The government is likely to curtail the power of the executive board of Grameen Bank by scrapping the latter’s authority of preparing rules.
Finance ministry officials said such a proposal had been inserted in the draft of the Grameen Bank Act 2013 that is scheduled to be placed at the cabinet on Thursday for approval.
Besides, the draft act proposed to empower Bangladesh Bank with absolute authority over the Grameen Bank, they said.
The approval of the act and its enactment as a law in Parliament later on would allow the BB to take action against the micro-credit entity.
In the existing ordinance promulgated in 1983, BB could not take action against the GB.
The existing ordinance empowered GB board of directors to prepare new rules. The draft act proposed that the ministry of finance would now on prepare the rules.
Finance minister AMA Muhith on Monday said the main feature of the proposed act was the rules for election of the directors of GB.
‘There are no election rules for the directors at present… Mohammad Yunus selected the directors on his own,’ he said.
Muhith said tax holiday would be offered to GB for certain period.
He said the act would later be sent to parliament for enactment of the law in the current session.
The latest move by the government has already been seen by many as a ploy to establish full control over the bank.
GB founding managing director Muhammad Yunus was sacked in 2011 from the bank.
In September, the government launched tax probes against the anti-poverty campaigner and his seven social business firms, accusing them of evading millions of dollars in taxes.
Besides, the government constituted a commission last year asking for recommendations to carry out reforms in the bank.
The commission is yet to submit its final report.
-With New Age input
