Mozena tells Muhith
The US has reiterated its concern at the government’s move to curtail the power of Grameen Bank’s borrowers in the selection of the bank’s managing director.
Its ambassador in Dhaka, Dan Mozena, expressed his
country’s concern at a meeting with finance minister AMA Muhith at the latter’s secretariat office on Monday.
Mozena told reporters after the meeting that the US wanted Grameen Bank to have a strong managerial board which would be selected by the bank’s borrowers.
‘We have expressed our concern at the government’s move,’ he said.
Finance minister AMA Muhith did not say anything about the outcome of his meeting with the US ambassador on the day.
On August 5, the US state department expressed deep concern over the recent steps taken by the government to give the Grameen Bank’s chairman the power to select a new managing director.
The US state department’s statement came one day after the government decided to amend the existing bank’s Ordinance to give the bank’s chairman additional power.
Before the proposed amendment to the Ordinance, the government had three representatives, which included the chairman, in the board of directors of the Nobel Peace prize winning micro-credit entity.
Nine others directors, mostly women, are picked from the borrowers.
The US ambassador said he had also talked on the Padma Multipurpose Bridge and suggested the signing of a proposed pact called TICFA between Bangladesh and the US.
He hoped that some way could be found to pursue the World Bank to finance the project.
The Padma Bridge project became uncertain after the WB cancelled the $1.2 billion loan because of allegations of corruption.
Referring to the TICFA, the US ambassador said discussion is still going on.
Both the sides have long been trying to strike the deal relating to trade and investment, but they could not narrow down the differences on issues like child labour and workers’ rights.
-With New Age input
