The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, laid the foundation stone of the Bank of Mauritius, Rodrigues House in Port Mathurin on Monday 29 August 2022. The official ceremony was held in the presence of the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, and the Chief Commissioner of Rodrigues, Mr Johnson Roussety.
In his speech, the Prime Minister emphasised that this development is a testament to the Government’s commitment to further modernise and strengthen our economic infrastructure. The Head of Government added that such initiatives will benefit every citizen of our Republic while recalling that Rodrigues must benefit from the same facilities as those available in Mauritius.
The realisation of the Bank of Mauritius, Rodrigues House should thus enable the Central Bank to expand its operations on the island by offering banking supervision, analysis and economic research services.
The Prime Minister also noted that this development comes at an opportune time, a few weeks before the 20th anniversary of Rodrigues autonomy.
Pravind Jugnauth said that his government remains committed to accelerating measures for the social and economic development of Rodrigues. The Prime Minister pledged to make every effort to ensure that Rodrigues is on an equal footing with Mauritius in building a Republic that offers a more inclusive and prosperous future for every citizen.
The Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, Mr Harvesh Seegolam, said the bank will be offering ATMs around the island to promote business. He congratulated the staff of Rodrigues for their dedication and said that the bank will play its role as it should. He continued his speech by recalling that over the decades. “Rodrigues has undergone enormous social, economic and infrastructural transformations. This has led to changes in the banking and financial needs of its people as well as the businesses operating there. I am pleased to see that the banking and financial institutions continue to accompany Rodrigues on its journey of economic transformation. More importantly, when I look at the latest figures on the operations of the banks here, I have noted a sustained increase in the level of activity, both in terms of deposit base and credit and loan portfolios, as well as profitability. This is indicative of the increasingly important role that financial institutions are playing in Rodrigues,” he said. Here is his speech in full at the bottom.
For Chief Commissioner Roussety, monetary policies must be adapted to Rodrigues by its specificities and according to him, the bank must continue to strengthen year after year. He also pleads for more statistics at the monetary level. He said that there are opportunities in the offshore business and that Rodrigues should think about it. He feels that the loans from the various banks are too rigid and many entrepreneurs do not have access to credit. He cited young people who have no experience and these young people face obstacles when it comes to a loan.
The Finance Minister in his speech said that the national government will continue to support Rodrigues. He said that in its last budget, it granted a sum of 6.6 billion compared to 6.1 billion previously. He cited budgetary measures for drains, a 1 MW solar farm in Grenada, development in IT and access to credit by businesses.
