A public debate over the proposed Guyana Development Bank intensified this week after economist Joel Bhagwandin defended the institution’s governance framework, only to face a detailed rebuttal from mathematician and public commentator Dr. Terrence Blackman, who argued that the legislation concentrates too much power in the hands of the executive and lacks adequate safeguards.

Writing in response to concerns raised about the Development Bank Bill, Bhagwandin contended that the proposed institution should be governed by competence rather than politics. He argued that the bank’s board should comprise professionals with expertise in banking, finance, economics, law, agriculture and technology, rather than representatives from opposition parties or civil society.

“The Guyana Development Bank is not conceived as a political institution; it is a financial institution with a development mandate,” Bhagwandin wrote. “A development bank should be governed on the basis of competence, fiduciary judgment and relevant sectoral expertise.”