August 25, 2010 -- Vice-President Danny Faure has called on Government and Parastatal Chief Executives to raise the bar in the way they run their organisations and provide a service to the Seychellois public.

He told the CEOs that they should take the lead from Government and be the key agents of change in their organization by becoming more engaging with their staff, more dynamic, more innovative and more results-driven.

Mr Faure was today speaking to the CEO Forum for the first time since he became Vice-President, and used the opportunity to outline key reforms in the economy and the public service that are aimed at moving the Seychellois society forward.

He told the CEOs:"As Chief Executive Officers, you have been mandated as the change agents in your organisations.  You will be the ones taking the reform programmes forward and assuring their progress and success - for the benefit of the Seychellois public as well as for your own respective organisations.

As Chief Executives and the Heads of your organisations, you will need to translate our Government's vision into action.  Your organisations will need to have clearly defined targets and coherent plans, on which your contract of employment will be based.

VP Faure said: "Whilst we (Government) have downsized, and met our commitments with our employees who have been successfully integrated into the private sector, I cannot help feeling that we still have a long way to go to becoming more efficient, more responsive, more innovative and more dynamic.

"My key message therefore to you today is that in this leaner Government that we now are, we have to up the ante in order to give the best account of ourselves to the Seychellois public.

"More than ever WE NEED TO BE THE AGENT OF CHANGE in this country, to be the catalyst of this dynamic new stage of our development, and to match the private sector in modern and more engaging methods of management and service delivery.

VP Faure said that the reforms that have kicked in since 2008 had brought far reaching economic benefits and that Government's streamlining programme had worked well, with most of the staff that had left Government employment finding new jobs in the private sector.

"We have sought to create a leaner government; make more efficient use of resources and improve service delivery. But, as I said earlier, we have to go further still".

He added that a Public Sector Salary Review has been undertaken, and that the reviewed Public Service Orders will go to Cabinet for endorsement by the end of this year.

"As you can see, the Government is moving forward with its policy objectives and strategies which will take us towards a more modern and prosperous Seychelles, and one that can continue to resist the shocks of any external fluctuations.

"New policies and new regulations have called for new ways of doing things - better management styles and forms of reporting and monitoring. 

"National Government has set the tone in looking at the way it was functioning and reviewing its functions - YOU the Chief Executives need to take it to the next level".