Fazle Kabir to continue as Bangladesh Bank governor as govt is bending rules

The government is tweaking the law in a move to keep Fazle Kabir as governor of the Bangladesh Bank.

With parliament suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, a presidential ordinance has to be issued to amend Bangladesh Bank Order.

The Oorder caps the maximum age limit to hold the governor’s office at 65 years, which Kabir will cross next July.

This is the first time such a measure is being resorted to amid the unprecedented crisis.

The government has announced stimulus packages worth almost Tk 1.25 trillion to weather the coronavirus crisis. Finance minister AHM said this was undertaken to facilitate the distribution of the government’s stimulus package.

The finance minister told bdnews24.com, “Many packages have already been executed. If a new governor steps in now, it would take months for him or her to get the hang of it.”

But, a minister on the conditional of anonymity told bdnews24.com, “To tell you the truth, we have been looking for a new governor for the last one year. But we could not find anybody suited to the role.”