The expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry is set to spend Tk110,000 from the wage earners’ welfare fund to arrange a CIP card distribution ceremony for commercially important non-resident Bangladeshis.
The card distribution ceremony is scheduled to be held today at the ministry conference room at Probashi Kalyan Bhaban.
CIP cards are being given to non-resident Bangladeshis (NRB) who have contributed to the national economy by sending remittances or importing commodities from Bangladesh.
Some of the officials concerned asked why the migrants’ fund “was being used for such silly a purpose.”
They said it was a waste of wage earners’ hard earned money. The fund, created with money deposited by workers, was supposed to be used for the welfare of the workers.
One official, seeking anonymity, asked: “What is the need for such a costly ceremony?”
Despite repeated attempts to contact the expat affairs secretary Khondaker Showkat Hossain by mobile telephone, he could not be reached for comments.
“I have not heard that so much money is being spent, and if it is the case, I will look into it,” expat affairs minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
The minister suggested that the director general (DG) of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) be asked for her comments.
BMET DG Begum Shamsun Nahar was also not available for comment.
Non-resident Bangladeshis will receive CIP cards if they send remittances of at least $150,000 in a fiscal year or import Bangladeshi goods worth $500,000 to their countries of residence.
Card holders, their spouses and their children will enjoy privileges in getting cabins when admitted to public hospitals. They will have free access to the Bangladesh secretariat for a year. When meeting high officials at home and abroad, they will receive special treatment.
A senior official at the ministry said 10 recipients of the CIP card were being recognised for their high remittances and one non-resident Bangladeshi was receiving a card for importing Bangladeshi commodities.
