Last week a letter issued by the CRP board of trustees informed Taylor that she is no longer co-ordinator of the organisation and would remain in the largely ceremonial post of an adviser.

The decision follows a long-standing dispute between a number of trustees, a former CEO, and a section of CRP staff and supporters of Taylor over her approach to running the CRP that works for treatment and rehabilitation of the disabled people.

Differences started to emerge since the board of trustees was recast in January 2005 and a new CEO was appointed on the advice of the centre's major donor--the British chapter of the Friend of the CRP (FCRP). The new board and the then CEO--former foreign secretary CM Shafi Sami (he resigned in July 2006)--radically altered the organisational structure and procedures, seeking to leave Taylor on the sidelines as they believed "she was ignorant of management techniques and how to administer a large organisation."

Though both acting CEO Albert Mollah and Managing Trustee CM Shafi Sami maintain that there is "no effort to sideline Valerie", Mollah admits, "She (Taylor) no longer has any executive powers in the organisation."

In the CRP organogram drawn up after Sami's arrival, the role of the coordinator/adviser is described as one who would work in tandem with the CEO, but would not supersede it. The organogram also mentions that an adviser must remember that the CEO is not bound to pay attention to his/her recommendations.

A trustee member, however, told The Daily Star, "If she is so incompetent then how come she built up such a large organisation that has received global recognition."

From a tiny organisation that started out in an abandoned warehouse behind Dhaka's Suhrwardy Hospital in 1979, the CRP now employs 462 people at its Savar centre and has an annual budget of Tk 10-12 crore.

Founded by Taylor, a British physiotherapist, it has grown under her stewardship for 27 years. Through mobilising funds from overseas, she has expanded the organisation's capacity from providing medical care to rehabilitating and reintegrating the disabled people into the mainstream society.

The tension resulting from the two sides swapping accusations with Taylor stuck in between has severely hampered the fundraising efforts for the centre which is the one of its kind in Bangladesh and provides services for over 600 patients a day.

"I am concerned about the organisation. I'm very concerned for the very poorest who have to sacrifice so much just to come to the CRP," said Taylor who draws a monthly salary of Tk 7,500 for her work at the CRP.

A CRP staff preferring anonymity said, "I believe the organisation could suffer if this situation is not handled properly. I hope we can get to resolve this as soon as possible for the sake of the patients themselves."

START OF DIFFERENCES
Although the differences did not surface until the middle of 2005, the seeds were sown at the end of 2004.

In late 2004, the Trust for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (TRP) or the board, had to fill the position left empty by the long-time administrator and director AKM Momin, who had decided to work overseas after completing a PhD.

Although, it was usually left to the board and Taylor to take the decisions, FCRP in a letter asked the board to "reinforce our recommendation that FCRP should have strong representation in the TRP board of trustees," as they fund 22 percent of the CRP expenses.

As the first move in their more powerful role, the FCRP 'nominated' Shafi Sami and another FCRP trustee Leena Alam in January 2005.

It suggested that Sami take up a role as the CEO and the managing trustee of the board where he was to radically change the organisation's structure so that the board and FCRP have a greater say in the decision-making process.

Sami's terms of reference, contract and salary were exclusively discussed between the FCRP and TRP Chairman Maj Gen (retired) M Nurul Haq, who had agreed to an annual salary of 22,000 pound sterling for Sami for his position as a CEO with 'full executive powers'.

Taylor and at least two board members had all along been kept in the dark about the salary and role of Sami.

As Sami went ahead with 'full restructuring' of the CRP rules, regulations and procedures that had been practised by Taylor for 25 years, differences between his and Taylor's approach quickly widened to divide the organisation into two opposing camps, CRP staff said.

One of the major sources of contention between Taylor and Sami was the dismissal of a number of long-time CRP staff. Sami sacked them over allegations of corruption during his tenure but Taylor resented the decisions saying those were taken without her consent.

On the other hand, a handful of staff who were promoted during Sami's tenure received at least an 80 percent rise in their salaries. One of those was Albert Mollah who is currently the acting CEO and a director after being in the organisation since February 2004.

During this period fees went up twice but more significantly, the procedure for funding patients had changed drastically. More and more of the poorer patients were made to pay large sums for the medical services even when they were clearly not in a position to do so.

A number of current CRP patients, requesting anonymity, have said they had to pay thousands up front even though CRP covered the rest of the expenses. However, older patients recall they were not required to pay if they were not financially well off.

A physiotherapist with the CRP told The Daily Star, "Most of our patients come from poorer segments of the society because they are exposed to more dangerous situation due to the nature of their work mostly manual labour."

These decisions were being taken without Taylor, as Mollah states, "Because we were trying to limit Valerie's interference in the organisation."

Taylor claims, a number of documents that contained her signature were not adequately explained to her and she had signed them in good faith.

The only higher body that could have resolved the matter was the TRP board, but the board was in a shambles due to irregular meetings, non-attendance by a number of trustees and repeated failures to even record proper minutes of their meetings.

Interestingly, the FCRP sent a letter to Sami in January 2005, asking him to comment on its recommendation for the TRP chairman to 'leave his post' as they were dissatisfied with "the performance of the TRP trustees in monitoring CRP's activity."

But after they took charge, it has been learnt that there was no action taken against the chairman, and instead Alam, the new trustee member, had sent a letter to FCRP, UK and the British Charity Commission, levelling allegations of mismanagement against Taylor.

As a result, the board was inert in resolving the differences that had come to a head last month when one trustee board member walked out of the meeting in protest at the previous decisions.

No effort to resolve the matter was taken when this report was filed last night.