IN VIEW of the dramatic and unprecedented dismissal of the Central Bank Governor of Jamaica, Derick Latibeaudiere, over what has been deemed a ’very excessive’ financial package for his services, it may be useful for Jamaicans and other citizens of this region to learn about the prevailing culture of payment contracts signed by his counterparts in other Caricom jurisdictions.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding made the announcement in the Jamaica parliament last Tuesday, denouncing the nature of the compensation package entered into with Latibeaudiere by ex-finance minister of the previous People’s National Party government, Dr Omar Davies.

He was very much on the offensive as he disclosed that termination of the BOJ Governor’s services was under review for a year by his two-year-old administration and now was the time for precise action.

In what has emerged as a season for high profile dismissals, or forced resignations, Golding also separately announced the government’s sudden parting of company with head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, because of his apparent inability to curb rampaging criminality.

By virtue of their mandates and lines of accountability in their own jurisdictions, no one should expect either the Committee of Central Bank Governors of Caricom or the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police (ACCP) to offer any response in the respective cases of the dismissed Latibeaudiere and Lewin.

But there seems to be a case for reasonable explanation as to how Latibeaudiere, a recognised long-serving and competent Central Bank Governor, could have ended up with a contract that guarantees him a compensation package for which there may be no precedents in this entire region.

It comprises the rise of a basic annual salary of Jam$11.02 million in 2007 to J$14.05 million by last month (October), plus a range of allowances and benefits (e.g. housing, car, medical and entertainment ) totalling a yearly income of approximately J$38 million (J$90:US$l).

Whatever his special skills and expertise, questions arising include what criteria and examples could be offered by those of the previous PNP administration, most notably the eloquent Dr Omar Davies, to justify Latibeaudiere’s updated compensation package that apparently has placed him as a unique beneficiary among Central Bank Governors of the Caribbean region.

Given the nature of party politics in Jamaica, there could well be some substance in Davies’ claim that he has been deliberately singled out for blame to besmirch his reputation and undermine the PNP.

However, according to those more informed, the former finance minister needs to do better than his initial media responses to claims by the Golding administration about his failure to undertake an objective assessment of the document he signed as approval for Latibeaudiere’s compensation package and why, if true, there are no records of prior cabinet approval of the terms and conditionalities.

Both Davies and Latibeaudiere have, rather encouragingly, made statements indicating that they have no intention to be engaged in a public verbal squabble with the Golding administration that could further aggravate matters to the detriment of Jamaica’s future, and particularly at this time when negotiations are still ongoing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The dismissed BOJ Governor went so far as to boast of his sense of patriotism as declared in a interview last Thursday with the Observer’s executive editor, Desmond Allen, that he was putting ’country first’. He pledged ’never to be tempted to do anything which would adversely affect the Jamaica which I love...’ Touching indeed.

Yet, neither the initial response of Davies nor Latibeaudiere seems to have provided a credible explanation to the claims by Prime Minister Golding about the unique compensation package offered to the former governor.

The government’s anger grew stronger, as expressed by Finance Minister Audley Shaw, with the seeming haste of the international rating agency, Standard and Poors, to downgrade Jamaica’s credit worthiness in the wake of the termination of Latibeaudiere’s services.

In all of this, as I alluded to earlier, it may be useful to know how the basic salary and multiplicity of allowances enjoyed by Latibeaudiere as Governor of the BOJ, compare with those of his immediate past predecessors and the earnings of other Central Bank Governors in Caricom.

What’s the rationale to justify such a compensation package in a poor Caribbean state like Jamaica, plagued by endemic criminality; chronic unemployment and a political culture that emphasises divisions and mock the politics of bi-partisan cooperation for the good of a country that remains, warts and all, one of the stout pillars of the region’s economic integration movement.

There remain concerns that in the quest to score cheap political points, no independent assessment may soon be forthcoming on the rush to judgement by Standard and Poors to further rock Jamaica in its current stormy economic waters by downgrading the country’s credit worthiness.

There is also the consideration about whether it is really the case that the sacking of the BOJ Governor had nothing to do with, as the government claims, policy differences, but strictly is related to the controversial compensation package.

Leading local media, including the Jamaica Observer, have been critical of the ’costly governorship’ of Latibeaudiere as well as questioning his stewardship. In its last Wednesday’s editorial, the Observer noted:

’The policy of persistent devaluation of the Jamaican dollar and the consistent high interest rates at his (Latibeaudiere’s) behest, burdened many viable businesses, discouraged investment, eliminated the possibility of international competitiveness and escalated the debt servicing of the government of Jamaica...’

That certainly was hardly a flattering endorsement for the services provided by Latibeaudiere in putting, as he said, ’my country first’, in now avoiding any public entanglements over his dismissal.