New IFC law to replace ordinance

The cabinet approved Monday a draft law that would replace the existing International Finance Corporation Ordinance 1976.
The proposed law seeks to update some of its provisions.
The ordinance was promulgated during the martial law regime in 1976.   
However, the draft law --- 'The International Finance Corporation Act-2015' --- will be in Bangla.
The Supreme Court in 2010 declared the Fifth Amendment to the constitution illegal. All the ordinances and martial law orders issued between 1975 and 1979 were ratified through the amendment.  
All financial assistance from the International Finance Corporation will go into a consolidated government fund before spending, according to a provision of the new law related to the funding agency's local chapter.   
It has also a provision that refuses to grant the IFC staff any "undue privilege" under duty-free facility.
In another major legislative step, the government got cabinet seal of approved on a draft law that brings informal cooperative activities under legal coverage.          
The cabinet approved the proposed laws in its regular weekly meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Bangladesh Secretariat.
"The proposed law is aimed at giving a new legal shape to the International Finance Corporation Ordinance of 1976," cabinet secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told journalists about the IFC law in the making.
He said the Economic Relations Division (ERD) under the Ministry of Finance (MoF) placed the draft law in Bangla following a cabinet decision taken earlier.
Mr Bhuiyan said following recommendations of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), a provision has been incorporated into the proposed law that would not allow IFC officials to get any duty-free facility against different commodities for their use.   
The cabinet secretary said that under the proposed law all financial assistance received from the IFC will be deposited into a consolidated fund of the government. And any kind of subscription or payment to the IFC will also be made from the consolidated fund.
He said Bangladesh Bank (BB) would be the custodian of all assets of the IFC in the country.
The council of ministers also approved in principle the draft of 'The Bangladesh Rural Development Board Act 2015' that provides for bringing cooperative activities under a legal framework.
Activities of the cooperatives are now regulated through an ordinance.
The draft law suggests amending the existing ordinance to bring the activities of the cooperatives under a legal framework.
The ordinance was also promulgated during the military regime in 1982 and became defunct with the 2010 verdict of the Supreme Court declaring military rules illegal.
The Department of Cooperatives now issues licences to Upazila Central Cooperatives Association to run cooperative activities and the Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) gives operational support to those, Mr Bhuiyan said in explaining the changes to the cooperatives law.
He said a number of cooperative societies run their activities informally, with the permission of BRDB.
"The proposed law has the provision of bringing those societies under a legal framework," he said.
He said the draft law also has a provision of opening offices of BRDB at divisional level along with the existing offices at national, district and upazila levels.
The cabinet meeting was apprised of the visit of the foreign minister to the United States on February 17-19 and participation of the minister in a high-level meeting of the 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva March 3-7.
    talhabinhabib@yahoo.com