A DEBATE has surfaced regarding the privileges extended to the Grameen institutions that the chief adviser to the interim government Muhammd Yunus founded and other likely ventures that have received the required government clearances after the August 2024 political changeover, which overthrew the government of the Awami League in an uprising on August 5 that year. The debate has some valid grounds. The issues that the debate revolves around are nothing that has bent the laws. But the time when the issues have taken place, giving birth to the debate, is problematic. Many believe that they should not have happened now when Muhammad Yunus is at the helm of the government, even for an interim period, running affairs of the state and setting affairs that have gone awry during the previous Awami League government that has ruled the country for about a decade and a half. Muhammad Yunus, at a critical juncture of the nation, assumed office on August 8, 2024 with the approval of all the forces, political and otherwise, that had fought against the ills and dislodged the prime minister Sheikh Hasina to end the long-standing authoritarian regime.
The proposal for the Grameen University has been approved. Grameen Employment Services Ltd has been given licence to export human resources. Grameen Telecom has been allowed to run a digital wallet. Government stakes in Grameen Bank have been reduced to 10 per cent from the existing 25 per cent. The five-year tax exemption for Grameen Bank has been reinstated. Some of the applications also predate the 2024 political changeover. They were only cleared during the interim period after they had been stuck during the Awami League regime understandably for Hasina鈥檚 hostility towards Grameen. Whilst no law has been bent in giving the clearances, there is no doubt that the Grameen initiative, or Muhammad Yunus for that matter, would successfully run the ventures, which would bring about benefits. But all this having happened at a time when he needs to establish the just rights of people and remove obstacles to all that curbs the just rights has created a conflict of interests involving him. Someone running the affairs of the state has a moral responsibility to attend to similar issues of people or quarters other than his. And, he should have waited for the transfer of power to the next elected government and it would have been well if all this had happened after that. The hurry was not needed. It has harmed his reputation.
We still love to believe that he would understand the mistake of creating the conflict of interests and in the days to come, he would do justice to people鈥檚 reposing their trust in his neutrality. We hope that he would succeed, doing justice to both his reputation and the interests of the country.
