Pandemic plays spoilsport in BB dy governor hunt

Coronavirus pandemic has played spoilsport in search committee from hunting two deputy governors for Bangladesh Bank, prompting Financial Institutions Division (FID) to pick the duo.

After one year inside the publication of the recruitment circular, Bangladesh Bank is going to get two more new deputy governors provided that PMO okays the file.

Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Sirajul Islam, Kazi Saidur Rahman, Humayun Kabir, Md. Shah Alam and Bangladesh Krishi Bank Managing Director Ali Hossain Pradhania are on the list of candidates for the post of new deputy governors.

It is learned that Kazi Saidur Rahman and Ali Hossain Pradhania are in the final list. The names of the two deputy governors have already been finalized from the Financial Institutions Division of the Finance Ministry and sent to the Prime Minister's Office for approval.

As of October 31 last year, 11 applications were received for the post of Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank. A shortlist of candidates was to be compiled by a search committee headed by economist Kazi Khaliquzzaman. The committee was interested in interviewing the candidates online because of Covid-19.

But it was delayed due to the objection of Bangladesh Bank. According to Bangladesh Bank, it is recommended that the interviews of the candidates should be conducted directly. The search committee then refused to accept this obligation.

In this context, the search committee member Dr Zaid Bakht said that the search committee meeting was not held for some reasons. As a result, it was not possible to interview the candidates. If the government wants, it can bypass the search committee and appoint directly. Since the committee is unable to sit due to the coronavirus, and the post has been vacant for a long time, the government may want to appoint directly.

It is learned that bypassing the search committee, the finance ministry went straight to the PM's office with their shortlist. Some central bank officials have objected to this.

On condition of anonymity, a senior official of Bangladesh Bank said, it is not unusual. There is no obligation to have a search committee. Since this is a contractual post, the Ministry of Finance can select candidates on behalf of the government as per the rules.

Earlier, four people were appointed as deputy governors of Bangladesh Bank. There are currently two deputy governors. The Ministry of Finance first issued a notification on July 29, 2018, for the appointment of the second-highest post of Bangladesh Bank.

A three-member search committee headed by prominent economist and chairman of PKSF Kazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmed proposed the names of the three after an oral test of six candidates. But a new notification was issued on October 4, 2019, without an appointment from there.

sr/wi