Quazi Moniruzzaman, Abul Kalam to head BGMEA joint committee

Quazi Moniruzzaman and Abul Kalam have been chosen to head the joint committee, a part of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, or BGMEA, for the position of president and general secretary, respectively.

The association is currently headed by those elected from the panel of the committee.

SM Mannan Kochi, who was elected from the panel, stepped down from the post of BGMEA president on Aug 24.

Among the members of the board, Khandoker Rafiqul Islam was recently made the president of the trade organisation.

Former commerce minister Tipu Munshi, the last president of the council, is behind bars now and prior general secretary former Dhaka North City Corporation mayor Atiqul Islam has gone into hiding.

In this context, former BGMEA president Redwan Ahmed announced the lead of Monir and Kalam to head the council at a meeting in Dhaka’s Uttara Club on Monday.

The council's new leadership comes at a time when the Forum panel has applied to the commerce ministry to dissolve the current BGMEA board and hold fresh elections.

In recent years, the entrepreneurs took part in the BGMEA elections by forming two panels - the joint committee and the Forum - to select their leaders.

The joint committee organised Monday’s meeting, claiming a vacuum in the leadership.

Redwan said the new president and general secretary will nominate the rest of the panel as the current leadership of the council is no longer working.