Govt in a fix over how to sack Yunus

Govt in a fix over how to sack Yunus
David Bergman and Abdullah Juberee
The Bangladesh Bank, the finance ministry and the law ministry are in disagreement with each other about how to sack Muhammad Yunus from his position as managing director of the Grameen Bank.
The finance ministry, following advice it received from the law ministry, asked the Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday to use the powers set out in the Banking Companies Act 1991 to force the removal of Muhammed Yunus from the Grameen Bank.
‘We are not dealing with the Grameen Bank now. The Bangladesh Bank is looking after the issue,’ Shafiqur Rahman Patwari, secretary of the banking and financial institution division, of the finance ministry, told reporters at the ministry.
‘It has sufficient powers to take action.’
KM Abdul Wadood, the general manager of the banking regulation and policy department at the Bangladesh Bank responsible for dealing with the current issue of Yunus’s employment, however, told New Age that the central bank does not have the powers to sack the Grameen Bank’s managing director.
He said that the powers in the Banking Companies Act 1991 which the government wants the Bangladesh Bank to use to force Yunus out of office are not appropriate for dealing with employment issues of this kind.
Early on Tuesday, the finance minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, confirmed to journalists that his ministry had received a letter from the Bangladesh Bank stating that Muhammad Yunus’s continued employment as managing director of the Grameen Bank was illegal.
It was this letter which Muzammel Huq, the new government appointed chairperson of the Grameen Bank, is reported to have placed before the meeting of its board of directors a day earlier on Monday.
After that board meeting, Muzammel stated, ‘By operation of law, [Yunus] has ceased to function as managing director.’
In response to this claim, Jannat-E-Quanine, general manager of the Grameen Bank, had issued a statement saying, ‘There is no directive on Professor Yunus to cease functioning as managing director nor is there any suggestion of his being removed from this post.’
Muhith told reporters on Tuesday, ‘The central bank does not even know about his continuation [as managing director of the Grameen Bank]. The Grameen Bank did not consult with [Bangladesh Bank] about the appointment. He does not exist as a [managing] director since 2001 to them.’
Under Section 14 of the Grameen Bank Ordinance, a managing director can only be appointed ‘with the prior approval of the Bangladesh bank.’
The decision by the finance ministry to send the matter back to the Bangladesh Bank followed a meeting early on Tuesday morning between the law and finance ministry officials.
Finance ministry officials had brought to the meeting a proposal to change the law that would allow Yunus to be removed.
The law ministry officials, however, told their finance ministry colleagues that no legal amendments were necessary and that the Bangladesh Bank could use its powers under Section 45 of the Banking Companies Act 1991 to force Yunus’s exit.
This section allows the Bangladesh Bank to issue any mandatory direction on any ‘banking company’ if it considers any one of four broad criteria exists.
These criteria include circumstances where the bank considers it to be ‘in the public interest’ to issue a direction, or where it thinks that it should do so in order ‘to secure the proper management of any banking company.’
Wadood from the Bangladesh Bank, however, told New Age that this section of the 1991 act cannot be used in the way as proposed by the finance ministry.
He said that it could only be used in relation to activities ‘where there is no existing regulations, laws or rules. It is not effective for this.’
‘The Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983 was created by the finance ministry. It is their responsibility to take action,’ he told New Age.
The government’s continued attempts to find a way to force Yunus out of the Grameen Bank are occurring despite the US government ramping up its pressure on the Bangladesh government to back down.
New Age reported earlier in the week that US officials has told the prime minister Sheikh Hasina, that they would stop all high-level diplomatic interactions with Bangladesh unless the government resolved the crisis amicably.
However on Monday morning, following the normal cabinet meeting, a meeting took place at the cabinet division in the secretariat between the prime minister and the finance minster specifically to discuss how to force Muhammad Yunus out of the Grameen Bank, senior finance ministry officials told New Age.

Correction
In the report headlined ‘US asks Govt not to Harass Yunus,’ published on in the February 28, 2011 issue of New Age, it was inadvertently stated that Muzammel Huq, the current chairman of the Grameen Bank, had been ‘fired’ from the post of general manager at the bank. This is not correct.
Muzammel Huq has informed the paper that ‘in accordance with the Grameen Bank Service Rules on completion of 60 years of age and 22 years of service, I went on leave preparatory to retirement with effect from December 10, 2003 and retired from the Grameen Bank on December 11, 2004.’ The paper stands corrected and apologies for the error.

 

Courtesy of New Age

Related News

E-toll to be compulsory on 9 bridges, 2 highways from November

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government has made Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) System compulsory at nine bridges and two highways from November. The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) issued a circular in this regard. According to the circular, the government has already installed automatic toll machines at those bridges and highways. The nine bridges are ... Read more

Boeing offers Biman its latest 787-10 Dreamliner

News Desk : dhakamirror.com After Airbus, the American manufacturer Boeing has now offered its latest model aircraft, 787-10 Dreamliner, to the Biman Bangladesh Airlines. The company sent a letter in this regard to Biman’s chairman recently which will be discussed in the board meeting on Tuesday, said Shafiul Azim, managing director of Biman. “As we ... Read more

Fishing, tourism banned in Sundarbans for 3 months

News Desk : dhakamirror.com To ensure safe breeding and movement of fish and wild animals the Forest Department will enforce a three-month ban on fishing and tourism in the Sundarbans that set to be effective from 1 June to 31 August. During this period, the movement of all types of vessels, including boats and fishing ... Read more

Biman to operate special flights from Dhaka for RU admission seekers

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate three special flights on the Dhaka-Rajshahi route from May 29 to May 31 to facilitate journeys of Rajshahi University admission seekers. The RU admission tests will take in four shifts starting from 9:00am and ending at 4:30pm on May 29, 30 and 31. The flights will ... Read more

First hajj flight with 419 pilgrims leaves Dhaka on Sunday

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The first hajj flight, carrying 419 pilgrims, is scheduled to leave Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Saudi Arabia at around 3.20am on Sunday (May 21). “A Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate the first hajj flight from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Jeddah on Sunday at 3.20am,” Biman’s spokesperson Tahera Khondoker told ... Read more

7 Bangladeshis make Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2023 list

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Seven Bangladeshis have made the list of ‘Forbes 30 Under 30′ Asia Class of 2023. The famous business journal, Forbes, first launched the ’30 under 30’ list in 2011, listing the thirty movers and shakers under the age of thirty. From 2016 to 2022, a total of 25 Bangladeshis were named ... Read more

Economic life of buses fixed at 20yrs, goods vehicles at 25yrs

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government fixed the economic life of buses and minibuses at 20 years and that for goods-laden vehicles, including trucks and covered vans, at 25 years. In this regard, the Roads and Highways Division on Wednesday issued a circular which would be effective following a gazette notification. In 2010, the Bangladesh ... Read more

Fire hydrants will be installed in all DNCC markets, slums: mayor

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Mayor Atiqul Islam said fire hydrants will be installed in every slum and market under the jurisdiction of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) to deal with fire incidents. He made the announcement while inaugurating a fire hydrant in Sattala slum of Mahakhali in the capital on Thursday (18 May). He stressed ... Read more

Metro will operate from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, effective from May 31

Weekly closure on Friday News Desk : dhakamirror.com Beginning May 31, the metro rail will operate six days a week from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Ltd, said during a briefing Thursday. He also said that the weekly closure will be changed from Tuesday to Friday ... Read more

Gold bars worth Tk 25cr recovered from cargo hold of Biman plane

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Customs officials seized 204 gold bars weighing over 23kgs at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport this morning. The gold was left abandoned at the cargo hold of a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines that landed at the airport around 11:30am from Muskat, Oman via Chattogram. Officials searched the aircraft and recovered the ... Read more

Budget has become an orphan, IMF its foster father: Debapriya

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The budget of Bangladesh has become an orphan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is now the foster father of it, said Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). “When the IMF goes to a country with their programme, it establishes a singular authority over economic ... Read more

Cyclone Mocha: Water vessel movement resumes

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A day after cyclone Mocha made landfall, movement of all types of water vessels resumed across the country this morning. The water transport movement began around 9:30am, Mobarak Hossain Majumder, public relations officer of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), told The Daily Star. BIWTA suspended operations of all types of ... Read more

Postponed SSC exams to be held after May 23: Dipu Moni

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Education Minister Dipu Moni today said the postponed SSC and equivalent examinations, which were scheduled for May 14 and 15, will be held after the theoretical examinations end on May 23. The education minister told reporters of the development while answering a question during a programme in the capital. Theses exams ... Read more

Bangladesh escapes worst of Mocha impacts

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh largely escaped the worst impacts of very severe cyclone Mocha, as the storm barely touched the country’s southeastern tip while making landfall on Sunday afternoon on the Bangladesh-Myanmar coast. The cyclone, however, made a mess of St Martin’s island, about 9km south of the southeastern tip of mainland Bangladesh, with ... Read more

Monday’s SSC, equivalent exams in all boards postponed

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government on Sunday postponed the Secondary School Certificate and equivalent examinations scheduled for Monday in all boards for the situation due to cyclone Mocha. The National University authorities also cancelled its B.Ed examinations across the Bangladesh scheduled for Monday for the cyclone. Earlier, the government postponed the SSC and equivalent ... Read more

Five districts have very low literacy rate

Kamrun Nahar Sumy Five districts lag far behind in literacy rate from the national average, among people aged seven and above, which has increased to 74.66 per cent, according to the preliminary report of the Population and Housing Census 2022. The rate of literacy, defined as the ability to read and write, was 51.77 per ... Read more

What do the storm-related port signals 1 to 11 mean?

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Cyclone Mocha has been dominating discussions in last few days, cautionary, warning and danger signals, which the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) is urging ports to hoist, have become a foremost of the news. The following is a look at what each of the signal means, according to BMD: Distant Cautionary Signal ... Read more

Bangladesh Railway will conduct special mango train

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Railway will operate a special Mango train on the Chapainawabganj-Dhaka route via Rajshahi this season for the fourth consecutive year. Asim Kumar Talukder, general manager of the western zone of the railway, said that they have already started preparations for deploying two trains to transport mangoes at a lower cost ... Read more

Half-yearly exams, pre-test deferred for secondary students

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government deferred the schedules of the half-yearly and pre-test examinations for a week for students of the government and non-government secondary schools across the country. The decision was made to facilitate the implementation of the new national curriculum in the Classes of VI and VII, said a notice issued by ... Read more

Deep depression over Bay has intensified into Cyclone Mocha: IMD

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The deep depression over southeast Bay of Bengal today intensified into Cyclone Mocha and headed in a north-northwest direction at a speed of eight kilometres per hour, the Indian Met Department said. The cyclone lay centred 1,210km from Cox’s Bazar, it added. Mocha is very likely to intensify into a very ... Read more