Banner Advertise

Thursday, April 14, 2011

[chottala.com] Celebrating Boisakhi Potho Mela On Time [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Abu Rumi included below]

http://www.khabor.com/news/2011/04/14/DN04142011000015.htm (  OPEN THE LINK)


Attachment(s) from Abu Rumi

1 of 1 Photo(s)


__._,_.___


[* Moderator's Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

Re: [chottala.com] Re: [KHABOR] Mohammad Yunus : Taka 54 Crore - Tax Free personal Money in Bank - Lack of transparency !!!!!!



The aim of business is to earn money by utilizing man power applying thoughtful accounting knowledge and spending energy for profiting which helps to build national economy and era ding the poverty...

This type of business creates job fields for unemployed people fulfill the requirements of the needy people.

Dr Yunus has been doing this productive business by opening Grameen Bank utilizing his creative brain knowledge to create productive skilled man power in providing jobs to the jobless people to do business utilize their skilled energy for earning resources and fulfilling their requirements and building the  national economy..

 

But Madam Hassina is doing unproductive Poly-Tricks in the name of politics and creating poverty in destroying share markets closing mill industry and increasing her salary 100% and increasing tax and vat for fulfilling requirement of collecting her salary which reasons are creating money devaluation money inflation and everything prices are being hike in the market and creating nation wide people disasters.

 

Badruddin Umor and MM Akash is unproductive thoughtful column writer like Gopal Vera.

They are neither business persons nor economy builders

 

 


--- On Wed, 13/4/11, AbdurRahim Azad <Arahim.azad@gmail.com> wrote:

From: AbdurRahim Azad <Arahim.azad@gmail.com>
Subject: [chottala.com] Re: [KHABOR] Mohammad Yunus : Taka 54 Crore - Tax Free personal Money in Bank - Lack of transparency !!!!!!
To: khabor@yahoogroups.com, notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com, chottala@yahoogroups.com
Received: Wednesday, 13 April, 2011, 10:00 PM

 
Neither Badruddin Umor nor MM Akash is a sycophant or chatukar  of Hasina
Rather they are staunchly anti-Hasina. Read what they write on
Dr. Muhammad Yunus. 
 
Poverty-trading is a big business ....  Dr. Yunus should disclose his  huge
personal fortune amassed during last three decades while he was "working to
 alleviate poverty" in Bangladesh ......
 
History has shown us religion-traders with different lebashes..... Poverty-trading
has become a key feature of our time ...
 
 
Inside story of Poverty Trading:
 
Badruddin Umor on Dr. Muhammad Yunus:
 
Links:
 
 
 
Related:
 
 
 
 
 

All about microcredit by M.M. Akash:

http://opinion.bdnews24.com/2011/03/23/all-about-microcredit/

 
 2011/4/12 Shujon Biswas <shujonbiswas@yahoo.com>
Lot of sycophants  of Hasina will now make lot of false story about Yunus and this is one of them. BB governer and our finance minister know where 20000 (twenty thousand) US dollar looted from Share Market gone where but they will now disclose it. Instead they will make lot of story about Yunus
Shujon


2011/4/12 Shadin Akash <shadinakash@yahoo.com>
 
Hasina r chatukar ra will make lot of story about Yunus as predicted by Asif Nazrul. Case against Hasina was true and her son Shojib Wazed has 50000 crore taka business in the USA. Hasina r chamchara  looted 20000 crore taka from share market and passed it to Joy. Finanance minister and BB governor remained silent after knowing all these. We have Mafia Prime minister s Mafia son. When people like them talk for independence as a member of freedom fighter family I feel shame.



From: AbdurRahim Azad <Arahim.azad@gmail.com>
Sent: Tue, April 12, 2011 1:42:31 AM
Subject: [KHABOR] Mohammad Yunus : Taka 54 Crore - Tax Free personal Money in Bank - Lack of transparency !!!!!!

 
 Inside story of Poverty Trading:
 
 
Mohammad Yunus : Taka 54 Crore - Tax Free Money in Bank - Lack of transparency !!!!!!
এনবিআরের প্রতিবেদন[Read from the link:http://www.dailykalerkantho.com/?view=details&type=gold&data=Islamic&pub_no=488&cat_id=1&menu_id=13&news_type_id=1&index=0]ব্যাংকে জমা ইউনূসের নিজস্ব ৫৪ কোটি টাকাও করমুক্ত!জুমদার বাব
 
 Yunus_image_488_145195.jpgগ্রামীণ ব্যাংক ১৯৮৫ সাল থেকে যে কর অব্যাহতি পেয়েছে,তা অসচ্ছ প্রক্রিয়ায় দেওয়া হয়েছে এবং এতে সরকারের সম্ভাব্য রাজস্ব ক্ষতির পরিমাণ দাঁড়াচ্ছে ৫১৪ কোটি সাড়ে ২৭ লাখ টাকা। কর অব্যাহতির অর্থ প্রাকৃতিক দুর্যোগে ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত গ্রামীণ ব্যাংক সদস্যদের পুনর্বাসনকাজে ব্যয় করার কথা থাকলেও ব্যাংক কর্তৃপক্ষ শর্ত ভঙ্গ করে সে টাকা লাভজনক সহযোগী প্রতিষ্ঠানে স্থানান্তর করে। জাতীয় রাজস্ব বোর্ডের (এনবিআর) সাম্প্রতিক এক প্রতিবেদনে এ তথ্যের পাশাপাশি আরো জানানো হয়েছে, বিভিন্ন ব্যাংকে ড. ইউনূসের নিজস্ব ৫৪ কোটি ৫৩ লাখ টাকা স্থায়ী আমানত (এফডিআর) হিসেবে জমা রয়েছে। ইউনূস বিদেশ থেকে ব্যক্তিগত উদ্যোগে এ অর্থ আয় করার দাবি করে তা রেমিট্যান্স হিসেবে কর অব্যাহতি নিয়েছেন। কিন্তু এনবিআর বলেছে,তাঁর আয় আর প্রবাসী বাংলাদেশিদের আয় এক চরিত্রের নয়। তাই এই আয়ের ওপরও কর অব্যাহতি নেওয়া আইনানুগ হয়নি।
গ্রামীণ ব্যাংককে কর অব্যাহতি প্রদানের প্রক্রিয়াটিকে 'যথাযথ ও আইনানুগ হয়নি' মন্তব্য করে এনবিআরের প্রতিবেদনে বলা হয়েছে,'রুলস অব বিজনেস অনুসারে অর্থ মন্ত্রণালয়ের অর্থ বিভাগ এ ধরনের আদেশ জারি করতে পারে না। কেবল অভ্যন্তরীণ সম্পদ বিভাগের অধীন জাতীয় রাজস্ব বোর্ড এ ধরনের আদেশ জারি করতে পারে।'
১৯৯৮ থেকে ২০১০ সাল পর্যন্ত গ্রামীণ ব্যাংককে কর অব্যাহতি দেয় অর্থ মন্ত্রণালয়। প্রতিবেদন অনুযায়ী,১৯৮৫-৮৬ করবর্ষে গ্রামীণ ব্যাংককে সর্বপ্রথম ৩৪ লাখ ১২ হাজার ৮০৩ টাকা কর অব্যাহতি দেওয়া হয়। সর্বশেষ ২০০৯-১০ অর্থবছরে ৫৫ কোটি ৪৪ লাখ ৮৬ হাজার ১৯৮ কোটি টাকা কর ছাড় দেওয়া হয়। ব্যাংকটিকে সর্বাধিক কর অব্যাহতি দেওয়া হয় দেশে জরুরি অবস্থা চলাকালে। ২০০৭-০৮ অর্থবছরে ব্যাংকটি ১৬০ কোটি ৩৪ লাখ এক হাজার ৯৯৩ টাকা কর রেয়াত পেয়েছে। প্রতিবেদনে বলা হয়েছে, আয়কর অধ্যাদেশ ১৯৮৪-এর ৪৪ ধারা অনুযায়ী অর্থ মন্ত্রণালয়ের কর অব্যাহতি দেওয়ার কোনো অধিকার নেই।
এই কর অব্যাহতি যে শর্তে দেওয়া হয়েছিল তাও লঙ্ঘন করে ইউনূসের নেতৃত্বাধীন গ্রামীণ ব্যাংক। প্রতিবেদনে বলা হয়,'গ্রামীণ ব্যাংকের আয়কর অব্যাহতি সংক্রান্ত এসআরও নং-৩৬/আইন/২০০৩ এবং এসআরও নং-৯৩/আইন/২০০০ থেকে দেখা যায়,অব্যাহতিপ্রাপ্তির জন্য গ্রামীণ ব্যাংকের অঙ্গীকার ছিল :
আয়ের ওপর আরোপনীয় কর,সুপার ট্যাঙ্ ও ব্যবসার মুনাফা কর প্রদান থেকে গ্রামীণ ব্যাংককে অব্যাহতি দেওয়া হলে ব্যাংকটি পুনর্বাসন তহবিল গঠন করে সব লভ্যাংশসহ করের অর্থ তহবিলে জমা করবে। এ তহবিল প্রাকৃতিক দুর্যোগে ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত সদস্যদের পুনর্বাসনকাজে ব্যবহার করবে। এনবিআর বলেছে,'কিন্তু প্রতীয়মান হয় যে,গ্রামীণ ব্যাংক ওই অর্থ গ্রামীণ কল্যাণ ও অন্যান্য সহযোগী প্রতিষ্ঠানগুলোতে স্থানান্তরের মাধ্যমে কর অব্যাহতিপ্রাপ্তির মূল শর্ত লঙ্ঘন করেছে।'
প্রতিবেদন থেকে জানা যায়,ইউনূসের ব্যক্তিগত আয়কর নথিতে করমুক্ত আয় হিসেবে প্রদর্শিত অর্থের পরিমাণ ৫৪ কোটি ৫৩ লাখ ২৩ হাজার ৫৩৫ টাকা। ইউনূস বিদেশ থেকে ব্যক্তিগত উদ্যোগে এ অর্থ আয় করার দাবি করেছেন এবং বিভিন্ন ব্যাংকে মেয়াদি জমা (এফডিআর) হিসেবে তা রেখেছেন। কিন্তু এনবিআর 'বিদেশে উদ্ভূত আয় কর অব্যাহতি যোগ্য নয়' যুক্তি দেখিয়ে প্রতিবেদনে বলছে,'ড. ইউনূস যে এসআরওর উল্লেখ করে বিদেশে উদ্ভূত আয়ের ওপর কর অব্যাহতি নিয়েছেন তা আইনানুগ হয়েছে বলে প্রতীয়মান হয় না। মূলত বাংলাদেশি ওয়েজ আর্নারদের আয়কে করমুক্ত করার জন্যই ওই এসআরও জারি করা হয়। তিনি কোনোক্রমেই একজন ওয়েজ আর্নার নন। তাঁর বিদেশে উদ্ভূত আয় বাংলাদেশে উদ্ভূত আয় হিসেবেই গণ্য হবে। যদি তা না হয়,তবে সব রপ্তানিকারকের আয় কর অব্যাহতিযোগ্য হতো। কারণ রপ্তানিকারকের আয়ও বিদেশে উদ্ভূত হয় এবং ব্যাংকিং চ্যানেলে বাংলাদেশে আসে।'
জাতীয় রাজস্ব বোর্ডের সেন্ট্রাল ইন্টেলিজেন্স সেলের একজন ঊর্ধ্বতন কর্মকর্তা কালের কণ্ঠকে বলেন, 'এ বিষয়ে ড. মুহাম্মদ ইউনূসের কাছে আমরা জানতে চেয়েছিলাম। তিনি আমাদের বলেছেন, এ অর্থ তিনি বিদেশে বিভিন্ন সভা-সমাবেশে বক্তৃতা করে আয় করেছেন। যেহেতু এ টাকা তিনি বিদেশ থেকে আয় করেছেন, সেহেতু এ টাকা রেমিট্যান্স। কিন্তু আমাদের হিসাবে এ টাকা কোনোভাবেই রেমিট্যান্স নয়। এ টাকার ওপর কোনোভাবে তিনি কর অব্যাহতি পেতে পারেন না।'
ওই কর্মকর্তা আরো জানান, ড. ইউনূসের এ ছাড়া বেতন-ভাতা, নোবেল পুরস্কারের অর্থ ও বিদেশি সংস্থার কাছ থেকে পাওয়া আরো কিছু অর্থ এই ৫৪ কোটি টাকার হিসাবে অন্তর্ভুক্ত করা হয়নি।

গ্রামীণ ব্যাংককে কর অব্যাহতি প্রদান ও ইউনূসের এফডিআরের বিষয়ে জানতে ব্যাংকটির জনসংযোগের দায়িত্বপ্রাপ্ত কর্মকর্তা জান্নাত-ই কাওনাইনকে ফোন করা হলে তিনি তাৎক্ষণিকভাবে কোনো মন্তব্য করতে রাজি হননি। তবে গ্রামীণ ব্যাংকের কর অব্যাহতির বিষয়ে জানতে চাইলে পরিচালনা পর্ষদের চেয়ারম্যান মোজাম্মেল হক বলেন, 'আমি গ্রামীণ ব্যাংক ছেড়ে চলে গিয়েছিলাম প্রায় আট বছর আগে। কী কী শর্তে কর অব্যাহতি দেওয়া হয়েছে, তা এখন কাগজপত্র না দেখে বলতে পারব না।'
http://www.dailykalerkantho.com/?view=details&type=gold&data=Islamic&pub_no=488&cat_id=1&menu_id=13&news_type_id=1&index=0KalerKantha_main-logo.gif
 
ঢাকা, মঙ্গলবার, ২৯ চৈত্র ১৪১৭, ০৭ জমাদিউল আউয়াল ১৪৩২, ১২ এপ্রিল ২০১১



__._,_.___


[* Moderator�s Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[chottala.com] All World Travel: Shuvo Novo Bhorsho-1418 [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Mizanur Bhuiyan included below]

Dear All,

"Happy Bangla New Year 1418"

To all of our customers, well wishers and the Community members.

We hope another very fruitful, successful and healthy living for all of our customers, well- wishers and the community members.

We are very glade and thankful to have an opportunity to serve in your air travel need.

If we did make something better for you that's because of your great cooperation and if we did fail on something; it was our limitation. We apologize for that. We hope in future we will be able to overcome to make everything possible for you.

"We are very proud belonging Bangla as our mother language"

 

Thank You.

Your trusted Travel agent

Mizanur Bhuiyan

All World Travel and Tours Services LLC

Allworld_tts@yahoo.com

703-542-8682

202-213-1990 


Attachment(s) from Mizanur Bhuiyan

1 of 1 File(s)


__._,_.___


[* Moderator's Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[chottala.com] BCCDI-Bangla School: Shuvo Novo Bhorsho-1418 [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Mizanur Bhuiyan included below]

Dear

Community folks and Bengali Patriots,

On Behalf of BCCDI-Bangla School Board of Directors, Teachers, Parents, Students and well Wishers, we are wishing you a very prosperous and "Happy Bangla New Year-1418". Also we hope this great year will bring peace, love and respect to the all citizen around the world. May God give us ability to understand each other and live in undivided mind?

 

"Let's be with your dear kids and make this journey to "Bangla Novo Bhorsho-1418" enjoyable and unforgettable on April 16 2011 at "Mason District Park"

 

Sincerely,

Pryalal karmakar-President

Mizanur Bhuiyan-General Secretary

BCCDI-Bangla School


Attachment(s) from Mizanur Bhuiyan

1 of 1 Photo(s)


__._,_.___


[* Moderator's Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[chottala.com] Happy New Year 1418 - শুভ নববর্ষ [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from BASHORI included below]

Dear All,
 

On behalf of BASHORI, we wish you all a prosperous and fabulous Happy New Year.

             "শুভ নববর্ষ ১৪১৮"

 

In this year, we are presenting a folk dance drama:
    "ইছামতির বাঁকে"~  "Isamotir bankey"

 

Please mark your calendar for Saturday, July 23rd, 2011(7:30 PM-on time)

 

Venue: Gunston Theater One

             2700 South Lang Street

             Arlington, VA 22206

 

You are invited for the colorful event !!!!!

 

Thank You !

BASHORI Management Team


Attachment(s) from BASHORI

1 of 1 Photo(s)


__._,_.___


[* Moderator�s Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[chottala.com] FLEXILOAD to any Bangladeshi Mobile from anywhere in the world



FLEXILOAD to any Bangladeshi Mobile from anywhere in the world

Phone: 1-703-659-6188 (Mon-Fri 0900-500Pm EST)


__._,_.___


[* Moderator's Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[chottala.com] Celebrating Pahela Boishakh, 17 April 2011, from 6:30 PM, Embassy of Bangladesh, Washington, DC [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from muhammad hoque included below]

Dear all,

For your kind recall, the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC will arrange a big Pahela-Boishakh-programme on 17 April 2011, Sunday (6:30PM- 8:00PM). The Embassy is delighted to invite you all to this programme.

A flyer of the programme is attached. May also click on the following link to visit our website to see the flyer.

http://bdembassyusa.org/

Sincerely,

Muhammad Nazmul Hoque
First Secretary and Head of Chancery
Embassy of Bangladesh
Washington DC

Attachment(s) from muhammad hoque

1 of 1 Photo(s)


__._,_.___


[* Moderator�s Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[chottala.com] MICROCREDIT PARADOX - Cynicism, hypes & misperceptions ..........



---------- Forwarded message ----------

On Wed, Apr 13, 2011 at 3:02 AM, mainuddin khawaza <khawaza@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear all,

Pls take the trouble to read the investigative feature I wrote on microcredit as part of my MA Journalism thesis.

warm regards


 

http://daily-sun.com/?view=details&archiev=yes&arch_date=10-04-2011&type=daily_sun_news&pub_no=183&cat_id=2&menu_id=17&news_type_id=1&index=0

 

 

Microcredit Paradox-1

Falling short of needs, expectations

 

 

Geeta Rani Karmakar joined a samity of a major non-governmental development organisation, about 20 years ago to get a small loan. Her aim was to help her husband, Madan, run a small tea stall in Taura village of Gheor upazila in Manikganj district.

But instead of fully investing in the tea stall, Geeta was compelled to spend part of the loan on essentials to take care of her family of four, Madan said.

Because they had no cultivable land, he said, they had to buy their food from whatever they could earn. During the harvest season, they exchanged their labour for grains. Geeta sometimes collected vegetables from their backyard or open fields.

Despite their meagre income from running a tea stall, Madan and Geeta could not save much. They found it hard to repay Tk 125 a week from the initial loan amount of Tk 5,000 to be repaid in 44 instalments.

So, Geeta and Madan sought more credits from other sources after the microfinance institutions (MFIs) had opened their branches in Taura and offered loans to the working people.

Their loan burden had more than doubled in a decade. By now, their family size had increased to seven members. They had to borrow money from the villagers, at an interest rate of 10 percent per month, just to continue their repayments.

"With ups and downs in my income from the tea stall, I could sometimes manage to pay the money of three instalments, amounting to, say, about Tk 400 a week, and sometimes I could not do so," Madan recalled.

Sandwiched between family needs and obligation to repay their loans to microcredit lenders, their business suffered.

Geeta had to rely on frequent borrowings and wages earned by her two unmarried daughters to keep up with her weekly repayments.

Geeta's options for securing loans were getting exhausted by the day. At least two dozen villagers lent them money, according to neighbours. The couple spent years receiving and paying back their small loans one after another.

Madan, 55, had by this time sold his ancestral home to settle some outstanding debts incurred in a dowry for the wedding of two of his four daughters. He borrowed Tk 40,000 from micro lenders and more from villagers.

A day after the buyer asked them to vacate the house, Geeta suffered a massive heart attack and died. She was 45.

Madan, shocked and grieving, could not plan where he would go with his two daughters and eight-year-old son. He has fully repaid one loan, but still owes the villagers and a microfinance institution about Tk 70,000. Two MFIs had since then written off Geeta's loan of about Tk 30,000 in all.

"Two lenders have already waived her loans, but we have lost everything while meeting the needs of the family despite taking out several loans," Madan told this author on the day the community leaders had arranged Geeta's post-funeral feast at his home, which was just sold. Utensils, a few old furniture and some household items were seen littered on the yard.

Madan, once a day labourer who dreamt of becoming a micro-entrepreneur, lamented that the costly treatment of his sick son took off a large chunk from the loan, which had further prevented him from achieving his goal.

NGO officials have reduced Madan's latest instalment to Tk 200 a week instead of Tk 400 because of his inability to pay regularly.

A neighbour, Ganga Rani, confirmed that Geeta could never come out of the cycle of loans and repayments. "Extremely burdened with loans, she was going to lose their home. And one of her daughters lost her job a few days ago. She could not bear the whole thing," Ganga said of Geeta's death.

Asked how the lenders had advised their borrowers on running a small business, the microcredit recipients in Taura commonly said the loan officers were more focussed on how the loan could be repaid.

Bhanumoti Sarkar, a 42-year-old widow living on Beribadh (an embankment) in Baniajuri village of Manikganj, had to sell her blood to repay her loan from a local organisation.

"Officers pressured me and group members scolded me for failing to clear the loans. So, I was desperate to get rid of the remaining loan amounting to Tk 800 and when someone at Manikganj hospital sought blood, I agreed to donate in exchange for Tk 800. I am glad to be free from loan burden."

However, Bhanumoti, homeless and an occasional labourer, has recently drawn microcredit to buy a mobile phone for her daughter.

"She works for an NGO's handicraft project and that is why, we took the Tk 8,000 loan. Otherwise, I don't like loan because of the pressure to repay it in time, no matter if you have income or not," she said.

MFI officers consider the loan applicants' visible assets and sources of income in most cases although no collateral is required.

"Those who already have something feel they have benefited from microcredit. Otherwise, it is tough for the poor to overcome poverty with small loans," said Hasibul Islam, a local journalist from Baniajuri.

Shantirani Sarkar, 55, homeless and staying on Beribadh, had to turn to microcredit when there is no earthwork during the rainy season. "My husband cannot work as he has been paralysed for many years. How can it be possible for me to pay the instalment of Tk 135 a week?" she asked.

Interest rate charged by the majority of microfinance institutions (MFIs) has fallen from 15 percent to 12.5 percent in recent times, according to data generated by Microfinance Institute, based on lenders' declarations.

Taura's Ganga, a 45-year-old mother of two daughters and a son, borrowed Tk 24,000 to invest in the trading of gold. Her husband, Chandidas, is a goldsmith. She was paying back Tk 600 a week in 44 instalments to clear the loan. An apparently happy Ganga is not bothered about the interest rate, nor does she face any problem in the repayments because of the earning by her husband.

"I would say we have benefited from the loan. These loan programmes have made it easier for our investment. I can contribute to the family," Ganga said.

She was encouraged to see that she was provided with a higher loan compared to Tk 5,000 she received 15 years ago.

Members of her group drew loans also to invest in their husbands' businesses such as grocery shop, cloth shop, sweetmeat shop and saloon. "The interest rate is lower than the rate in dadon (hedge-financing)," Ganga said.

For Durga Rani, a widow of over 60 years, applying for a micro loan was "a hobby". She got the loans for her two sons who make ornaments in nearby Baniajuri Bazaar. "Actually I have a savings scheme of Tk 200 a month for which I had to become a member of a loan programme," she said.

Murad Miah, a 23-year-old shoe trader of Savar near Dhaka, said he drew Tk 2,000 although he did not need that money. "I save Tk 500 a month. That is why, I had to borrow money as a condition for opening a savings scheme," he said.

Sadhan Karmakar, a 47-year-old goldsmith, stopped taking loans seven years ago after he had paid back his loans ranging from Tk 5,000 to Tk 40,000 from a big NGO.

"Because of my sales in credit, my business simply flopped. I initially benefitted from microcredit programmes but eventually I failed and decided to get employed in Dhaka instead of running my own business here," he said when asked about severing his association with microfinance organisations near Taura village.

In Jobra village of Hathazari upazila, Chittagong, Noor Miah, a 40-year-old small trader of cleaning materials, sees microcredit as a good support for those "who wanted to do something on his own".

He supports a family of six and has two savings scheme of Tk 500 and Tk 200 a month with a leading MFI. A microcredit recipient of more than a decade, Noor Miah recently drew a Tk 60,000 loan.

"This loan is useful and the interest rate is also not high. This loan programme offered us capital for investment, especially running small business," he said.

Others in Jobra, widely described as the birthplace of modern microfinance programmes initiated by Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus in the mid-1970s, differed with Noor Miah.

Afsar Miah, 59, who received loans only twice for buying a rickshaw, has no grudge or enthusiasm for microcredit. "I am finished with it and I am now depending on my sons," he said.

Dilara Begum, 42, who makes bamboo baskets, fails to dissociate herself from the loan programme since she first joined the group to help her farmer husband, Abdul Kader, many years ago. She depends on the loan for urgent family needs.

"I don't think the poor in any way have benefited from the loans. The repayment process begins much before one starts earning, even in case of very quick return from the business like mine," she said.

She alleged that bank officers had diverted the savings into repayment if and when the members of the group fail to repay their instalments. "Many of us cannot also understand the actual interest rate as we pay back in small chunks," she said.

Septuagenarian Mariam began with a loan of Tk 200 more than 30 years ago. She stopped relying on microcredit four years ago.

"Microcredit has evolved over the years but we could not be self-reliant. Most importantly, we felt really insulted when the officers tried to take away our utensils when we fail to pay one instalment," she said, cursing the microcredit for lacking a human face in times of emergency.

Nurunnahar, 50, is one of two daughters of Sufia Khatun, the first recipient of microcredit who died 12 years ago.

Grameen had lent Sufia Tk 60 and Tk 500 in two instalments when Dr Yunus, as a teacher of Chittagong University, began experimenting with microcredit in Jobra, a village adjacent to the campus.

"I am ashamed of telling you how I live. I sometimes eat and sometimes starve," she murmured in local language. Even her thatched house was built with the assistance of the villagers.

Nurunnahar, who is not a microcredit recipient, claimed that neither her mother (Sufia) nor the villagers had been able to withdraw from the savings scheme money.

Today, accumulated loans provided by officially recognised MFIs stand at more than Tk 1,126 billion, besides the government-funded Palli Karma-Shahayak Foundation's total loan of Tk 50 billion, according to Bangladesh Economic Review-2010.

Shah Alam, a 68-year-old sharecropper of Jobra village, drew a small amount 20 years ago to raise his income by running a tea shop. He was soon disillusioned with microcredit. He was unwilling to share the risks of non-repayment by any member of the group – a technique which is applied to realise micro loans.

"The only advantage is that people collect the money at their doorstep, without official hassle. Its interest rate is really a big burden. The loan repayment system does not consider whether you make profit in your business," he explained.

The writer is News Planning Editor of daily sun. He can be contacted at khawaza@gmail.com.

 

 

http://daily-sun.com/?view=details&archiev=yes&arch_date=11-04-2011&type=daily_sun_news&pub_no=184&cat_id=2&menu_id=17&news_type_id=1&index=0

 

MICROCREDIT PARADOX-2

Cynicism, hypes lead to misperceptions

Khawaza Main Uddin

 

Microcredit is plagued by blanket criticisms from opinion leaders leading to wrong perceptions about its usefulness in helping the poor to access collateral-free loan to start a small business, say development practitioners.

Introduced in Bangladesh in the 1970s, the micro lending system has been described as either a panacea or a loan-trap for the poor. Development organisations such as Grameen Bank and Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee or BRAC launched large-scale microcredit programmes in the 1980s.

"The MCIs (microcredit institutions) are often wrongly equated with loan sharks, forgetting that there are elements of social business in the MF (microfinance) movement in Bangladesh; and the services go beyond lending," observes Sajjad Zohir, director of Economic Research Group.

Stakeholders say the aims of microcredit finance and how it operates need to be better explained to the public to stop the tendency to praise or demonise it.

"Among the intelligentsia, there is lack of objectivism and the extremes appear to uphold similar opinion," Zohir said in an email interview.

He blames the policymakers for failing to provide the right regulatory framework to encourage self-correction.

Microfinance programmes have been acclaimed worldwide as helping the poor to start their small business through collateral-free loans, thus freeing many from exploitation by money lenders, creating jobs through self-employment, breaking vicious cycle of poverty and significantly empowering the rural women.

Currently, Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) considers loan amounts up to Tk 30,000 as microcredit and higher amounts as micro-enterprise loans.

However, as Central Bank governor Atiur Rahman notes, there are grey areas of microcredit, which include high interest rates, lack of good governance especially in financial transparency and ownership patterns of institutions.

"The criticisms are creating the idea that microcredit has little role in poverty alleviation and development, rather the poor are being exploited through it," said Atiur, an advocate of microcredit for contributing to the "financial inclusion of the poor".

A major cause of such criticism is the amassing of resources by MFIs instead of creating assets for the beneficiaries, says Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, convenor of Equity and Justice Working Group.

The working group is one of more than 1,000 MFIs including giants like BRAC, ASA (Association for Social Advancement) and Grameen Bank that have been running programmes in rural Bangladesh for three decades or so, according to a document published by Palli Karma-Shahayak Foundation (PKSF).

Only 10 MFIs are found to have accounted for 87 percent savings and 81 percent outstanding loans of the sector.

PKSF, the government's apex microfinance body, recognises only 220 development organisations as partners while only 500 MFIs have been registered so far with newly constituted MRA.

Records at Social Welfare Ministry, another regulator of NGOs, show that more than 700 other unauthorised MFIs are operating across the country, indicating the market potential but poor governance in the microfinance sector.

In marketing microcredit as a panacea of poverty, Rezaul Karim says it has created "a lot of mystique and myth" about microcredit as described by communications expert Afsan Chowdhury in his remarks about Grameen Bank and its founder Professor Muhammad Yunus.

"Microcredit has been sold as a miracle solution by most development agencies including Grameen Bank instead of what it really is — a simple loan system," Chowdhury wrote in recent article 'Grameen Bank: Why people are critical and what it tells about us'.

"Responsibility for the media crisis today must be shared by the aggressive pitching of 'the dream' and the inevitable consequences of the shortcomings of a dream when exposed," he said.

Furthermore, a section of economists, public intellectuals and bureaucrats often rule out microcredit as a development programme to help eradicate poverty.

Even the country's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, has joined the critics and termed the microfinance distributors "blood suckers" in December 2010, following allegations of fund diversion by Professor Yunus from Grameen Bank to another of his company. However, the issue had nothing to do with the microcredit.

"Are the NGOs Mohajan (money lenders of feudal period at exorbitantly high interest rate)?" asked Mohammad Farashuddin, former governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB), at a recent PKSF conference in Dhaka.

The NGOs are accused of charging compound interest rates as high as 45 percent. Farashuddin also charged the NGOs with coercive practice for realising loan money through weekly instalment and said that they had ignored 10 percent people at the bottom of poverty level.

ASA, having microfinance operations in Asia and Africa, claims that interest rate of its microcredit stands at 12.5-15 percent, which reflects the banking interest rates in Bangladesh.

This compares to what the MFIs are charging in India (20 percent), Pakistan (30 percent), Afghanistan (30 percent), Sri Lanka (25 percent), Philippines (30-40 percent), Nigeria (40 percent) and Ghana (40-48 percent).

Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre, said there was a "philosophical battle" over whether microfinance should be considered as normal banking system or be used as an instrument to eradicate poverty.

Director of BRAC Development Institute, Syed M Hashmi, in a paper titled "The Microfinance Sector in Bangladesh: Transcending the Current Conflict" (January 2011), underlined the need to shift the public discourse from vilification of the sector as coercive to one of protection of clients.

"Careful research is required to ensure we have a better understanding of the dynamics of coercion to ensure client protection," he suggested.

Microcredit started and expanded precisely because commercial bank loans were not available to the poor. "If MFIs were to stop lending, the real beneficiary would hardly be the poor," Hashmi added.

Around 40 percent of the 162 million population in Bangladesh still live below the poverty line defined by the intake of food every day. Over 26 million, mostly women, are recipients of microcredit. Their repayment rate is 98 percent.

Proponents of microcredit reckon the repayment rate reflects its success while critics' say it is because of outcome of borrowers' productive use of money and compliance to the repayment schedule for seeking additional loans.

The vulnerable positions of people living in poverty often make it easier to coerce and extort them into repaying, often at the expense of their livelihoods, reads a 2008 study on microcredit by Jason Cons and Kasia Paprocki. "Microcredit traps the recipients in deepening cycles of debt."

But, Dhaka University professor, Wahiduddin Mahmud, also a former adviser to the caretaker government, told the PKSF conference that microcredit thrived because of market demand.

"It cannot be answered in one word how microcredit can be made most beneficial to the poor … microcredit creates opportunity for additional income which is still not enough for poverty eradication," he said.

Moreover, microcredit has failed to contribute to helping the poor through income transfers and subsidies as well as investment in the infrastructure necessary to link more remote areas to markets to stimulate economic activities, Graham AN Wright noted in a book "Microfinance Systems" (2004).

Economist Zohir maintained that access to microcredit has enabled many to move up whereas the chances of losing out are also there as applicable in any borrowing.

Yet, the Bangladesh Bank governor, Atiur, pointed out that the rate of poverty reduction could not reach the desired goal in spite of increase in disbursement of microcredit.

Two PKSF-sponsored impact assessment studies by Sajjad Zohir (2001) and Atiur Rahman (2005) showed an overall improvement in living standard of participants, particularly in their income, consumption and asset building.

Atiur Rahman, who as governor heads the MRA, disclosed that the regulatory body has fixed the interest rate at 27 percent to be calculated on closing balance method, which will be effective from 1 June 2011.

 

"Maybe, on implementation of this new interest rate the debate will finally dissipate and this new rate of interest will generate dynamism in the sector and push forward the poverty alleviation programme," he noted with optimism.

Following the public outcry over abuses in the microcredit industry, especially reports of suicides among loan-burdened people in India's Andhra Pradesh, legislators there recently enacted a stringent law imposing restriction on lending and collection of money by companies.

"There is surely a need for drawing a borderline between microfinance for poverty alleviation and microfinance as a corporate business," Wahiduddin Mahmud stated in an article 'Seasonal hunger, microfinance and public policies' related to the crisis in Andhra.

A key reason, he said, is the exclusion from the microcredit programmes of the hardcore poor who are not considered credit worthy.

Some of the hardcore poor have already been brought under experimental micro lending programmes by PKSF. It finances micro-entrepreneurs who are trying to escape poverty or creating employment for the ultra-poor.

Given the stagnation in the sector after initial breakthrough, diversification of microcredit services and graduation of loan programmes from micro enterprises to small and medium enterprises have been recommended.

Rezaul Karim detailed his experience: "They (borrowers) get little technical support to upgrade technology, so most of the loan is going to consumption rather than investment. Our market also is not pro-producer and pro-poor."

In a 2009 publication, Professor Frans Leeuw from Maastricht University and others note that "Microfinance may not be the panacea for the poorest, but for millions of poor and very poor households it can constitute a potential powerful tool for development and an escape from the poverty trap."

On the duplication of loans, a 2010 study report on four countries – Bosnia-Herzegovina, Morocco, Nicaragua and Pakistan – explained that microfinance institutions often devise strategies that prioritise markets with greater economic activity and higher population density, increasing the likelihood of overlapping with other MFIs targeting those same areas for the same reasons.

"Borrowers can default with one MFI, whether by choice or out of sheer necessity, and still retain their borrowing relationship with MFIs," it said about positive aspects of the crowded microfinance market.

Microcredit is a globally established assistance tool in exiting poverty, Chowdhury said. Also, he conceded, it has its own systemic and structural problems "that needs to be looked at without any hype or cynicism".

Microfinance advocates suggest its critics to come up with corrective measures, appreciating first the gains that microfinance programmes have attained on the ground over the last three decades.

Syed Hashmi urged caution saying, "We need to develop a common strategic vision forward. Or else we seriously risk hurting the sector and severely limiting the choices poor people have in accessing finance."

The writer is a special correspondent of daily sun. He can be contacted at khawaza@gmail.com.

 

 

 

http://daily-sun.com/?view=details&archiev=yes&arch_date=12-04-2011&type=daily_sun_news&pub_no=185&cat_id=2&menu_id=17&news_type_id=1&index=0

 

MICROCREDIT PARADOX-3

Corrective measures a must for future

 

Khawaza Main Uddin

 

Bangladesh's microcredit operators need to share their profits with the borrowers to help the poor succeed in their business ventures, concludes an investigation into small lending.

From an amount of Tk 60 given to Sufia Begum of Jobra village, Chittagong, in 1976, the amount of small credit distributed by 21 major microfinance institutions has increased to Tk 260 billion a year in 2009.

Also, development researchers say, microfinance institutions (MFIs) should stop publicising small lending as a 'magic bullet' in overcoming poverty to regain public confidence in collateral-free loan programmes.

However, no agency can say how many small borrowers have broken out of the poverty cycle by venturing into micro enterprises — a process which development researchers term as "graduation".

"The gains by lenders should be enjoyed not only by themselves but also by small borrowers," said Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre.

MFIs have raised huge funds and expanded their operations across the country in the past three decades but there are perceptions that some of them are profiting from the poor.

About 16 percent of Bangladesh population are covered by microfinance programmes. Statistics in Bangladesh Economic Review-2010 also suggest that the amount of micro-credit issued in 2009 (Tk 260 billion) was about one-fifth of the current (2010-2011) national budget of Tk 1300 billion.

Anu Muhammad, an economics professor at Jahangirnagar University, referring to a recent study of microcredit by his students, said only 5-9 percent of the borrowers have improved their living conditions, 50 percent remained static despite having other sources of income, and 40-42 percent had deteriorated due to loan burden.

An earlier study on the 'Role of Micro-credit in Poverty Eradication' in the Nilphamari district reported that micro-credit has not changed the living conditions of 77 per cent of the recipients, 76 per cent failed to ensure land ownership, 64 per cent in food security, and 84 per cent in healthcare facilities.

The study, conducted by Mahfuz Arefin Chowdhury and Moazzem Hossain Khan, both professors of economics at Rajshahi University, revealed that micro-credit had instead increased the indebtedness of 75 per cent of the borrowers.

A number of landless microcredit borrowers living on the embankment in Baniajuri, Manikganj, are reportedly being compelled to earn from different sources to repay their small loans.

Some loan recipients have demanded a level of flexibility in the repayment mode, a lower interest rate and business support to help them sustain the profitability of their business venture.

"The poor can really benefit if the loan repayment period is slightly deferred, considering the income from the business one starts with the loan money," said Shah Alam, a microfinance dropout in Jobra village, Chittagong. He feels the poor deserve better treatment from the lenders.

Hossain Zillur said the MFIs should now look into the critical issues and go for further innovation to remove misperceptions and use microcredit as an effective tool to help the poor earn a regular income.

Corrective measures, development thinkers suggest, include flexible loan disbursement and recovery, technology and marketing support for borrowers, introduction of micro insurance, motivating MFIs to focus on poverty eradication, promoting social business and social protection of the poor from economic shocks and business failures, government support for research on how to reach the poor in isolated locations or waiving loan repayments in times of emergencies.

A nationwide database of the poor and microcredit recipients has also been suggested to bring them under a social safety net and contingency programmes. Currently, only a few MFIs have a record keeping system or institutional arrangement to handle small businesses.

In a field visit to northern Rangpur region earlier, this correspondent found that loan recipients who were provided with assets free of costs, and who had opportunities to market their products and services, were more successful in their business venture.

Shahid Khandker, author of an article on microcredit as part of a 2006 book 'Growth and Poverty', has attributed at least one quarter of one percentage point of poverty reduction in Bangladesh every year since 1990s to the impact of microcredit programmes alone.

"If Bangladesh can attain poverty reduction via micro-enterprise growth, this would indeed be the second revolution of microfinance in its history in the Country," he said, adding that it might not be possible without fixing the real economy and formal financial sectors.

Microfinance programmes involve about 450 types of income generating activities, mainly agro-based, non-farm rural business and small trade, according to the listing of Palli Karma-Shahayak Foundation (PKSF), an apex microcredit body.

Shah M Ikhtiar Jahan, a researcher at PKSF, said the MFIs should reassess the needs of the poor through in-depth research and revise their programme objectives.

"The spirit of the microcredit distributor should be: 'I will serve the poor', not a commercial thinking. Or else, they should go to other business driven by profit motive," he said.

"MFIs have ensured their own sustenance and now the time has come that the sustainability of the borrowers should also be ensured."

More than 80 percent of branches of Grameen Bank made profits and almost 75 percent branches had a loan recovery rate of 100 percent, according to its 2009 data.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, who heads the development organisation, Equity and Justice Working Group, agreed that the MFIs would have to "repair their own houses" to ensure maximum welfare from microfinance.

"It is a matter of right of the poor to access loan and I strongly advocate microcredit should be complementary to other interventions for alleviating poverty," he said.

Many borrowers and opinion leaders complain about high interest rate but there is no consensus on what should be the standard rate of interest for microcredit.

Former Central Bank governor Mohammad Farashuddin insisted that there should be a cap on interest rate on microcredit at a maximum of 20 percent, compared to effective interest rate up to 45 percent.

BRAC Development Institute's Syed M Hashmi showed in a paper that the interest rate might not be a major issue when the amount is small in each instalment. "Given the multiplicity of their needs, the poor need reliability of access to finance, especially savings services," he said.

He proposed an intensive study on debt through an analysis of household economy to identify the underlying problems and come up with remedial measures.

Microcredit Regulatory Authority has now been assigned to bring transparency especially in interest rates, and accountability of MFIs in the country. MRA is mandated to look into governance, management, financial transparency and field-level operations during the processing of licence applications by each MFI.

Economist Sajjad Zohir, recognising the importance of policies in enhancing the contribution of NGOs to economic and social development, still cautioned that excessive interventions and regulations by public agencies might thwart the growth of an innovative sector.

In an overview of NGO Sector in Bangladesh, he floated the idea of a not-for-profit "organisations transcending into one which undertakes commercial ventures" – something that Professor Muhammad Yunus has initiated, which he termed as "social business".

In discussing the future of microcredit in a recent paper, Mridul Chowdhury and Jyoti Rahman suggested linking microcredit with productive activities for generating employment and with other sources of small loans for helping successful borrowers expand their business.

A chief executive of a multilateral agency in Bangladesh, who prefers to remain anonymous, said that the poor could hardly promote themselves to become entrepreneurs in a generation. "So, self-employment may not be successful in most cases. What Bangladesh needs is creation of a lot of jobs to address poverty and improve quality of life of the poor," he said.

Hossain Zillur pointed out that microcredit "can and should" be used both for self-employment and employment of others through expansion of small and medium-sized business.

He recommended that the MFIs should work on the basis of a "comprehensive vision" to cater to the needs of borrowers so that they could defeat poverty by their enterprising activities.

Citing the findings of his own research on a weaver community of Pathrail in Delduar, Tangail, PKSF's Ikhtiar Jahan said the borrowers there needed loans from more than one source since they have to invest higher amounts in manufacturing cloths.

About the ways to remove misperceptions about microcredit, he suggested research and public debates involving representatives of the poor, opinion leaders, researchers, development organisations and the media professionals for an objective assessment of microfinance programmes.

Explaining that "no development strategy is flawless", Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman said poverty is indeed a multi-faceted problem that cannot be eradicated only by providing the poor with unsecured small loans. "This can, however, create an opportunity for fighting other dimensions of poverty," he added.

He emphasised the need for the use of technology especially information technology in micro-enterprises to make them more effective in the coming days. "Technology is essential to reach new people controlling risks," the governor said.

The writer is News Planning Editor, daily sun. He can be contacted at khawaza@gmail.com.

 KhawjaMoinuddin_image_183_38085.jpg

 Khawaza Main Uddin


_______________________________________________




__._,_.___


[* Moderator�s Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___