Biman board reconstituted

The government yesterday reconstituted the board of Biman Bangladesh Airlines making Air Marshal (retd) Muhammad Enamul Bari chairman for the year 2016.

Enamul Bari replaced Air Marshal (retd) Jamal Uddin Ahmed who had been at the Biman cockpit despite speculations over the last seven years that he would be removed soon. Biman had been in the red in six of the seven years he was at the helm.

Enamul Bari was a director of the Biman board whilst serving the Air Force.

Twelve others were also made directors of the board. The board was earlier an 11-member body.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism in a circular announced the formation of the board and its members.

“The board has been reconstituted comprising 13 members including the chairman for 2016 to ensure overall development and speed up its activities,” said a press release of the ministry.

The directors of the board are: senior secretary of the Finance Division of finance ministry, secretaries of the Prime Minister's Office and the civil aviation ministry, former secretary Nazrul Islam Khan (NI Khan), assistant chief of air staff (Operation and Training), engineer in chief of Bangladesh Army, chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, former additional secretary Taposh Kumar Roy, barrister Tanjib-ul Alam, and BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman, FCA and Managing Director of Emerging Resource Ltd Noor-e-Khoda Abdul Mobin, and MD of Biman.

Yesterday morning, Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon and the secretary of the ministry met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and got her approval with a small change in the list of directors that was handed over to her, said highly placed sources in the ministry.

The ministry had proposed the name of former FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, but the prime minister picked NI Khan as Akram had told her that he was sick and not willing to be on the Biman board, Menon told The Daily Star.

The minister also said the number of the board directors rose to 12 from 10 as two people from trade bodies were included as directors.

Sources in the ministry said the ministry proposed the names for chairman and directors in December, excluding Jamal Uddin and some board members, when the premier asked the minister whether Jamal Uddin could be considered for one more year.

However, since some top PMO officials and all cabinet members wished him gone, he was finally shown the door, said a highly placed source.

Jamal Uddin developed a rift with former and present ministers of the civil aviation ministry as he seldom inform them of any decisions, not even out of courtesy, said a ministry official wishing anonymity. The parliamentary watchdog on civil aviation ministry on different occasions expressed annoyance at Jamal Uddin as he hardly appeared before the watchdog despite being asked to do so.

The prime minister had appointed Jamal as the Biman chairman for one year in 2009, two years after Biman was made a public limited company in 2007.

After completion of his one year, there was speculation that Jamal Uddin might not be appointed chairman again.

Sources in Biman and civil aviation ministry said Biman's Annual General Meeting was to be held by December 31 last year, but the Biman could not hold it. This irked government high-ups.

The situation took a turn for the worse for Jamal Uddin as some key decisions were pending with the board, like appointment of manpower in ground handling and purchasing of equipment. The board could not approve the decisions since its tenure had expired at the end of last year.

Jamal's chances of becoming the board chairman again significantly dropped after March 8, when the UK banned direct cargo flight to London form Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on security grounds.