Prime Minister Perry Christie has appointed a new board of the Bahamas Development Bank after ending the term of the old board that was reportedly left destabilized when its chairman resigned earlier this year.
A source close to the bank said that some of the old board members were “caught off guard” and had expected that they would remain in place until their terms expired the end of the year.
Other members of the board reportedly expected that they would no longer serve in their positions and some of them had not been attending meetings.
Mr. Christie had said that he was aware that some of the board members had stopped coming to meetings. One bank official said, “There was a skeleton crew left over.”
Mr. Christie has appointed K. Neville Adderley, an attorney and a former PLP candidate for South Andros, chairman of the board.
Other members of the new board are Fritz Stubbs, a banker; Clinton Clarke, an attorney; Robert Malone, an Abaco businessman; Peter Mitchell, a banker and an economist; Caleb Outten, a Grand Bahama businessman; Chandra Sands, a businesswoman from Rock Sound, Eleuthera; Angela Sawyer, a chartered accountant and businesswoman; Charlene Wells, a chartered accountant; and George Rodgers, the bank’s managing director. Prior to the board’s appointment, the Development Bank had been in limbo, according to sources inside the bank.
A previous concern was that the government had not immediately renewed Mr. Rodgers’ contract when it expired several months ago. Because the contract was not immediately renewed, a bank source said several projects before the bank had been slowed.
The prime minister was left scrambling to find a new chairman of the bank after learning that the act governing the institution prevents sitting Members of Parliament from serving on the Board of Directors. It had been reported that Mr. Christie had intended to appoint Elizabeth MP Malcolm Adderley as chairman.
The Development Bank was left without a chairman when Macgregor Robertson abruptly resigned in January citing lack of communication with key government officials. He said those officials never answered his inquiries regarding his future with the establishment. It had been days before the prime minister even became aware of his resignation.
Mr. Robertson said at the time that he resigned after he saw a draft Memorandum of Understanding to the bank from the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation naming Mr. Malcolm Adderley as the new chairman.
Mr. Adderley told the Journal during that time that he had heard his name was being called in relation to the position but had received no official invitation to serve on the board. The bank source said today that employees have welcomed the new board headed by Mr. Neville Adderley because there was too much uncertainty without a chairman in place.
The term of the new board reportedly expires the end of the year, at which time the new board is expected to be reappointed.
The Bahamas Development Bank, a wholly owned government institution, was formed through an Act of parliament in 1974 and became operational on July 21, 1978.
The banks’ primary purpose is to assist in the economic development of The Bahamas by providing financial and technical assistance in the areas of agriculture, fisheries, tourism, manufacturing services and transportation industries. Small business development is also encouraged through various programmes.
The Bahama Journal
