The President of the Republic, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan has assented to two Bills which included the Physical Planning Bill 2021 and the Seychelles Infrastructure Agency Bill 2021 during a ceremony held at State House yesterday morning.
The President first assented to the Physical Planning Bill, 2021. The Physical Planning Act 2021 is now the new law that will guide Physical Development and land use management in the country. Its basis is derived from the Town & Country Planning Act (1972) (which has guided physical development in the country for nearly 50 years) but the new Act will modernize the operations and functions of the Planning Authority so as to make provisions to deal with today’s dynamic construction industry.
The bulk of work to bring the Act into fruition was done internally within the Planning Authority by a Committee led by the CEO & Deputy CEO Planning Authority, with the assistance of the AG’s office.
The President assented to the Act witnessed by the Attorney General, Mr. Frank Ally, Chairman of Planning Authority Board, Mr. Cyril Bonnelamme, Chief Executive of the of the Town & Country Planning Authority, Ms. Angela Servina, and Deputy CEO Mr. Terry Biscornet.
President Ramkalawan then assented to the Seychelles Infrastructure Agency Bill, 2021, which was witnessed by Attorney General, Mr. Frank Ally, The Acting Principal Secretary for the Infrastructure Department, Mr. Jitesh Shah, Director Specialist Support and Monitoring, Infrastructure Department, Mr. Michel Laporte, and Assistant PLD, Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Lawrence Kamugisha.
The Seychelles Infrastructure Agency Bill was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on the 20th October 2021 and the National Assembly on 9th November 2021 and concerns the establishment of the Seychelles Infrastructure Agency. The Agency’s mandate will be to provide technical services for Government construction projects and maintenance of Government properties by consolidating all construction professionals currently working in Government under a single work and management structure.
During his statement before assenting the two Bills, President Ramkalawan thanked all the professionals who have worked on the two Bills, and the National Assembly for their deliberations. He described this ceremony as an important occasion as the new Bills will further guide the country’s vision for Planning and Infrastructure for the future. For the Physical Planning Act 2021, he expressed hope that this will pave a new way for the Seychellois to have a say and make contributions in line with new legislation. The Seychelles Infrastructure Agency will now have oversight on all Government infrastructure and ensure that all projects planned are implemented as well as assist in eliminating corruption.
Also present at State House were the Vice-President, Mr. Ahmed Afif, Chief Justice, Justice Rony Govinden, the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly, Hon. Bernard Georges, the Secretary of State for Cabinet Affairs, Mr. Mohammed Afif, Principal Secretaries, and other Ministry of Housing and Lands Officials.