Government just cannot change UTC Board — chairman

UTC Chairman Hubert Alleyne said yesterday that under the existing legislation, “the Government just cannot change the UTC Board. “I don’t know how they can do that under the existing legislation,” he said, in response to Patrick Manning’s statement that the Government can change the UTC board if its actions were not in accordance with Government policy. “The only way for the Government to change the legislation is to amend it,” Alleyne said in an interview yesterday. “The Government just cannot change the UTC board.” Referring to the provisions of the UTC Act that governed the operations of the board, Alleyne noted that Government, if it wishes, can remove two members under their control: a Central Bank appointee, and the other, from the Minister of Finance. The UTC Chairman, according to the Act, is appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Central Bank. The executive director is appointed by the UTC Board in consultation with the Central Bank Governor, the UTC Act said.