ADB CHAIR FACES THE SACK

SEKOU Mark, Chairman of the loss-making and scandal-plagued Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), is expected to be replaced at the end of his tenure in February.

Cabinet has taken careful note of several major operational issues under Mark’s watch (reported exclusively here), and is set to name a new ADB Chairman.

Mark and Deputy Chairman Randall Mohammed are the only remaining directors at the bank, which has lost $14.2 million in its most recent fiscal year.

The terms of office of five other directors expired in November.

There has been no board meeting since then, because a quorum is made up of four directors.

Cabinet ministers have paid close attention to a recent report of financial activities at ADB, including questions about the procurement of services.

The bank’s Corporate Manager – Finance and Administration Gleason Garraway had previously challenged “questionable payments” to three service providers, for a total sum of almost $300,000.

Garraway expressed concern over the process, selection criteria, and lack of a contract with a fixed price or budget.

Government officials are distressed that there is an acting CEO in the person of Wendy Samsundar-Beharry.

“ADB cannot begin to have stability until there is a full-time appointee to the CEO’s office,” a well-placed source said.

“We understand that an acting CEO may not feel confident in contesting disputed decisions taken by the Board.

“The ADB also urgently requires strategic direction and financial prudence.”

Samsundar-Beharry was promoted after long-standing CEO Sheivan Ramnath resigned after reportedly being frustrated by directors.

Company insiders have spoken of discordant relations in the boardroom and a “generally unsettling” state of affairs at the taxpayer-owned institution.

Despite the Mark-led board broadening the mandate to include “micro-enterprise financing and support for farmers’ projects, lifestyle and community needs,” the bank continues to bleed losses.

The ADB, which is almost 60 years old, boasts of being “the lead financial provider for agri-business and rural development.” 

Mark, described as a career banker, was Chief Investment Officer of Unit Trust Corporation (UTC), until his resignation last October.

UTC made a public announcement of his resignation and the appointment of his successor, Crystal Rodrigues-Greaves.

ADB reports to the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries, whose Minister Kazim Hosein recently said he is committed to safeguarding and fortifying the country’s food systems.