The proposed Grameen Bank Act-2013 is expected to be passed in the current Parliament session after some amendments.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said the draft of the new law would be presented at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting for final approval.
He firmly stated it would be passed in the current session of Parliament if it gets the Cabinet nod.
The incumbent government took initiatives to amend and scrap various ordinances passed during military rule. The Grameen Bank Ordinance of 1983 is one of them.
Muhith has been saying no large-scale changes will be brought to the ordinance to transform it into an Act.
“There won’t be much change,” he said on Monday.
“It will come under the control of the Bangladesh Bank and will be given tax holiday for a fixed period,” said Muhith.
The Nobel-winning microfinance institution had been enjoying tax rebate since its inception.
“Tax exemption is given for a specific period. We provide such rebate at times and the Grameen Bank will get that according to the rules,” replied Muhith when asked how long Grameen Bank would enjoy tax holiday.
Muhith said the bank’s former Managing Director Muhammad Yunus used to ‘decide’ the appointments of nine Directors on its board. “From now on, Directors will be appointed as per the rules,” he said.
On Sept 22, he had said the Grameen Bank would come under the purview of the Bangladesh Bank but the share structure would remain unchanged.
The government will hold 25 percent of its share while other shareholders will own the rest 75 percent.
Meanwhile, the Grameen Bank Commission is expected to file its report on Monday.
Yunus had been discharging duties as the Bank’s MD since it came into being. The central bank removed Yunus in 2011 on the ground that he had crossed permissible age to hold the post. The position has remained vacant since then.
A documentary on the Norweigan national TV in 2010 accused Yunus of transferring foreign funds from one account to another without informing the donors.
The government formed a commission to review the activities of the Bank following the allegation.
Media reports recently claimed in its primary report the commission recommended decentralisation of the Bank’s structure.
Source: Bd news24
