ALLOWING MINISTER of Finance Chris Sinckler to carry out his threat to fire Governor of the Central Bank Dr DeLisle Worrell would affect the integrity and independence of the bank and the international reputation of Barbados.
That was the contention of lead attorney Gregory Nicholls who is representing Worrell and asking the Court of Appeal to restore an original injunction that bars Sinckler from carrying out a threat to fire Worrell if he had not resigned by February 13.
Nicholls spent two hours earlier today beseeching the panel of acting Chief Justice Sandra Mason and Justices of Appeal Kaye Goodridge and Andrew Burgess to overturn Justice Randall Worrell’s decision to remove the injunction he first put in place in a rare Sunday sitting on February 12.
At the time, the 72-year-old governor sought the protection of the court as he prepared to file a suit against the Minister.
Nicholls, watched by his client Worrell and other curious attorneys sitting in on the hearing, said the minister didn’t have the power to fire governor. He said not only was the governor’s international reputation at stake but the public interest had to be represented.
According to Nicholls, at the heart of the clash between the governor and the minister was the strained relationship between the two and between the governor and the board which he also chairs.
The attorney said that Justice Worrell erred when he did not consider the wider public interest before removing the injunction last Friday.
Instead the judge had dealt with whether in the event of a termination, damages would cover any harm done to the head of the regulatory institution.
The case is set to resume at 2 p.m. when the Solicitor General’s office will respond. (AC)
