the central bank that has dogged his predecessor?  Several other questions can be asked although BU anticipate he will plead the fifth and try to stick to a script for his first time in the spotlight.

Finally, it is being reported the acting governor will revert to the practice of allowing the media to participate in the session, what will be the makeup of the media players who attend the press briefing. Will the media houses see this as an important event and see their ‘heavy weights’ in attendance? The media is one of the key watchdogs in a democracy. On this occasion we wait to see if they squander the opportunity to represent the public it has a mandate to serve.