President Danny Faure chaired an meeting of the Cabinet this morning at State House, which discussed a number of legal and policy memoranda.

Cabinet approved the 2018 budget appropriation of SCR7,951,537,313.00.  The 2018 Appropriation Bill will be presented to the National Assembly for approval on the 31st October.

Cabinet approved amendments to legislation to provide for the benefits of Former Presidents and Former Vice-Presidents, as well as for the emoluments of certain constitutional appointees, in accordance with the constitution.

Cabinet also approved new legislation under the Electronic Transactions Act 2001.  The legislation will allow for the authentication and securing of electronic documents using digital signature which will make the documents legally valid electronic records.

Cabinet approved the restructuring of the Electoral Commission to provide for a Chief Executive Officer whose role would be separate from that of the Chairperson of the Commission.  This is in line with the principles of good governance, where CEOs generally report to the Chairperson of the Board or the organisation.

Cabinet also approved for reforms relating to measures to strengthen tax legislation to eliminate loopholes that could be used for tax avoidance. These measures would be implemented by March 2018.

Cabinet considered recommendations from the public consultative process and approved for the Immovable Property Tax to be implemented as of 1st July 2018.

Cabinet also considered recommendations from the public consultative process and approved changes to the Business Tax policy.  The revised Business Tax Act will be implemented in January 2019.

Cabinet approved plans for the re-development of the Cap Ternay ex-NYS village.  Part of the plan will include a Drug Rehabilitation Centre, a Youth Hope Residential centre and a Youth Holiday Camp.  The Seychelles National Parks Authority will also be allocated land to continue with their conservation activities.

Cabinet approved for the phasing out of the emergency houses and for their replacement by a temporary housing project.  Temporary housing will be used to assist families in disaster cases.  Procedures for allocation of the temporary houses will be undertaken by the Housing Allocation Committee.

Cabinet also approved new management measures for the sea cucumber fishery to ensure stock management.  The new measures will come into effect in January 2018.

Cabinet approved for Seychelles to host the (Federation International de Natation) FINA open water challenge Elite 10 Km 2018-2021 series.  Seychelles will be the first African country to host this world cup swimming event. 

Cabinet also approved for Seychelles to co-host the Second Resilient Ocean Economies Conference at the end of February 2018, with the support of the Ocean Rim Association.  This Conference will allow participating countries to share experiences in blue economy implementation and develop a series of strategic national and regional investment priorities.

Cabinet was briefed on the findings of the enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dylan Rose.  Cabinet approved for the recommendations of the report to be considered for action.  The report will be made public.  Cabinet concurred that the Police should continue to investigate the matter further, that when investigating cases of this nature especially involving children, the Police must consider all possibilities and not rush to conclusions and that the services of Forensic Pathologist must be called for when investigating such serious crimes.