Special Correspondent :
The government has extended the tenure of the incumbent Board of Directors of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) for third time despite opposition from general members of the trade body.
The incumbent BGMEA board on Thursday got extension for one more month, an anonymous Commerce Ministry official told The New Nation yesterday.
The Ministry has issued an order in this regard in the evening.
Admitting the matter, Commerce Secretary Md Mofizul Islam told The New Nation, “Yes, the tenure of BGMEA board got extended. The Ministry extended its tenure for holding a credible election of the trade body. I hope, the decision would bring positive outcome within the trade body .”
Earlier, a section of the BGMEA members including its former presidents recently requested the Commerce Minister not to extend the tenure of the current board again saying that the general members of the trade body would not accept the process any more.
They said, the general members have long been waiting to pick their leaders through elections which remain due for years.
A team led by former BGMEA president Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez on December 5 visited commerce minister Tofail Ahmed and requested him not to allow any further extension of the committee.
The current board under the leadership of its president, Md Siddiqur Rahman, took over BGMEA office on September 22, 2015 through a negotiation process for a two-year term.
The board of the trade body got its first extension (six months) from the commerce ministry on the grounds that BGMEA had to relocate its headquarters as the Supreme Court declared its building on Hatirjheel Lake illegal and ordered to demolish it within six months.
The illegally built headquarters of the trade body is yet to be demolished as the Supreme Court later extended time for the apparel sector trade body for its demolition.
After the six-month extended tenure, the government had further extended the tenure of BGMEA board for one more year and allowed the existing board to remain in office up to March 22, 2019.
The election schedule of BGMEA would have to be announced by December 22 this year as per the articles of association of the trade body.
But the election schedule now has to be announced by January 22 due to the latest tenure extension of the BGMEA’s incumbent board of director.
Md Siddiqur Rahman could not be reached for comments on the issue.
The government has extended the tenure of the incumbent Board of Directors of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) for third time despite opposition from general members of the trade body.
The incumbent BGMEA board on Thursday got extension for one more month, an anonymous Commerce Ministry official told The New Nation yesterday.
The Ministry has issued an order in this regard in the evening.
Admitting the matter, Commerce Secretary Md Mofizul Islam told The New Nation, “Yes, the tenure of BGMEA board got extended. The Ministry extended its tenure for holding a credible election of the trade body. I hope, the decision would bring positive outcome within the trade body .”
Earlier, a section of the BGMEA members including its former presidents recently requested the Commerce Minister not to extend the tenure of the current board again saying that the general members of the trade body would not accept the process any more.
They said, the general members have long been waiting to pick their leaders through elections which remain due for years.
A team led by former BGMEA president Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez on December 5 visited commerce minister Tofail Ahmed and requested him not to allow any further extension of the committee.
The current board under the leadership of its president, Md Siddiqur Rahman, took over BGMEA office on September 22, 2015 through a negotiation process for a two-year term.
The board of the trade body got its first extension (six months) from the commerce ministry on the grounds that BGMEA had to relocate its headquarters as the Supreme Court declared its building on Hatirjheel Lake illegal and ordered to demolish it within six months.
The illegally built headquarters of the trade body is yet to be demolished as the Supreme Court later extended time for the apparel sector trade body for its demolition.
After the six-month extended tenure, the government had further extended the tenure of BGMEA board for one more year and allowed the existing board to remain in office up to March 22, 2019.
The election schedule of BGMEA would have to be announced by December 22 this year as per the articles of association of the trade body.
But the election schedule now has to be announced by January 22 due to the latest tenure extension of the BGMEA’s incumbent board of director.
Md Siddiqur Rahman could not be reached for comments on the issue.
