Staff Reporter :
Sammilita Parishad, a platform of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) assured that the next election of the apex body of the apparel sector will be held free, fair and credible.
The election of the trade body will be held on April 4, 2021.
Faruque Hassan, panel leader of the Sammilita Parishad and former BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy, MP, came up with the assurance while speaking at the office introducing ceremony at Gulshan in the city on Monday.
Besides, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, former BGMEA presidents
Kutub Uddin and Mostafa Golam Quddus, among others, were present. Traditionally, the two panels-Sammilita Parishad and Shadhinata Forum-contest the BGMEA elections but in the past two terms, leaders of the panels shared directorships among themselves to avoid the polls.
Speaking at the programme, Salam Murshedy said, “We believe in democracy and we want the BGMEA members will choose appropriate leaders for the trade body through elections to be held on Aril 4.”
The members will elect the panel as all former presidents of the trade body have been elected from the Sammilita Parishad, he added. He also demanded extension the moratorium on the salary stimulus package by six months and the repayment tenure by another three years to tackle the pandemic situation.
“The repayment needs to be started from next July and the tenure of the payment should be five years for recovering from the pandemic situation,” Salam said.
The Bangladesh Bank has instructed the commercial banks to arrange repayment of the stimulus package by January at a time when the industry, amidst the second wave of Covid-19, was taking a deep plunge into an uncertainty.
Faruque Hassan said initiatives will have to be taken to develop the sector and welfare of the members of the trade body, if the panel is elected in the upcoming election.
