United States has urged the Bangladesh government to ensure transparency in the selection of a new Managing Director for the Grameen Bank.
A State Department statement said the new MD should be one who has "unquestioned integrity, competence, and dedication to preserving Grameen Bank, its unique governance structure, and its effectiveness in bringing development and hope to 8.3 million of Bangladesh's most vulnerable citizens, mostly women."
Washington expressed deep concern about recent actions the Bangladeshi government has taken to give the government-appointed Chairman of the Grameen Bank Board control over the selection of the bank's new MD. This move would diminish the role the largely female borrower-shareholders play in shaping the direction of an institution that has made a difference to millions of impoverished women in Bangladesh, and indeed around the world, it warned.
During her visit to Dhaka in May, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had urged Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Dipu Moni to take no actions that would undermine the Grameen Bank. The United States is concerned that the latest actions by the government could threaten the future of the bank, which was founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Prof. Muhammad Yunus.
Washington called on the Bangladesh government to respect the integrity, effectiveness, and independence of Grameen Bank.
by RTT Staff Writer
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