Former Grameen Bank Managing Director Muhammad Yunus has said the government will not be able to divide the microfinance institute if the people wake up.
“The government is saying that it will split it. They can split it by signing in a paper (document). They’ve huge power. But they cannot do that once the people wake up. The government cannot split it if the people wage a resistance,” the Nobel laureate said on Thursday.
Grameen Bank was founded in 1983 through a martial law ordinance. Yunus and Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 “for their efforts towards poverty alleviation” through micro-credit.
After the National Norwegian Television in December 2010 had aired an investigative TV documentary “Fanget i Mikrogjeld” or “Caught in Micro debt”, allegations were there that Yunus drew off nearly Tk 7 billion (100 million dollars) in aid for poor borrowers of Grameen Bank to another of his company back in 1996. This sparked a widespread discussion both at home and abroad.
In the wake of such allegations, the government formed a commission last year to review the activities of Grameen Bank and 48 other organisations that bear the Grameen name, and make recommendations on how to run the organisations.
Recently the commission in its report recommended creation of several independently registered organisations under Grameen Bank in order to decentralise drastically the bank’s operations and management, media reports say.
Bangladesh Bank on March 2, 2011 relieved Yunus of his duties stating ‘it is not valid for Prof Yunus to continue holding office’. Yunus moved to the High Court against the central bank decision but lost the legal battle.
Source: Bd news24
