Nine general managers of state-owned banks have not joined new workplaces in over a year

Nine general managers of four state-owned bank have not joined their new workplaces in 13 months, refusing to follow the government’s transfer orders.

After several reminders, the finance ministry finally ordered the managing directors of the banks to discharge them from their current workplaces so that they can join their new workplaces in the first week of January, but the move has failed.

“They are giving one excuse after another. At first they influenced the board of directors to give coronavirus as an excuse. Then they gave the end of the year as another excuse,” said ABM Ruhul Azad, an additional secretary at the Financial Institutions Division.

“Finally, we from the ministry asked them to join their workplaces within the first week of January. If they don’t follow the division’s orders, we will have to take other steps,” he said on Sunday.   

“Everyone must keep in mind that there is no alternative follow the ministry’s orders because the ministry’s orders mean the government’s orders,” Azad added.

Besides Sonali, Agrani, Janata, Rupali, BDBL and BASIC, Bangladesh has 11 specialised state-owned banks and financial institutions, including Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank, Employment and Expatriates’ Welfare Bank.

According to their organogram, general managers are placed after managing directors and deputy managing directors. The Financial Institutions Division oversees the appointments and transfers of the GMs.

The transferred GMs are Mashfiul Bari, Md Habibur Rahman Gazi and Md Mahbubur Rahman are currently working at the Janata Bank, Kazi Abdur Rahman, Md Abdur Rahim Shawkat Ali Khan and Golam Mortuza at the Rupali Bank, Kamil Burhan Firdous at the BDBL and Monirul Islam at the Agrani Bank.

The Financial Institutions Division in an order on Dec 9, 2019 transferred the nine officials from state-owned commercial banks to the specialised banks.

Three of the Rupali Bank and two of the Janata Bank were transferred to Bangladesh Krishi Bank while the four others were transferred to Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, Ansar-VDP Unnayan Bank and Expatriates’ Welfare Bank.

As they did not join their new workplaces after 11 months, the government in a new notice on Nov 11 last year ordered them to join fast.

In another order to the managing directors on Dec 19, the government said it extended the time for joining the GMs’ new workplaces to February 2020 following the MDs’ request. The GMs were reminded about the order after they failed to meet the deadline.

As they did not join their new workplaces, the implementation of the government’s coronavirus stimulus package was hampered at the specialised banks, especially the Krishi Bank. 

The government ordered the MDs to issue release orders for the nine GMs to let them join their new workplaces within the first week of 2021.

A copy of the order was also sent to Fazle Kabir, governor of the Bangladesh Bank. But none of the GMs followed the transfer orders until Sunday.

Asked why he hasn’t discharged three of the GMs, Janata Bank MD Abdus Salam Azad said, “They are holding important posts of the bank. It doesn’t want them leave because it needs them very much.”

He said the bank’s board had discussed the issue earlier and will bring it in the next meeting as well to request the Financial Institutions Division for keeping them in the bank. “I hope the ministry will respond positively,” he said.

Bangladesh Krishi Bank has been in trouble as it has only seven GMs against 17 posts due to no appointment from 1984 to 2000.

Five of the nine GMs were ordered to join the bank, but none reported to the specialised bank until Sunday, said BKB Managing Director Ali Hossain Prodhania.

“The Financial Institutions Division appoints officials on deputation considering our situation, but we haven’t actually got the GMs,” he said.

“I haven’t joined the Employment Bank yet because the head office hasn’t issued a release order,” said one of the nine GMs, Kazi Abdur Rahman of Rupali Bank.

Rupali Bank’s Managing Director Obayed Ullah Al Masud could not be reached for comments.

An official at the bank said Masud could not work regularly now after catching dengue fever some days ago.

He also said the four transferred GMs of the Rupali Bank have not joined their new workplaces.