Laws being amended to retain BB governor Fazle Kabir

The present governor of Bangladesh Bank, Fazle Kabir, is almost 65 and so, according to the law, there is no scope to extend his service term any further.

No one can remain governor of the central bank if he exceeds 65 years of age, according to the Bangladesh Bank Order. The government, however, wants to keep Fazle Kabir in office for another term.

The Bangladesh Bank Order, according to sources in the finance ministry, is being amended simply to reappoint Fazle Kabir as the central bank governor. Such a move is unprecedented. If this change goes through, he will be governor of the bank for another two years. As the parliament is not in session, this rule will be amended by means of presidential order.

Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, speaking to Prothom Alo in this regard, said, “Actually most of the financial packages which have been declared to tackle the losses caused by the coronavirus situation, are being implemented by Bangladesh Bank. It will take a new governor a few months to grasp the situation. That is the basic reason for the present governor to stay on.”

When governor Atiur Rahman had to resign hurriedly on 15 March 2016 over the cyber heist involving the central bank’s reserves, Fazle Kabir was promptly appointed in his stead the very next day, for a four-year term. He had been abroad at the time and returned to take over the central bank’s helm on 20 March. His tenure thus should have ended on 19 March this year. But 34 days before the end of his tenure, on 16 February, Fazle Kabir’s term was extended by 3 months and 13 days. It was said that he would remain governor till he reached 65 years of age. He will reach 65 on 3 July this year.

The bank and financial institutions division of the finance ministry recently submitted a draft proposal to the finance ministry calling for the age limit of the governor of Bangladesh Bank to be lifted. The finance minister approved of this on Monday. The next day, 19 May, the bank and financial institutions division placed this before the cabinet division.

When asked his opinion about this initiative, former finance advisor of the caretaker government, Akbar Ali Khan, told Prothom Alo, “A decision should first be taken as to what age limit should be fixed for the central bank governor, rather than changing the law keeping a particular governor in mind. At the same time, it is also true that in many countries there is no age limit for the central bank governor.” He made no further comment in this regard.

*This report has been rewritten in English by Aysha Kabir.