'The transaction was done through mutual understanding between the two states so the committee did not raise any objections to this issue,' he said.
'The interest rates of Grameen Bank are low compared to other micro-credit agencies operating in Bangladesh,' said Muhith
He was speaking to journalists after the committee's chairman, A K Monaw-war Uddin Ahmad, the former dean of social sciences of Dhaka University, gave him
the report in the morning.
Grameen Bank said in a statement, signed by its general manager Janaat-e-Quanine, that all the employees, members, borrowers and well-wishers were 'relieved that these truths are revealed in the report'.
The committee was formed on January 12 following the broadcast six weeks earlier of a documentary by Norwegian Television, 'Caught in Microdebt', that had raised questions about whether certain transactions made by Grameen Bank in 1996 breached agreements and involved the misuse of money.
The review committee's terms of reference not only included the examination of the Norad transactions and the level of the Grameen Bank's interest rates, but also the relationship between Grameen Bank and its sister organisations and finally the management and transparency of the Grameen Bank itself.
Both Muhith and Monaw-war, however, refused to be drawn into revealing further information about the contents of the report at the press briefing.
'We will say nothing about it,' Monaw-war said. 'The government will speak if it thinks it is necessary.'
'The government is not bound to agree with the report. It will review the report and decide how much of the report it will take into account,' he added.
When asked whether any legal reform was required in the running of Grameen Bank, Monaw-war said, 'This matter requires further in-depth consideration.'
Monaw-war told New Age, 'The committee's broad conclusion is that a national policy is needed to improve the coordination of micro-credit and social business within Grameen. It is terribly important that these two wings of Grameen Bank, micro-credit and social business, should be better coordinated and put under one umbrella.'
'When the ordinance was put into effect, Grameen had only one function, but there has been an enormous expansion of other business and economic activities under the title of Grameen, so it is important that the government takes into account that reality,' he added.
When asked by New Age whether the report had found any wrongdoing by Grameen Bank, he replied, 'We have come across some evidence of irregularities.'
He however immediately added, 'Irregularities are quite common in any administration, since when one runs a business one cannot always operate by keeping the law book on the table.'
He refused to specify what those irregularities were. 'It is up to the government to release the information,' he said.
'The fundamental legal question is what activities are allowed by the 1983 ordinance. It is questionable whether the expansion of business is lawful. Then there is the question of whether or not the law can be reformed to take this into account. In my view law is only a tool or aid to help solve problems,' Monaw-war told New Age.
The other members of the Grameen Bank review committee were Bangladesh Bank's deputy governor Nazrul Huda, former deputy comptroller and auditor-general Syeda Rokeya Din, former chief of the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management Professor RM Debnath and Supreme Court lawyer Mohsin Rashid.
Mohammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and a winner of the Nobel peace prize, is currently under threat of being sacked from his post as managing director of Grameen.
On 2 March the Bangladesh Bank wrote a letter to the chairman of the Grameen Bank, informing him that Yunus should have retired at the age of 60 years.
Following legal action by lawyers acting for Yunus and nine directors of Grameen Bank, the High Court on 9 March upheld the Bangladesh Bank's interpretation of the law.
Their lawyer appealed and the matter is now before a seven-judge bench of the Appellate Division which will sit on 2 May to continue its deliberations.
Earlier the Appellate Division had dismissed the appeal, but it has now received an application to recall the order.
Source: New Age
No comments:
Post a Comment