Rokel Commercial Bank held a Meet and Greet Session with Journalists on Friday, 10th February 2023 at the Bim the Bam Hall, in Freetown Wellington Street.
The program was called to order by Aruna Dumbuya Officer-in-Charge of Public Relations, Media and communications Unit of RCBank, and Ann-Marie Gebai-Jalloh, who informed Journalists that one of the rationales of the bank meeting media personnel is to network and update Journalists about the progress and development of the Bank.
The Head of Corporate Affairs of RC Bank, Mrs. Millicent Cole was centered at the networking session and thanked Media personnel for their presence.
She expressed her delight to meet with Journalists because RCBank knows the crucial role the media plays in our society and Sierra Leone is not an exception.
“We have managed and maintained a very good relationship with the media in Sierra Leone and we want that to continue, sometimes it is on an official base,” she said.
She further pointed out why such gatherings are sometimes crucial and then craved the indulgence of Journalists to continue to foster the good relationships that have existed between them and the RCBank.
She encouraged the journalists to feel free, interact, and network with bankers in the house and maintained that the doors of the bank are not only open to other stakeholders but to journalists as well because they expect Journalism to be something of integrity.
She added that if journalists have a story about RCBank, they should feel free to cross-check with the bank before writing and publishing such a story.
She cautioned journalists that whatever they do or say should be the truth, even if it is not the whole truth but it should be presumed to be the truth.
Mr. Umaru Shyllon Business Development Manager commented on the general operations of the bank and stressed the need for a cordial relationship between the bank and media houses.
Mrs. Kezia Salankole, Head of Simkorpor, gave an overview of the products and the services of Simkorpor Plus and then the advantages to the people of Sierra Leone, the improvement and impact on the banking practices using cutting-edge technologies.
She further intimated that it is crucial that agency banking has expanded to areas where banking was impossible. And that it is the business of everyone to publicize such achievements. She ultimately encouraged all and sundry to explore and utilize these services for comfort and ease of access throughout the 24 hrs of every day.
Mr. Ernest Gooding Ajax, Manager of Rokel Digital Banking Unit, further commented on their E-Banking products and emphasized the importance of the Rokel Visa Card and Rokel Korpor Card.
“Rokel Visa classic card is a card that can be used on RCBank ATMs and on other banks’ ATMs, which would create great flexibility for customers with the Visa card,” he commented.
Mr. Donald Johnson, Manager SME, in his contributions narrated the significant work that has been carried out by the bank in targeting the informal sector by giving out loans to market women, business women, kekeh, and okada riders.
Mr. Soko Kai-Samba who represented the Marketing Department deliberated on the marketing drive and how the department is meeting its set targets.
The engagement ended fruitfully. Hence, the meet and greet, engagement, and networking as an annual program proved to be ideal and the RCBank expects to continue this event annually. As such a gathering will create opportunities for members of the fourth estate to meet and network with members of the bank which could further form a basis for truth, transparency good governance for RCBank and even other institutions.