To commemorate his one year in office, the President of the Republic, Mr Wavel Ramkalawan addressed the National Assembly and the people of Seychelles held earlier yesterday evening at the National Assembly.
To start his address, the President underlined his core commitment to serve the nation and give his very best. He confirmed that he has been able to attend to these objectives with the support of Vice-President Ahmed Afif and his dynamic cabinet of ministers.
“Today, Seychelles is a better place because of our hard work and the commitment of so many Seychellois. Seychelles is on the right track towards greater achievements and prosperity for all her children. We came into government at the most difficult time no administration would have wished, where there was economic disaster and high expectations,” said President Ramkalawan.
He noted that the administration’ priority was to stabilize the economy in the face of COVID-19 Pandemic and quick and decisive decisions had to be taken to maintain the citizens of Seychelles and in ensuring that all workers could sustain their families.
The President continued by thanking and commending the staff of the Ministry of Health for their hard work as well as every Seychellois who has contributed in one way or another either financially, those who offered their accommodation for quarantine, made medical donations or other donations, gave counselling, or came back from retirement to engage in the vaccination programme amongst other services.
“COVID-19 has wreaked havoc in so many families and has taken away beloved ones. My sympathy to everyone. I too have lost close friends, many that I still mourn today. I say courage to the families and remember you are still in our prayers,” he said.
“I wish to thank all our international partners that have donated vaccines for our vaccination programme, namely; Abu Dhabi, India, China, Russia, United States of America and private individuals. Furthermore, the private labs that did the PCR tests among other”.
President Ramkalawan explained how emphasis was given to cut down on expenses and safeguard the health system so as not to be overwhelmed and secondly going into a vigorous vaccination programme, which permitted the country to open up and achieve a rise in tourists coming to Seychelles. A decision which he said is being praised by countries internationally.
“Praised by all countries and recently by the European Union, Seychelles has today 222 active cases, 82% of our population have had their first dose and 77% are fully vaccinated with an overall 21 cases on average per day. Decisions had to be taken and today we are in the process of improving our health system. We now have the extra facilities for patients, 3 oxygen plants and the COVID figures have gone down. Let us continue to work in this direction and push our country forward,” said the President.
President Ramkalawan also touched upon the Human Right and respect for the rights of individuals as the country seeks reconciliation. He also underlined respect for the media and freedom of speech and expression which is protected. There he made mention of the elimination of criminal defamation which he described as a “major milestone”.
In respect to the economy, the President gave an account of the situation in December 2020 and how his administration focused on the need for an urgent economic recovery plan.
“The rupee, today is considered the currency that has recovered the fastest internationally. The US Dollar moved from SR22 to SR15 and even lower. Our reserves are at its highest – from USD430 million in January 2020 to over USD 452 million in October 2021. And that is the net reserve. Whereas our gross reserves for 2021 is USD 650 million and in 2022 it should go up to USD 743 million.”
He continued, “Today we have been removed from the EU blacklist because we have shown our commitment by passing appropriate laws and our offshore industry continues to do well with the country expecting high dividends from the Financial Services Authority.”
The President spoke about employment, where he noted the different measures put in place to redress the issue of employment in the country, whereby more opportunity is being given to Seychellois who are seeking a job and in having a flexible approach to the GOP issue.
“Every Seychellois who wants to be employed today can get a job, our redundancy applications have decreased, more than 4,500 job vacancies have been advertised, and from January to September 2021, the Employment department has increased its job placement by 1282 compared to the same period in 2020 which was 668 applications,” he said.
The Head of State also spoke about the reforms in the Agency for Social Protection that have reduced abuse. He informed that 1.7 million rupees was refunded back to government from Seychelles Trading Company (STC) which represented unused STC cards for over a year. He also made mentioned of the assistance being given by the Seychelles Red Cross Society to around 5 to 6 families per week.
“The transition from welfare to work programme has been successful and today, these people are getting a proper salary, their pensions being paid and some in hotels are even getting a service charge of SR10, 000 per month. It is therefore important that we inculcate in our people the work ethics that will make this country grow instead of the welfare mentality,” he said.
Another topic that the President talked about is the accomplishment in the tourism sectors and how all Seychellois should take the responsibilities to preserve this industry rather than stealing from tourists or overcharging them.
In the fisheries sector, President Ramkalawan spoke about it is promoting the industry through the building of district infrastructure projects and the plan for sustainable and responsible fishing, this include the launching of the commercial aquaculture project that should attract investors. There he informed that through discussion the European Union has accepted to pay the Seychellois seamen.
Concerning the Agriculture sector, he said that there are new projects under the African Development Bank (ADB), whereby Seychelles have received an added funding from 12 to 24 million and that now farmers can access low interest loans of up to SR5 million rupees. Moreover, the government has increased the number of land allocation to farmers and production all 3 islands, namely Mahé, Praslin and La Digue.
“We saw an increase in production of poultry of 20% and 23% for pork in 2021 compared to 2020. With Island Development Company Limited going into intensive farming we should expect a 20% increase in national production for both types of livestock. 17 livestock farms at Val d’En D’or should add to this increase d production now that we have removed all quotas,” said President Ramkalawan.
In regards to abattoir, he said that in order to encourage more farmers to develop in that sector an abattoir on Praslin should be in operational soon and that a new one on Mahé will be built soon now that land has been identified.
The President also spoke about the local industry, where he underlined the importance to exploitation of cinnamon, vanilla, coconut based products, patchouli and saffron. He said that based on a solid foundation, Seychelles will be able to reap success in such venture.
Redistribution of land is another issue that the President touched upon, where he noted that this is one of the priorities of the government in terms of ensuring that all land is properly developed and paid for.
“So far we have collected SR16.1 million compared to SR12million in 2019, with leases cancelled. As for Eve island which is being prepared for construction of the infrastructure, the government is working on its plan infrastructure so that businesses can move in,” said the President.
President Ramkalawan also raised concern in regards to house and land policies, especially for applicants that wish to acquire a plot of land. There he announced that those who qualify for a plot of land will be given the opportunity to acquire one and move on with their project.
Another announcement that he made was the creation of the Seychelles Infrastructure Agency that will ensure greater oversight in governments projects so that it does not end up like the issue in regards to the La Rosiere school project whereby the plan was too big for the land. In the same spirit, he informed that a new Physical Planning Bill is already before the National Assembly for consideration.
The President spoke about reconciliation in the country. He said the government is already in the process of returning properties on which government has not developed projects. This will be considered case by case based on the merit of the applications in line with the announced procedures.
Community development is an another topic the President spoke about, where he said the government has adopted new ways, whereby District Administrators’ and MNA’s are working closely together. He said mostly all MNAs should now has an office bar those whose cases are being sorted out. The President informed that four day cares have now been handed over to successful bidders and they should provide the relief for parents in Takamaka, Glacis, Anse Aux Pins and Grand Anse Mahé.
In education he mentioned that the restructuring is still in process in order to focus on improving standards in all schools while encouraging the teachers and parents. He noted that the government is on the right track to embark on this process as Seychellois gear up to standards to take over jobs occupied today by foreigners.
In the same spirit, he encouraged all youths to engage in sports with the dream of winning that first Olympic medal. He cited how role models such as Felicity Passon and Mr Joel Melanie should be emulated by everyone.
Security in the country, was another topic the President spoke about, where he commended the Police Force for taking the reform seriously. He said that the rate of detection of crimes has increased. He also announced the new name of SPDF will be ‘The Defence Forces of Seychelles’. He praised Brigadier Rosette and all his staff for their professionalism and loyalty to serving the country.
On the issue of drugs, President Ramkalawan said that the government’s effort is bearing results and that it will continue relentlessly to win this fight.
“I call again on all traffickers to give up, because they are fighting a losing battle. We will arrest you one by one and destroy the drugs. We know who you are and just be careful of where you are hiding because you will end up in jail,” he warned.
Civil service was another topic the President talked about. He advised all civil servants to focus on their work and bring out positive results and to stop frustrating their customers.
The President thanked the Nationals Assembly for their hard work and that it is appreciated.
President Ramkalawan announced that the government took a decision in regards to the motion brought before the National Assembly by Hon. Regina Esparon when she called for all girls to be respected and for them to have the provision of sanitary towels. As of January 2022, the government in collaboration with Mr. Vijay Patel will be providing all school girls in all institutions, both public and private with free sanitary towels.
He also announced that all those living in Home for the elderly will be provided with diapers.
The President also announced the change of names of certain streets as the country goes forward and seeks national reconciliation. The full list will announced but in his address he made mention of 4 Seychellois individuals and one Seychellois family from Praslin whose names will be used in street naming – Liberation Avenue at Beal Eau will be renamed French Chang-Him Road; Church street will henceforth be Rue Felix Paul. The road from the National Library to the Clock Tower will be known as La Place Antoine Abel. The road between Weeling’s Shop and STC round about as Rifned Jumeau Road and the road from the Bicentenary monument to the Inter-Island Ferry will be called Grandcourt Road. 5th June Avenue will be Constitution Avenue, the longest road in Victoria showing the importance attached to the Supreme Law of the land. Finally, Revolution Avenue will revert to its original name of Royal Street.
To conclude, the President underlined the government’s commitment in the fight against corruption giving hope to its people, promoting democracy and ensuring that progress and unity reigns in the land. He affirmed that his government will continue seek lower cost of living and give its people the best living.