200 members call for reshuffle of BGMEA board

More than 200 garment exporters yesterday submitted a memorandum to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), seeking significant reforms within the trade body.

They demanded the dissolution of the current BGMEA board and the formation of a new one as soon as possible.

The members of the BGMEA have lost confidence in the current board as they failed to provide any specific instructions to improve the industry since being elected about seven months ago, they said.

Export, import, production and banking were all affected by the unrest stemming from the student-led protests in July, which culminated in Sheikh Hasina handing in her resignation from the post of prime minister on August 5.

Additionally, the BGMEA did not express condolences for the deaths of over 535 people, including students, amid the recent protests.

Neither did the current board work to brighten the industry's image at home or abroad, they alleged.

As a result, buyers are losing confidence, the BGMEA members said in a statement.

The statement also said some influential leaders of the Sammilito Parishad, which won the BGMEA elections in February this year, were involved in rigging the result.

So, a group of general members cast a vote of no confidence in the current BGMEA board, said Faisal Samad, who led a panel called Forum in the elections.

"The current board could not improve the business situation even six months after being elected," he added.

Acting BGMEA President Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, who is also a senior vice-president of the trade body, said he received the memorandum and the issue would be discussed at a board meeting soon.

Islam said BGMEA President SM Mannan Kochi has not been very active in his duties amid the current spell of violence, leaving him to fill the role.

He informed that more than 200 general members came to the BGMEA office in the capital's Uttara at around 2:30pm and began agitating during the submission of the memorandum.

Islam hoped they could reach a solution following consultations with the board and other leaders.

The garments sector, which accounts for over 84 percent of the country's annual exports, has been going through a tough time as exporters are facing challenges in production and logistics.

The BGMEA previously said they incurred losses of more than Tk 6,400 crore due to the internet outage and factory closure during the first phase of the student-led movement.

Now, they are assessing the losses incurred during the second phase.