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Expatriate welfare bank

A.N..M. Nurul Haque
THE government's move to establish an expatriate welfare bank with expatriate workers as its shareholders and investors, in a bid to help those seeking jobs abroad and using remittance for productive purposes, is unrealistic.
The government high-ups, including the prime minister, have already agreed on the move. The expatriate welfare minister is moving fast, holding meetings with the finance ministry and the Bangladesh Bank (BB) to set up the bank in the next fiscal year (2009-10) after completing all necessary formalities including formulation of a legal framework.
Observing the expatriate welfare ministry's move for setting up the bank as a scheduled bank, BB has suggested that it should be set up as a specialised bank instead. The government has
formed an Expatriate Welfare Fund (EWF) with a view to using remittances for productive investment. The Anticorruption Commission unveiled a good number of alleged irregularities a few months back in the use of EWF, worth over Tk 820 million, in the name of two projects.
The fund, which was collected as service charge from the expatriate Bangladeshi workers by the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET), was used in such a way that it had virtually no relevance to the real welfare of the expatriate workers.
The government also moved to form expatriate workers' welfare associations in 10 countries where Bangladesh has got missions. But no progress is seen in forming such an association for serving the interests of our expatriate workers, who are deprived in many ways while working abroad.
Work is underway for setting up the expatriate welfare bank with an initial capital of about Tk 250 crore. It will lend money to the people seeking jobs abroad at a low rate of interest. The expatriates' welfare ministry expects that people will no longer need to raise funds to go abroad by selling their lands or other valuables, once the bank is established. But experts in the banking sector have termed the move unnecessary.
Expatriate workers will be allowed to take loans from the expatriate welfare bank for business or industrial ventures, and use the bank for sending their earnings from abroad. The bank will not have any branch at district and upazila level, but will provide mobile phone banking services to the expatriates and their family members.
Some banks, including Agrani, Pubali and Mercantile, have loan facilities to help people seeking jobs abroad. Pubali Bank, having 371 branches all over the country, has lent to only 100 job seekers in 2008. Agrani Bank, with its countrywide network of more than 1,000 branches, could not get the expected response for loan from the job seekers.
It is indeed a utopian idea to provide banking services to the huge number of expatriate workers and their family members through mobile phone, having only a few branches in divisional headquarters. Such a bank may only serve the
interest of a few fortunate people living abroad, allowing them to take loan for business out of the funds worth around Tk 350 crore collected from the poor workers.
Every worker who has gone abroad was compelled to deposit Tk 1,300 to the fund, with which the government has moved to set up the bank. But setting up an expatriate welfare bank is not the right step for taking care of the interest and welfare of the expatriate Bangladeshi workers who are deprived in many ways both at home and abroad.
There are 48 scheduled banks, including four state-owned banks, in operation in the country at present. These banks, with their countrywide network of branches, can easily help those seeking jobs abroad with low-interest loans. They can also help our expatriate workers and members of their families with various banking services, including quick delivery of their remittances.
BB should make it mandatory for all the scheduled banks operating in Bangladesh to open a separate section in their existing premises for providing prompt and efficient banking services to the overseas job seekers.
In a commendable move, BB has set up a Tk 200 crore revolving fund for banks to give loans at a low interest in the solar energy, biogas and effluent treat-ment sectors to help the country face the crisis in the energy and environmental sectors. BB should also take a similar step by providing funds to banks so that they can give loans on soft terms to those seeking jobs abroad.
The expatriate welfare ministry should straighten things up for proper management of the expatriate welfare
fund, constituting a competent management board with public and private sector representatives for taking up well thought-out projects and programs that have relevance to the real welfare of our expatriate workers, without moving to set up a bank having no feasibility.
A N M Nurul Haque is a columnist of The Daily Star