The Government of Seychelles today reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, accountability, and the responsible stewardship of public funds, following the presentation of the Audit Report on the STC Cold Storage Project to the Minister for Finance, Economic Planning, Trade and Investment, Mr. Pierre Laporte.
The report was presented this morning at State House by the Auditor General in the presence of the Chief of Staff and Economic Advisor to the President, Ms. Jennifer Vel, and was followed by a press briefing outlining thirteen key findings.
The findings of the audit highlight significant concerns in project management, procurement processes and contract management over the period January 2021 to December 2025. These include weaknesses in documentation, deficiencies in project execution and instances of overpayment as well as operational challenges affecting the functionality of the cold storage facility.
Of particular concern is the finding that SeyTurk Limited was awarded the contract through a direct bidding process without sufficient justification, raising serious questions regarding competitiveness, transparency, fairness, and value-for-money considerations.
The report also underscores prolonged delays across multiple phases of the project from commencement to construction and commissioning—as well as irregularities in payments that did not consistently align with the terms of the signed contract. Notably, cost escalations amounting to approximately USD 2.1 million (39%) were incurred over and above the original contract value of USD 5.5 million.
In addition, a claim of USD 509,500 for force majeure has been identified as potentially unjustified, given that the contract provisions did not clearly define the basis or circumstances under which such a claim could be applied.
The audit further reveals that STCL continues to incur additional, unquantified costs due to the non-delivery of key components, specifically the racking system, necessitating the rental and purchase of steel cages. Several contractual deliverables also remain outstanding.
The Auditor General has made a number of recommendations including pursuing appropriate legal recourse to resolve outstanding contractual matters, withholding retention payments where contractual obligations have not been fulfilled and seeking recovery of any payments deemed unjustified.
The STC Cold Storage Project, owned by STCL, was initially contracted to SeyTurk Limited under the previous administration at a value of USD 5.5 million. Despite a revised contract sum of approximately USD 5.095 million, final payments reached USD 7,649,341, inclusive of variations, additional works, and the disputed force majeure claim.
The audit was commissioned early in the current administration, in accordance with Article 158 of the Constitution, following the emergence of serious anomalies upon the Government taking office.
The Government reiterates that all public projects must be subject to rigorous oversight, and that appropriate action will be taken where deficiencies are identified, in order to safeguard public resources and uphold the highest standards of governance.