I wanted to write something at length about CRP for sometime now but I never could muster the outrage that I was feeling in my writing. However, nothing captures the raw emotion like this article.
Of course, some and I would always say the there can not be any mixing of emotion with business. But the people who tried to push Valerie out of CRP forgot that it was not just a business and without emotion Valerie could not have built an organization like CRP.
Details in Bangla
Details in English in Star Weekend magazine.
A more thorough reporting from New Age
Muhammad Zafar Iqbal chimes in.
Notes from the Citizen’s committee
Some people have used this example to trash civil society. But let’s not forget the people who are standing up for Valerie Taylor are also part of this civil society. So far the fight back has been tremendous.
June 5th, 2007 at 7:32 am
I don’t know who is using this to trash civil society. Not only the people FOR her, but Ms. Taylor herself is part of civil society.
Seems like “civil society” is fast becoming the new bogeyman we can blame for everything, from inflation to power outages!
June 5th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Unthinkably low has gone the people of our country! No wonder we’re one of the lowest esteemed country in the world! No wonder we’re ruled by SH type leaders! we really desrve such rules, poverty and destiny.
Dhoroni didha hou. Er cheye lojjar r ki hote pare!
June 5th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Our netas seem to have a limitless capacity to outrage all decent human sensibilities. Valerie Taylor is a truly remarkable woman and no amount of weasel words from the likes of Shofi Sami can justify the way she has been treated. A few weeks ago, I attended the annual BSA cultural night of QM University in London, and the sponsored charity of that event was CRP. There was a presentation on the organization from a gentleman who is involved with CRP fundraising in the UK, and it was an amazing story of courage, selflessness and determination that he narrated to us. We hope that the people involved will reinstate Ms Taylor with the full respect that is due to her. The rank ingratitude that has been shown thus far reflects poorly on all Bangladeshis.
June 5th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Here is some current news about CRP
Post of Co-ordinator is given back to Valerie Taylor again.
http://www.prothom-alo.org/archive/news_details_home.php?dt=2007-06-02&issue_id=268&nid=NzI2MA==
Another recent news from BDNews24 is:
Dhaka, June 3 (bdnews24.com) — Founder of the Centre for Rehabilitation of the Paralysed Valerie A Taylor, two trustee board members and a citizens’ committee want dissolution of the CRP trustee board.
They brought charges of lack of mutual trust against the members of the board.
At a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity, they sought intervention of the caretaker government to end the stalemate in the CRP.
Taylor, trustee board member Mohammad Mustaq Ahmed, and Nagorik Committee members SM Anwar Hossain, Ramendu Majumder, Professor Kabir Chowdhury and Akku Chowdhury were present at the press conference.
SM Anwar Hossain in his written speech said the present trustee board of the CRP lacks “mutual trust”. He said resignations of all members are the only way to restore glory to the CRP.
Hossain said Taylor should be returned to her earlier post with all powers to run the organisation.
Valerie said CRP inspires hope in the minds of handicapped people. Valerie who established CRP in 1979 was relieved of the post of coordinator on May 14. (For dteails http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?cid=2#tp10349)
June 5th, 2007 at 11:44 am
First as a patient and now on a private/personal capacity, I am involved with CRP for the past few years. I am not aware of the number of DP participants who have actually been to CRP or heard first from those whose lives have been touched by services of CRP and thus Valerie. I hope the following statement made to me by a father after his child got free treatment summarizes it all. A few years ago this guy told me crying, “Bhai jaan akhon aamar bachha amaar koley douray ashbar paarey. Bookta anondey kainda woothey. Jaantaam- naa deshey beedeshi fereshta ashchey”, (referring to Valerie).
It is true that CRP in the recent past have been facing financial difficulties. Once a project becomes bigger than what it was initially planned for, changes in strategy and policy may be necessary. But I simply cannot comprehend why the so called well wishers decided to do away with Valerie! HR organizations such as DP should get more active in this cause because, if CRP under the new management concentrates more on commercial services and cuts down free services, the financially insolvent will be denied of their only hope of getting proper free treatment. As the state is not willing or capable of taking such responsibility, in my opinion this will be a grave HR abuse against the poor of Bangladesh.
Cheers
June 5th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
“Such a successful and very human organization’s difficulties or trouble did not touch any of your hearts, appalling, is not it!”
M M Haque (media matters comment 25), please do not be so presumptuous. DP Australia worked last year with CRP as their partner. Visit http://www.drishtipat.org/australia/ for details. I personally know Valerie and have talked about CRP at length with her. Of course, it did touch our heart. Of course, we should have addressed it before. But as I have noted that I wanted to do a report at length on it and but could not write an appropriate piece surrounding it without having all the information. The other aspect of it was that I am not a believer of jumping on any bandwagon without analyzing the issue myself. Now enough reports are out to show a more clearer picture of what happened inside CRP.
Also it is incorrect to say Human right is the only issue of this blog. THe sidebar on your left will give you an idea of what are the issues of the blog.
June 5th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Asif you say : “The other aspect of it was that I am not a believer of jumping on any bandwagon without analyzing the issue myself. Now enough reports are out to show a more clearer picture of what happened inside CRP.” Yet you go ahead and do the same. The Daily Star piece is very sensationalist and not very investigative at all. Yet you provide that link to your audience. The same day an article came on newage which is though emotional but much more balanced. http://www.newagebd.com/2007/jun/01/jun01/xtra_cover.html No one will win a popularity contest with Valerie but it is important for responsible organizations like yours to be thorough before you ‘jump on the bandwagon’.
June 5th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Zorro,
I must admit I had’t seen that report and you are right that it is much more thorough. I have added the link in the main piece.
In very simplistic terms, here’s how I can explain the CRP events unfolding
1. CRP got started by the sole dedication of Valerie and was admired.
2. It attracted donor money and grew many folds thanks to the dedication of VT.
3. When Valerie was managing it, it was fine when it was small.
4. As it grew bigger, there were certain things that happened beyond VT’s control. Also allegations of corruptions happened. VT probably was defrauded.
5. FCRP, the donors, got concerned. They felt like a more institutionalised approach is needed.
It can not be run ameturishly.
6. FCRP appointed Shafi Sami(CEO) with a high salary And Leena Alam to take more admin control from VT (coordinator).
7. CEO and Coordinator’s role clashed. So the coordinator VT was removed.
8. Separate incidents gave VT the impression that she was slowly being shuffled away and CRP was turning out to be a hospital for people who could pay. Senior handpicked officers of Sami got big raises.
9. All communication channel broke down between VT group and Sami group. VT decided to go public as the last resort.
10. Huge media outcry for VT.
11. VT restored as coordinator.
12. VT and two other trustees are now going for the kill and demanding resignation of all the trustees. The Sami group still holds a one vote majority in the board.
Now here is my two cents. Please don’t ask the govt to step in. The problem will not be resolved like that. I think both VT’s passion and Sami’s efficiency in the system is needed. So they need to talk it out between them. VT’s asking for all the trustees to be replaced will not go well with donors.
Is the board of trustee on board with Valerie’(VT) vision of the organization? If not, then why not and in that case VT needs to articulate and convince FCRP if she is looking for funds from there.
Lastly, if Valerie is given the role of the coordinator/admin, is it the right role for her?
To me, after reading the reports, it seems like she needs somebody with her who shares her vision but at the same time who is also a very good administrator. FCRP definitely needs to give her more weight in deciding who the next CEO should be. That way both Valery’s and the CEO’s role can be in synch.
Quick thoughts but perhaps others can chime in.
June 5th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
I commend you for taking a secondary look and adding those details. Your subsequent comments and breakdown are also very thoughtful and concise. The sequence of events is very accurate and understandably there is a lot more gory details behind the reasons the ailing organization was being cleaned up. Also it is important to realize the challenge facing the group is how to narrate to the public the reasons (multifold: corruption and inefficiency being the major ones) for the ‘clean up’ without personally attacking Valerie’s ‘competence’ and at worst her ‘integrity’ which would serve no purpose and play into a mudlsinging match which they do not want to be a part of. All I can say they will conduct themselves with dignity and always dedicate themselves to the needs of the patients of CRP NOT the founder. The mudslinging from the Valerie camp and bad publicity generated may be percieved with trepidation but if you hold yourself to a higher conscience things have a way of working themselves out. Lets hope this is resolved amicably for all parties.
June 5th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Very carefully missing from Zorro’s comments is the salary issue of Shafi Sami. Almost 3% of the annual budget of this big organization is spent for the salary of Mr Sami.
CRP is a non-profit org. I believe Mr Sami could set an example here by agreeing to work pro bono if he wants to continue as the CEO.
June 5th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Rumi Bhai,
Just because an organization is a non-profit doesn’t mean that the CEO or the director have to work for free or charity. The number of non-profit in USA are huge but most of all their CEO’s and Director and Programme Director are on salary.
Please look at the big picture. May be they can compesated less than the marker salary for the job, but all this people who works in non-profit in Bangladesh also have kids and children and family and have to feed their stomach.
We need better policy for NGO Bereau. We need better facilities or tax breaks for their income as those are non-profit sectors. We need a over haul reform in the non-profit sectors of Bangladesh to stop corruption and bring transparency and accountibility. Most of the organization don’t publish their annual report on time or make it available for people to see. The donor money are never tracked and monitored. CRP is just one issues that came up their are thousands organizations who are facing the same fate, this just got the media attention.
I would urge the CTG to set up some strict rules and regulations and laws to reform the Non-profit sectors.Corruption breeds everywhere in Bangladesh and Public and Private and Non-profit sectors they just multiply.
Thanks
Kawser Jamal
http://www.changeBangladesh.com
Money shouldn’t be the motive for people who joins non-profit it should be their passion or admiration or ispiration to help the humanity but the same people who are helping the humanity shouldn’t we also take care of them?
remeration is important for them to run their family too other wise they can’t help others at all.
Look at the bigger picture.
June 5th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Rumi,
From Zafar Iqbal’s article, Sami’s annual salary was 30% (not 3%)of the annual budget of the whole organization which is simply outrageous!
The treatment could have been more affordable to the poor if his salary wasn’t so high. On the other hand, Valerie’s salary was only 7000 taka per month.
Lopa
June 5th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
But didn’t Friends of CRP (FCRP) appoint Sami with that salary? If that’s the case, then why hold Sami responsible for it? Its the donors who appointed him. What was the reason that made the donors so desperate to appoint someone with such a high consulting fee?
June 5th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Rumi, the salary was not ‘carefully missed’ but thank you for the very classy insinuation.
Mr Sami was ‘HIRED’ by the FCRP to do a clean up job. His role was to clean up the corrupt and inefficient practices at the ailing institution. His consulting fees were paid by FCRP (the donor organization) and not from CRP funds. The renumeration was provided from a seperate fund set up by the donors that was dedicated to the bring accountability, transparency, and division of organizational structure based on rules and regulations to the ailing isntitution. After 1 year of unpaid service his performance was evaluated and the POSITIVE financial and efficient impacts were observed and after a market study of comparable positions he was paid for his services.
‘It was explicitly for the reason that CRP cannot afford my services that FCRP volunteered to directly pay it…’ says Sami.
It might be very popular to say ” He shouldnt make this money…” but important to realize that he was ‘hired’ for this job, compensated for it according to the market (actually other similar positions pay significantly more not to mention less grief), and the funds for this were not taken from CRP at all. Also fyi in August 2006, Shafi Sami relinquished his position as the CEO of CRP, receiving no further payment, only staying on as a managing trustee on voluntary terms doing ‘pro-bono’ work.
June 5th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
I agree with Asif and Zorro that we cannot blame Mr. Sami for his salary as it was an amount agreed upon by FCRP. We can go on arguing indefinitely about the right salary for a non-profit employee but I am not aware of any standard figure that all non-profits follow. Organizations have different compensation policies and hence an argument that 20% of the annual budget is acceptable versus 30% has no basis. But I do agree that Valerie deserves utmost repect reagrding decisions about CRP since she has been a vital part of CRP for many years and has done an immense amount of good work through the organization. At the same time, we need to keep in mind that the FCRP appointees were hired to restructure the organization and they are just trying to do their job. I agree with Asif that the two parties need to come to some sort of a resolution for CRP to continue as a reputable organization that has been able to make a huge difference in many peoples’ lives.
June 5th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
This is not the first time we are seeing a heavy duty highly expensive consultant draining a part of fund originally meant for the poor or the sick.
We have 36 years or so experience to know how different UN funded consultants drove air conditioned SUVs, drew outrageous salaries and at the end of the day the poor remained poor. Only the consultant got richer.
And we always have been told their presence were justified as the fund “was dedicated to bring accountability, transparency, and division of organizational structure based on rules and regulations to the ailing isntitution”.
Let me be precise which may sound a little blunt. CRP does not need Mr Sami, as CRP can hire many not so heavy duty employee with good NGO experience in Bangladesh. And CRP can do it with 20 times less salary.
On the other hand, it was Mr Sami who needed this job. After retirement, what else you need? Some good flow of money and a respected and popular org to run.
Mr Sami did favor to a lot at home and abroad as a diplomat and a bureaucrate throughout his life. Now he is gettig his return in the form of the FCRP pork barrel.
In fact this is about the time the culture of prescribed embedded consultancy cease to exist. A CRP grow up with passion, love, dedication, toil, blood and need. As long as all these above mentioned pre-requisites are present, it will never need a “market priced” consultant to improve the business model. And FCRP or other donors should restrain from planting a consultant to take care of the interest of the donors instead of the recipients.
June 6th, 2007 at 3:29 am
Is it true that C M Coyes Sami,the ousted MD of Oriental Bank for alleged huge corruption is the brother of this C M Shafi Sami?
Should we consider they are Birds of same feather?
June 6th, 2007 at 5:22 am
Rintu, you only to put your analytical part of your brain to rest first before you start going through family tree to understand someone’s action. If you personally want to be judged by what your brother did then you can do the same for others as well, perhaps.
June 6th, 2007 at 6:16 am
The first article is peppered with inaccurate accusations. The dispute between SS and VT did not arise over the salary issue, it happened purely and only after some people who were close to VT were sacked because of misappropriation of funds by these people. To begin with SS was doing it on a voluntary basis (and this was two years ago. If the conflict was over his appointment, we’re a couple of years late), it was six months into his work that he was offered a salary. It wasn’t SS who demanded the amount anyway, the rate was fixed following market research.
I don’t understand why someone isn’t clearing up this issue: CRP is NOT suddenly charging for its services after the shift in the administration. CRP always had two limbs, one offering services for money, the other providing medication for free, the money earned through the first limb contributing towards the second. This continues to be the case. There has been no issue of cutting down on the free service and suddenly beginning to charge people because of SS’s salary!!
To Rumi in #16, the emotions you suggest are enough to run oragnisations are very rarely true in the case of large organisations, surely we all know this. As for what the “market price” is…well, that’s for the market adn the trustee board to decide, not amateurs like us without any relevant information at hand.
The most important thing is definitely to think about proper running of the place so that all the people who have been benefitting from it continue to be served and to make it accessable to more people. I think we are losing sight of this goal, running away with half-truths and getting drawn into an ugly, unhelpful, unneccessary and distasteful hate campaign against SS.
June 6th, 2007 at 6:35 am
This was sent to us by the citizen’s committee for CRP a few days ago:
We appreciate certain newspapers’ action in putting up Mr. CM Shafi Sami’s story while reporting the press conference of Tuesday 22 May, including the written statement, of the Citizens’ Committee to Save CRP.
We like to affirm that the Citizens’ Committee is protecting nobody but is anxious that CRP’s position and status as a pro-poor, world class facility for the paralysed and otherwise physically disabled be preserved and maintained.
Even in the absence of Ms. Valerie Taylor from the country right now, we like to take Mr. Shafi Sami on his word that it was Valerie who approached him to come and join CRP’s Trustee Board and help with its management. After all, this lady is a dedicated humanitarian and no management expert and indeed might have needed advice to run a large organization. This however does not explain Mr. Shafi Sami’s act in becoming a ‘managing’ trustee and subsequently appointing himself CEO of the hospital (CRP), an executive job, by a “resolution” of the Board, which 3 of the Trustees, including Valerie Taylor, deny. His underhand contact with Friends of CRP(F-CRP), UK and negotiating and receiving a high salary for himself without knowledge of CRP’s Trustee Board, also leaves much to be desired and exposes him to the charge that he was secretly serving F-CRP’s agenda. His efforts to centralize power in himself and take full control is evident in the fact of a revised organogram published a year ago showing the managing trustee and CEO at the centre of all administration in CRP. And now he has sought to revise it further, deleting altogether the position of Coordinator, and all functions of Advisor/Coordinator, leaving Valerie in the ivory tower as an Advisor with no functions. We find no clash between the job of a CEO and that of the Coodinator entrusted with promotion and fund raising and find it shameful that Valerie should be eased out of her position as Advisor/Coordinator in this tricky manner.
Mr. Shafi Sami has not substantiated his charge of corruption at the Centre, particularly in building the Mirpur facility. He has not spoken of any one having been charged or punished in this regard in the last 2 years. We have come to learn that apart from a highly qualified consultant, there was a 4-member CRP committee tasked with overseeing construction of the Mirpur facility. While all the 4 members were jointly and severally responsible, Mr Shafi Sami as CEO rested merely with not renewing the service contract, not a punishment in our view, of one of them only. The 3 others remain untouched, salaries of each of them having been enhanced and two of them promoted to the rank of a Director in the meanwhile. The Citizens’ Committee does not condone corruption and feel that bonafide actions apart, CRP should investigate and pursue charge of corruption against anybody.
CRP is an expression of Valerie’s vision and her long and arduous labour. CRP without Valerie would be like Grameen Bank without Prof. Mohammad Yunus and BRAC without Fazle Hassan Abed. For reasons already explained, The Citizens’ Committee reiterates that while Valerie must be restored to her position in full glory, others such as Mr. CM Shafi Sami, Ms. Leena Alam and Maj-Genl.(Retd) Nurul Huq responsible for the current stalemate in CRP, should go. If they do not resign voluntarily, the committee will appeal to and look upon the Hon’ble Chief Adviser, Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed to step in and arrange necessary investigation to save the institution.
Signatories- Engr. SM Anwar Hossain, Muhd Mobarak Ali Molla, Major-general (Retd.)
ATM Abdul Wahab, Akku Chowdhury and Golam Morshed.
June 6th, 2007 at 6:38 am
Also this one:
Citizens’ Committee to Save CRP
Advanced Centre, 176 Gulshan Avenue, Dhaka
An Appeal
Unholy and conspiratorial activities at CRP for some time, designed to change the very character of this hospital and rehabilitation centre for the poor, including the recent dismissal of Ms. Valerie Taylor, its founder-trustee from the position of Coordinator, by a
letter of the Acting Chairman of the Trustee Board has shocked the nation and attracted attention of the national press and the media.
CRP is synonymous with Valerie who has given her life time to its establishment and rise to its present position as a prime centre for the treatment and rehabilitation for the poorest of the poor in this country. Indigenous technology evolved by the centre has attracted attention of the medical community abroad and foreign physical therapists and other experts have regularly come here to volunteer free service and also to learn from the experience of the Centre. Being charitable in character, the Centre has sought and received generous assistance in cash and kind from such organizations as the British HC in Bangladesh, Norad, Danida, CIDA, US-DOL, Nijera Kori, Friends of CRP-UK and the Kadoorie Trust of Hong Kong.
Citizens Committee: Citizens such as ourselves who have taken an interest in the activities of the Centre have been alarmed by a “silent coup” staged by a slim majority of the Trustees ever since the induction in the Board in January, 2005 of Mr. Shafi Sami and Ms. Leena Alam at the suggestion of Friends of CRP-UK (FRCP-UK). We have waited patiently for things to improve, but instead of improving, it appears, the last nail is being hammered on to the coffin. To put it mildly, it is really an issue of perception and attitude. The named individuals and their two other cronies in the Trustee Board, have sought to convert the Centre into a commercial organization charging high fees and in the
process, promote themselves and their financial interests. In the pursuit of their design, they have ruthlessly dismissed a number of dedicated employees and raised the salary and emoluments of their hand picked staff. The very character of CRP as a totally non-profit organization dedicated as a place of last resort for the poor fated to suffer a long, tragic life after a traumatic accident, is about to be lost. The Citizens’ Committee to Save CRP seeks to bring out facts for public knowledge, to forge strong public opinion and to seek intervention of the Government as well as the donors so the character of the organization may be preserved and maintained.
The committee at this stage will only highlight a few of the irregularities and illegalities at CRP perpetrated by a section of the Trustee Board-
(1)Self-styled appointment of Mr. Shafi Sami as Managing trustee and CEO: Immediately on joining the Trustee Board of CRP, Mr. Shafi Sami floated the idea of a Managing Trustee and the abolition of the post of Director of the Centre. Then, by a sudden resolution in the name of the Board which three other Trustees, namely, Ms Valerie Taylor, Mr Saidur Rahman and Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed strongly deny, he got the Acting chairman of the Board, Maj-Genl (Retd.) Nurul Huq to appoint him CEO of CRP. Thus without any advertisement or any other selection process and without a letter of appointment, Mr Shafi Sami calling himself the Managing Trustee, started also to act as the CEO of CRP. There is no provision in the Deed of Trust for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (TRP) drawn up in 1984 for the appointment of a Trustee in a salaried position. Notably, when the agenda of job description, terms and conditions including salary for the post of CEO was brought up in a meeting of the TRP Board in April, 2005, Mr. Shafi Sami effectively put off discussion to a later date. The reason for this was to come to light later on.
(2)The CEO’s hefty salary: Surprisingly, Mr. Shafi Sami did not discuss or demand a salary for himself at any TRP meeting. It later transpired from the minutes of meeting of FRCP-UK dated 14 July, 2005 that he had secretly negotiated a hefty annual salary of Pound sterling 22,000 equivalent to Bangladesh taka 30.06 lac for himself. (On the contrary, Ms. Valerie Taylor draws a sum of Tk 7500/- only per month as subsistence allowance from CRP).This money was to be paid directly into his account without being channelled through CRP, as the (NGO) laws in this country would dictate. It was pointed out to FRCP-UK that fixing the salary of a local staff of CRP amounted to interference in TRP’s work and also that they (F-CRP) could not pay him directly from out of funds otherwise receivable by CRP. These protests yielded no result, the bond between F-CRP and Mr.Shafi Sami looked to be too strong.
(3)Charge of Neglect, ‘Divide and Rule’: Mr Shafi Sami, otherwise a
competent person, could not give full time or attention to CRP’s administrative needs. He must bear responsibility for his inability to hire out as many as 6 higher floors of CRP’s impressive building in Mirpur, depriving the Centre of much needed income. This building built under supervision of highly qualified consultants, with the generous assistance of the Kadoorie Trust in Hong Kong uses the lower floors for patients attending from the metropolis and was designed the use income from rental of the upper floors to supplement expenses at the Mirpur Centre. Mr. Shafi Sami has privately spoken of certain irregularities in construction, but has visibly taken no steps beyond not renewing service contract of an ‘accused’ employee (Mr. Habib). In administration, he has unfortunately also followed a policy whereby he dismissed half a dozen trusted employees of CRP without due process, and created a coterie of his own, giving them high salaries.
(4)High Fees for Patients: Gone are the days when a poor patient was admitted free
of charge at the Centre. The poorest patient must now advance TK. 12000/- as
seat rent for 2 months and buy himself a wheelchair before admission. Thus the
philosophy of free treatment for the poor and payment by those able to do so- is
no longer a theme at CRP, Savar. The reaction of the donors to this new
arrangement is not quite evident yet.
(5)Dismissal of Valerie Taylor as Coordinator, CRP: Mr Shafi Sami and Ms
Leena Alam with the support of the Acting chair, Maj- Gen Nurul Huq and Mr
Biswa Nath Chowdhury has controlled the TRP Board for some time by a
majority of 1. Things have come to such a pass that the other 3 members have
stopped attending meetings of the Trustee Board altogether. Under the
organogram of CRP published 1997-98, Valerie Taylor acted as Coordinator
under the TRP Board, a largely ceremonial and yet very important position tasked
with Promotion and Fund Raising. Valerie’s name and clout acted very well in
this task and was definitely in the interests of CRP. And yet the Acting chair in a
letter dated 14 May, 2007 to Albert Mollah, Actg. CEO, cited some so-called
decision of the Board reviewing a “revised organogram” of CRP that the coterie
had published earlier even in the face of protestation by Valerie Taylor, to
abolish the post of Coodinator. A strange, and unexplained, way to strip Valerie
of her functional responsibility for the Centre!
The Citizens’ Committee to Save the CRP’s appeal to all concerned lies in the following-
(1)CRP’s character as treatment and rehabilitation centre for the poorest of the poor
must be restored. Realistic charges may however be realized from those able to
pay, scaled on income of the patients/families
(2)The unilateral actions by the named 4 in the name of TRP Board must stop and
congenial atmosphere created for smooth functioning of CRP. The entry into
TRP Board by M/s Shafi Sami and Leena Alam must be investigated for their, or
F-CRP, UK’s, real objectives. Clearly, Mr Shafi Sami stands accused
illegality in secretly receiving payment of salaries from UK without approval of
the TRP Board. He is also accused of usurping executive powers to take control
of CRP and bad faith in simultaneously serving two masters.
The Citizens’Committee calls upon him
to resign from the TRP Board forthwith and to cease to act as CEO of CRP for
which post he holds no formal appointment. Ms Leena Alam being a Trustee of
F-CRP, UK, a donor organization, cannot be a Trustee of TRP. Representative
of no donor organization is on the TRP Board. We highly value F- CRP’s
contributions, and should they feel the need, they may second someone who
will be accorded the status of an observer at CRP. We call upon Ms. Leena Alam
to resign forthwith from the TRP Board. The two others on the Board
particularly Maj-Genl (Retd) Dr. Nurul Huq are guilty of blatant collaboration
for motives they must explain satisfactorily, else leave the TRP Board.
(3)The NGO Affairs Bureau has responsibility to investigate activities at CRP
for the past 2 years. In particular, it must look into the legality of F-CRP making clandestine payments to Mr. Shafi Sami rather than remitting them to CRP’s account. We also ask the Charities Commission of UK to look into the matter. The Bureau should also see if the drastic changes in CRP’s organogram in 2005-06 as also the change now effected concentrating all powers in the hands of the CEO of CRP is consistent with TRP’s declared goals and functions and received their approval..
(4) The sacking of a number of dedicated employees of CRP without due
process must be enquired into and anyone proved to be unjustly removed
should be re-instated.
Last but not least, in the interest of restoring the organization’s repute both nationally and internationally, Ms. Valerie Taylor must be restored to her position as guide and coordinator of CRP’s activities, apart from her position as a founder- Trustee of TRP. By quick, corrective actions as aforesaid, donor confidence in CRP must be restored and the institution saved. The Citizens’ Committee fervently appeals to the Hon’ble Chief adviser, Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed for his kind intervention in this regard.
Engr. S M Anwar Hossain
Convener
June 6th, 2007 at 7:06 am
Lima#18:
Families are strong socializing forces. Childrens groom-up learning mainly from their parents to control their behavior and respect others’ rights.However, parents can also teach aggressive, antisocial, and violent behavior. Research shows that association between family life and criminal activity continues for adults.
The question here is not whether I want to be judged by what my brother did. Rather, it is the question of our social culture, the reality! Surprisingly, in almost all the cases of corruption, you will find all these loafers, whether caught or absconded, somehow has interlinking chain of interests!
June 6th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Valerie Taylor started the CRP with the objective of providing services to the poorest of the poor. For over 2 decades that is what she has been doing magnificently. She has even managed to draw donors and volunteers to help her out. CRP is her dream and her baby. She has dedicated her life to care for the poor handicapped of this country. No one has the right to take it away from her. The matter is simple as that. The Trustees of TRP (CRP governing body should resign and Valerie Taylor will reconstitute the Board with new members who have the same vission and mission as hers.
June 7th, 2007 at 12:30 am
Bangladeshi press sensationalism has played into Ms. Taylor’s hands very well. Very little has been said about the gross mismanagement that lead to CRP’s primary donors needing to appoint a outsider.
Some people here (and online in general) have been quick to assume corruption in this case with all the gory details coming out about the rampant corruption of the last few years; news about anything similar results in an automatic witch-hunt. People seem to be forgetting that the corruption was the reason the British donors changed things a few years back. In other words, it seems that it was under Ms. Taylor’s regime that the corruption was happening.
More light needs to be shed on what the state of the NGO was when Shafi Sami was asked to take over, and why he was asked to take over. Confidence in Ms. Taylor must have been very low for the long-time British donors to lose confidence in the management capabilities of the British founder.
I don’t find it surprising that the majority of people are ready to indict a Bengali and not assume that Ms. Taylor wasn’t responsible for at least some of the corruption and mismanagement that lead to such a massive shake-up of the organization.
One thing is for sure, people do not seem as chagrin-ed about the fact that one of Ms Taylor’s British employees at the time was one responsible for absconding with lakhs of taxes from our government. I wonder if this is the same one she complained about getting fired?
How come there is so much anger at the pounds sterling paid from a UK company to a Bengali, and nothing whatsover said about the lakhs of taka stolen by a British expatriate?
June 7th, 2007 at 4:28 am
mr. noah, please don’t try to make this a race issue. this is not about British against Bangla as you are trying to do in your argument. anyone who is found guilty of illegalism should be punished weather bangla or british.
you do have a valid point about the tax evasion part. I did read that Valerie Taylor was responsible for setting the salaries of all foreign expats, and that the board was told that they were volunteers or some such.
also this nonsense about Valerie Taylor being kept in the darkness when mr shafi was appointed is stupid since its common knowledge valerie visited shami’s house before he was approved.
i cannot vouch for the shafi, but i do know one of the founders of CRP Rev. Biswanath A. Choudhuri, who is the chief of the Christian Discipleship centre in Gazipur. he has been a friend of valerie’s for nearly 30 years and he was saying that the organization was going way downhill with too much corruption over the last few years before Director Momin was fired in 2004.
hopefully more can be found about this issue. it is sad to see one of our most famos organizations in much trouble.
June 7th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Being a common citizen of the country, I was really shocked to know about CRP. As I wasn’t even least aware of the name of CRP but when started reading on it, it was just a dread experience for me.
Yesterday I met Velerie Taylor, I was honored to see her, a very simple lady, spend her whole life for the poor people of my country and we are trying to prove ourselves a real shameless nation where humanity already gone in vain. We can’t do anything for our own people and when a foreigner has done something we can’t even take that warmly.
Everybody who has so called “Bibek” should support Valery Taylor to save CRP who helps poor of the poorest. Its really easy to say so many things on it but the reality is we have to do something, we common people, at least one effort to write a line against this inhuman work so the government and those shameless people can see it’s not that easy to destroy the hope of our poor people.
Saiqa
June 7th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Having read the comments above I feel it is time for a few clarifications on the matters of CRP management and donor/organisation relationships.
Having just lived and worked at CRP for the past 3 months, I have observed many things first hand and I have also had the opportunity to meet with the management team of CRP and a number of members of the Citizens’ Committee to Save CRP. SO the views displayed below are non-biased and decided upon from actual conversations with those involved, not from newspaper articles.
1) 24# reis_noah writing about “British employees at the time was one responsible for absconding with lakhs of taxes from our government” - The Board of Revenue within Bangladesh have an exemption clause that NGO’s can apply that “development workers” from overseas do not have to pay taxes on salaries whilst working within Bangladesh. Whilst Mr Sami was investiagting the issues of taxation and CRP, he was advised that the organisation could apply for such an exemption, instead he chose to report the organisation for tax evasion. This has subsequently meant that there are no foreign staff working at CRP and ultimately the ongoing training and support these people can give is not currently available (there are however, foreign volunteers working at CRP is diferent capacities). Valerie has spoken to the board of revenue who have confirmed that the exemption for CRP is available and now the authorities just need to rubber stamp the notion and all income tax owed by the foreign workers (of which there are a number dating back over the last 10 years) will no longer be collected as CRP will legally be exempt. This will make CRP accountable to all and will bring it in line with such organisations as BRAC and Grameen, rather than Mr Sami trying to make one foreign worker a scapegoat (due to a difference of opinions whilst the worker was at CRP).
2)19# Tania writing about “CRP is NOT suddenly charging for its services after the shift in the administration” - this is a very correct comment, however CRP has introduced a number of additional charges that were not previously made, such as bed and wheelchair rental - patients (no matter what there economic status is) now have to pay for this, this is what Valerie is up in arms about. So with the increase in charges and the new charges, the poorer patients are having to pay more than they did previously.
3) Mr Sami’s Salary #1- The market research which led to the decision of salary amount cmpared CRP to BRAC, thus a high salary was to be paid to Mr Sami. To compare BRAC and CRP, there is no comparison… BRAC employs over 36000 workers and somewhere in the region of 15-20000 volunteers, CRP has 450 workers and 5 volunteers. Whoever did the research has made a very large error of judgement.
4) Mr Sami’s Salary #2 - At a meeting of FCRP-UK, after the amount of money paid by FCRP-UK had been discovered by supporters of the UK charity, a vote was taken to decide if the salary was too high for such a position - the result 60 out of 65 said the salry was too high. These are the people who had raised the funds to be used to improve and develop CRP and they were saying that they did not agree with the decision made by the board of trustess in the UK.
5) Trustee Leena Alam - Having met Leena Alam at CRP two years agao on a previou volunteering visit, she was very ammicable and a nice lady (this was just after her joining the TRP board) - upon visiting CRP for 3 months this time, I got one “hello” out of her, apart from this she did not say another single word to me. Being a UK citizen myself, and Leena Alam is meant to be the UK representative on the TRP board, I would have expected her to make a little more effort with her fellow citizens - I have to ask the question, why has she changed so much in the past two years?
6) I myself are a management consultant and have had the oppertunity to review in deatil the changes that Mr Sami proposed and implemented to the CRP organogram. If somebody had bought the docuent to me, I would have demanded a re-write. As agreed with management team of CRP through my discussions they still have many questions regarding their roles and responsibilities within the organisation and the “revised organogram” only deals with top tier management positions and does not add any detail for the actual departments below them. For this to effectively irradicate corruption from with the organisation, a lot more time and detail needs to be added and a full review taken place of the roles of all staff in the organisation (from Directors to Iyas) to ensure that the most appropriate staff are in the correct roles and that each department has the appropriate staff numbers.
7) An independent study was put togther by three visiting foreign therapists last year detailing a number of improvements which could be made to CRP, to date none of these have been acted upon. Can you really say that the present Trustee board has the interests of CRP at heart when it was Mr Sami who met with the Therapists but never even passed the report on to the board of trustees for review.
ALL IN ALL - is CRP a better place 2 years on (since Mr Sami was appointed as CEO)…. I do not believe so.
No one has been bought to justice in regard to corruption claims, only a number of sackigs/dimissals to stop the supossed problems.
Funding is now a problem.
A majority of staff at the organisation are unhappy with the management and are actively seing other employment.
Corruption is still apparent within the organisation.
Valerie has had to resort to the media for help, and subsequently the Citizens’ Committee, as when she has pointed these things out, no-one has listened. She may not be a “manager”, she may not have the “management skills” needed for the organisation…. but she still knows the “ethos” and understands how to achieve it! Those people who have been “deaf” for a number of months just need to sit up and listen.
Chris Hall
CRP Volunteer and Fundraiser
February 2005 - June 2005
March 2007 - June 2007
June 7th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
i have personally heard CRP drivers complaining about having to be out at 1am-2am in the morning at the Bagha club while their bosses are getting drunk. a driver personally told me that all such practices stopped immidiately upon mr. shami’s arrival.
June 7th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Chris,
Many thanks for this insightful comments. For the rest of us who are trying to get an objective view, this helps a lot. However, I am curious to find out more about FCRP’s role in here. If any one from FCRP is reading it, please share your views.
Why is there a mismatch between Valery’s mission and FCRP’s?
What will be the future of funding if FCRP backs out and is there a chance of that happening?
June 7th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
28 # junejo - I’m very interested to hear your comment about the bagha club.. As one of the driver’s “bosses” I have never been to the Bagha club in either of my visits… I have however given CRP drivers cups of Tea whilst they have waited for me whilst I was on oficial CRP business in the australian club and ensured that they are fed and watered and as comfortable as possible, whilst they have to wait for the many hours outside emabssies and embassy clubs whilst volunteers and foreign staff collect donations for CRP from the relevant persons - and yes this does sometimes involve alcohol.
Maybe the question should also be asked on how CRP transport has been misused by Mr Sami himself - As we all know he has his own car and driver but he still feels that he needs CRP transport to pick him up from the airport and take him back to his residence in Dhaka.
I can not and do not support CRP transport being misused by staff, foreign staff, volunteers etc but like many of the new rules and regulations introduced at CRP, the new transport policy gives Mr Sami rights that other senior staff/directors do not have… and this has led to his own abuse of the CRP transport… and the fact that due to his power within the organisation, no-one is able to question his usage.
And I can also confirm that I was there “upon mr. sami’s arrival” and if there is an official engagement for which only foreigners are invited, the so called “practice” of drivers waiting outside for the revellers to leave and to escort them safely back to CRP still takes place - You have to remember that as the drivers are not allowed inside a number of these functions, they do not see the bonds being made and the awareness raising that takes place - An example of this is the Mother & Child Unit at CRP, this was entirely funded by a German company following a conversation over a beer at an expatriate club in Dhaka (63000 euros was raised). Just because alcohol is consumed does not mean that the transport is being abused.
29# Asif S. - FCRP-UK have been very quite since this story broke in the press three weeks ago, their chariman has requested a meeting with me - I’ll report back as soon as this has happened.
Chris
June 18th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Those who support Valerie Taylor can sign this petition below:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/crp/
Farhad
July 21st, 2007 at 2:33 am
For all those uneducated uninformed people who supported these senseless petitions see what happened. FCRP is the single largest donor and only institutional donor.
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FCRP Press Release 10 July 07
The UK charity ‘Friends of CRP’ is CRP’s largest single donor providing £1.25 million in support over the past 10 years. It is suspending funding due to the breakdown in CRP governance that has resulted from Valerie Taylor’s recent media campaign.
On 21 June CRP staff acted in support of Valerie Taylor by obstructing the work of the directors and calling for their resignation. In response to this disruptive action FCRP trustees are to withhold all funding from CRP and cease fundraising until such time as the proper governance of CRP is restored. FCRP contributed over £150,000 to CRP during the past year. The majority of that money went towards supporting treatment costs for poor patients.
Valerie Taylor’s public challenge to the CRP Trustee Board is unconstitutional and irresponsible. Her emotive appeal to the general public guaranteed a sympathetic audience, but whilst her accusations were plausible they were without substance; she was not being displaced and poor disabled people are not being unreasonably charged. She had earlier raised similar allegations in writing that prompted a visit to CRP by the Director General NGO Affairs Bureau on 6 June. This resulted in favourable comment about CRP and no criticism of its performance. The Bureau’s visit endorsed earlier FCRP judgement that CRP was fully accountable for the funds it received and was maintaining high standards of treatment and care.
The ‘occupation’ of CRP by the staff is illegal and usurps the authority of the Trust Board. Miss Taylor has sought to bypass the Board’s proper process of governance, and in so doing demonstrates a complete lack of accountability. This represents a reversion to the period prior to 2005 when she occupied a dominant executive position, a period which independent audits and internal investigations identify with poor management and lack of accountability, including corrupt practices. There is also testimony on improper financial authorisation and tax evasion issues. This accumulation of evidence results in lack of confidence in Miss Taylor’s management abilities and outrage at the manner in which she has taken the law into her own hands.
Whilst fully acknowledging Miss Taylor’s past achievements the FCRP Board considers that she has compromised her position as a trustee and should be answerable for her illegal behaviour. She should not be above the law. Because FCRP trustee confidence in CRP’s governance has been undermined, we are acting on the advice of the Charity Commission in withholding funds. In the meantime we are continuing to support and encourage the CRP Board Chairman and the legally appointed senior management.
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