Jamaica's central bank governor, Derick Latibeaudiere, who was leading negotiations with the IMF to obtain a $1.2 billion stand-by loan, has resigned, Finance Minister Audley Shaw said. Shaw said in a brief statement released late on Friday that Byron Wynter, a former deputy governor, would take over as head of the Bank of Jamaica on December 1.
No reason was given for the resignation of Latibeaudiere, 58, who had served as governor of the central bank of the Caribbean island state since 1996. But there had been open differences between the finance minister and Latibeaudiere in the last two years over the country's monetary policy.
The move, which Shaw said was by mutual agreement, came as the Jamaican government was engaged in a process of negotiation with the International Monetary Fund on the terms of the $1.2 billion stand-by accord. Shaw said Financial Secretary Wesley Hughes would immediately take charge of the negotiations with the IMF. Jamaica has sought IMF help after being hit by a drop in revenues from bauxite mining and alumina exports, as well a falloff in tourism and remittances during the global recession.
Shaw said last week that the talks with the IMF were going smoothly and that the government was "fine-tuning" its medium-term economic program. The newly-designated governor, Wynter, currently works as an advisor to the Barbados-based Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC). Jamaica was originally seeking to conclude the IMF accord by September but Shaw has said he now expects the country to be able to access the IMF loan by November.