Reinstate Yunus or make him chairman

Grameen Bank employees on Thursday appealed to the government to reinstate Prof Muhammad Yunus as the managing director or appoint him as the chairman of the Nobel winning micro-lender. The Grameen Bank Employees Association made the appeal in the capital, warning that the appointment of any controversial person as the new MD would create "crisis and uncertainty" in the bank. The Bangladesh Bank fired Yunus as the GB chief executive on March 2 in a move, his supporters said, was politically motivated and part of a smear campaign against the 2006 Nobel Peace laureate. The 71-year-old economist, who founded the micro-financier in 1982 with 25 per cent equity from the government, had earlier filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the central bank decision. Employees Association leaders told a press briefing they feared the micro-lender could be hit by a bank run and it's anti-poverty programmes fall in place if uncertainty over Professor Yunus continues to affect the institution. "The decision of removing Muhammad Yunus will be suicidal for the microfinance institution," said Sagirul Rashid Chowdhury, a senior leader of the employees association. "It will definitely create panic among the beneficiaries and it might force the depositors to withdraw their money to avert any uncertainty," he told the briefing. Grameen Bank has 8.3 million borrowers --- some 97 per cent of whom are women. The bank is the world's largest micro-finance institution with total lending since inception surpassing US $10 billion. The association said they have signatures of more than 20,000 GB employees and 3.7 million citizens across the country who seek reinstatement of Professor Yunus as the managing director of the micro-lender. "Please don't remove him for the greater interest of poor people, employees and the institution that has been playing key role in alleviating poverty," Chowdhury said in an impassioned plea to the Prime Minister. Association president Md Shamsul Alam said if Yunus cannot be allowed to continue as the managing director for age limit, he should be appointed as the chairman for a smooth transition. "His appointment as the chairman will create a congenial environment in the bank and help pave the way for smooth handover of leadership to the next generation," he said. "We humbly request the Prime Minister to consider our appeal," he said and also urged the government not to appoint any controversial people to the senior posts of the bank. Founding president of the association BM Barkat Ullah said Yunus pioneered micro-loan as an effective weapon against poverty and his name is now synonymous with micro-lending in the country. "The relation between Dr Yunus and Grameen Bank is so deep that it can't be separated by legal loopholes," he said. Other officials said Yunus had wanted to retire voluntarily from his Grameen Bank several times in the past, but the bank's board requested him to stay on only for the sake of the institution.