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Hillary remarks unwarranted

Reacts Muhith; terms Grameen Bank a govt institution; claims Yunus comes this far because of govt

Staff Correspondent
Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday termed unwarranted the comment of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the US does not endorse any action of the Bangladesh government that undermines the achievements of Grameen Bank.
"I think that there is no reason for the statement [Hillary's], as Bangladesh is not doing anything against Grameen Bank, and has not done anything against Grameen Bank, and will not do.
"To me, this comment is unwarranted. I do not see any reason for that," the minister said.
"I do not know. She has expressed her own view," said the minister.
He was briefing reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting on safety net at the finance ministry in Bangladesh Secretariat.
Before wrapping up her two-day Dhaka tour on Sunday, Hillary said she had followed the problems stemming from a change in the management of Grameen Bank. She was apparently speaking about Nobel peace prize winner Prof Muhammad Yunus' removal from the managing director post of the bank.
She said, "I can only hope that nothing is done that in anyway undermines the success of what Grameen Bank has accomplished..."
Muhith yesterday said the government stance would not change following Hillary's comments.
"Our stance is very clear from the beginning. Our position remains the same. There is no change."
Muhith reiterated his claim that Grameen Bank is a government institution even though the government effectively owns only 3 percent stake in the bank while the rest is owned by 83 lakh borrowers of the bank, majority of who are women.
"Grameen Bank is a government institution. The government has set up it and created it and take it forward. Prof Yunus has come this far because of the government. The government gave him the freedom, "he said.
Muhith also said there is no problem with the bank's performance. "The programme of Grameen Bank has improved. There is more lending and collection.”
He also dismissed comments made by Prof Yunus
and supporters of Grameen Bank that the government was trying to take control of the bank. "Sorry to use the term rubbish again, but this is rubbish. It is a government institution. It has been running in the way it ran in the past," said Muhith.
The minister claimed that the government had never interfered with the activities of the Grameen Bank. "It is only the change of the managing director."
The minister, however, gave some credit to the father of microcredit for his effective management capacity. "He has done a great thing. He has established a decentralised system, where all decisions are made at branch level. The same is going on.
"The same system exists now. The United States and the World Bank never gave a single penny nor talk about helping the organisation."
About the future of the 54 legally independent associated organisations of the bank, the minister said, "We have formed a commission, which will study how these companies are running."
The minister previously had claimed that the associated organisations were part of the bank but legal experts maintain that they are all independent entities.