Govt actions in a month, says Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said the government would do whatever it intended to do about the Grameen Bank in the next one month.
The government would take actions based on the recommendations of the Grameen Bank Commission's final report, he said.
Muhith said much time had been lost due to the pressure of responding to many letters addressed to him from former heads of states and ministers of different countries and US congresspersons on the Grameen Bank issue.
“Something has to be done in this tenure. We have already started some tasks,” he told reporters after a meeting with an Indian business delegation at his Secretariat office.
In one of those actions, the government would write new rules for electing directors of the bank, the minister said, adding that the rules would be introduced after the vetting of the law ministry.
Muhith said he was happy with the part of the report submitted on Friday by Ajmalul Hossain QC, a member of the three-member government-sponsored Grameen Bank Commission.
Referring to Ajmalul's opinion, Muhith said a statutory body could not be owned by anyone other than the government.
“So, the ownership of Grameen Bank belongs to the government, no matter to what extent it holds its shares,” he added.
The government owns 25 percent shares of the bank, while the remaining 75 percent are owned by its rural borrower-shareholders.
Muhith added the commission had to face some difficulties while preparing the report. The biggest of them was finding links between the bank and its 54 associated organisations.
The minister termed the report comprehensive although there is confusion that whether the full report had been turned in.
Muhith also accused Grameen Bank founder Prof Muhammad Yunus of lying, saying the Nobel Laureate had been campaigning around the world that the bank would be split into 19 parts.
"It is not true. He is a liar," he said.
Muhith said the foremost concern of the government was to protect Grameen Bank alongside its reputation and style.
He said the commission had also made recommendations about irregularities in Grameenphone's licensing issue.
"I have already said the licence would not be cancelled as Grameenphone is the largest foreign investment in the country even though it has been sanctioned illegally. Its licence had been sought by somebody, but someone else obtained it,” he said.
The minister also termed Prof Yunus a politician saying, “He is a politician, but doesn't wear the costume of a politician.”