President declares open New Amsterdam Citizens Bank … This shows we’re not talking of ‘no confidence’, but of ‘confidence in the economy’, he declares

CITIZENS Bank Guyana officially opened its doors to residents of New Amsterdam in Berbice yesterday, as President Ramotar noted, “This shows that we are not talking about no confidence, but about confidence in our economy.”

Eton Chester, Managing Director of Citizens Bank Guyana, speaking at the opening ceremony, said, “Our decision to have a branch in New Amsterdam was one that was strategically planned, keeping in mind our continuing expansion plan so as to serve a wider customer base.”

President Donald Ramotar cuts the ribbon to officially declare open the bank, with the assistance of Eton Chester, Managing Director

He said also that the company places much emphasis on its human resources, and as such, have employed eight persons from New Amsterdam to start working at the branch from today. He explained that the bank will be able to offer all the current services to their Berbice customers, with e-banking soon to be launched.
Engineering Services Director of Banks DIH Limited, Shabir Hussein, observed that this idea was conceptualised some three years ago, and the building was designed by Guyanese architect, Sheldon Williams. He noted too that the project was not completed without its fair share of ‘ups and downs’; but because of perseverance, today it’s a reality.
Clifford Reis, Chairman of Citzens Bank Guyana; welcomed the new management of the bank and wished them success in fulfilling the tasks that are before them. He explained that some five years ago the question was “put to us at one of our shareholders’ meeting, when will a branch of Citizens Bank be opened in New Amsterdam.”
President Donald Ramotar, in his address, noted that he is proud to share this moment as it’s a personal achievement for the bank, as well as an achievement for the country, to have one of our indigenous banks expand.
He empahsised that, “This shows that we are not talking about ‘no confidence’ but of confidence in our economy.” He continued that only recently he commissioned a new distribution centre in Eccles, and another commercial bank in Bartica. This clearly shows that the private sector is optimistic about investing in Guyana’s economy.
The President noted too that over the last nine years, Guyana has recorded continued growth at a steady rate. “I am sure we could have grown more, but because of the economic crisis the world was facing, we could not have grown as fast as we would have liked to,” he said.

President Donald Ramotar delivers his address at the opening of the bank

The Head of State reiterated that the country is in need of new infrastructure “and you all have heard it before, but we need the Amaila Hydro project.” He explained that this project will allow every citizen in Guyana to benefit, where they will see between 20% to 40% reduction in their electricity bill. With the absence of cheap electricity, the business community cannot develop to their full capacity.
“Every year we pay $9B in subsides for electricity,” President Ramotar said; with this being saved by a hydro facility, the Government would be able to do much more with roads, health centres and the current garbage problems, among others.
President Ramotar said that in the pipeline is a deep water habour in the Berbice River, which will transform the country’s maritime trade. He explained that with the expansion of the Panama Canal and other countries embarking upon expanding their maritime trade, Guyana too should take advantage of these economic ventures. He restated that Guyana can become a maritime hub for both the Caribbean and South America, “but first we have to have the proper infrastructure in place.”
The Head of State, in closing, urged persons to think wisely and start using other means of purchase instead of ‘liquid cash’.
“Facilities are now available for us to use more plastic, and this may help to alleviate some of the robberies we are currently facing.”
President Ramotar emphasised, “I am proud that the growth in the financial sector is being driven by one of our indigenous banks.”