Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith has sought to know why the Yunus Centre is housed inside the Grameen Bank headquarters. He has also said the centre was an impediment to the bank’s activities.His criticism of the location of Yunus Centre came a day after the former Grameen Bank Managing Director Muhammad Yunus slammed the government.
He had said it had ‘opened the door for its ultimate destruction’ by amending the laws governing the micro-finance institution.
Responding to a query, the Finance Minister told reporters at the Secretariat, “What is this Yunus Centre? Why is it sitting on the Grameen premises?”
Yunus Centre is situated in the Grameen Bank office in the capital’s Mirpur. The centre’s website reads that its goal is to spread the ‘ideals and views’ of Yunus.
“It is very unethical, unethical,” Muhith said before asking, “Is this [Grameen Bank] his property?”
He also said that establishing Yunus Centre inside the Grameen Bank office was ‘motivated’.
It was routinely influencing and hindering Grameen Bank’s ‘functioning’, Muhith alleged.
The Finance Minister on Thursday said Yunus was the one who destroyed the microcredit institution. “I strongly believe that he destroyed Grameen Bank.”
Asked whether the bank would get a new Chairman, Muhith said, “If a new Chairman is appointed, [Yunus] will start campaigning against him.”
Even after harshly criticising the Grameen Bank founder, the minister praised Yunus for his work.
“He [Yunus] did not work for the country’s interest always. He only saw to his interests.
“But it cannot be denied that he did some good for the country as well. He introduced loans without any security deposit. However, it prevailed in many countries.”
