Seychelles’ Strategy 2017 still on track |23 April 2009

For this reason, a committee made up of experts from the Central Bank, Ministry of Finance and the private sector has been set up to reconsider the strategy and bring it into line with the ongoing economic reform programme.

President James Michel said this in a recent interview, excerpts of which formed part of a 70-minute programme aired by SBC television on Sunday evening to mark his fifth year as head of state.

Mr Michel took over from former President France Albert Rene on April 14, 2004 and was elected President of Seychelles in July 2006.

One of the issues Mr Michel talked about in his interview was how Seychelles’ Strategy 2017 is being affected by the economic reform programme.

Describing the plan, launched in 2007, as very ambitious, he said it was conceived at a time when the world’s economy was vibrant and countries the world over, including Seychelles, were attracting a lot of investment.

Unfortunately, things later took a turn for the worse, which saw the world plunge into recession and this has had a negative impact on our ability to implement this plan, he added.

“This does not mean that the plan is no longer valid. It is still on track but as a result of the reform we have had to carry out on account of the world’s economic situation and structural deficiencies in our own economy, it is important that we relook at our plan in the context of our economic reform programme,” said Mr Michel.

Noting that in these difficult times it will be hard to carry out certain projects, which will have a negative impact on our ability to create more wealth, the President said it is comforting to know that this situation will not last forever, the world will come out of this recession and we will be able to give new life to our plan.

“I believe we will meet our targets, albeit with greater difficulty,” he said.
“We will have to adopt other means to achieve our targets, but what is important is that we remain on track so we can create more wealth for our country.

“After all, if we want to double our GDP we must create more wealth and our reform is helping us to lay this solid foundation, which will allow us to do so.”

He said it is likely that when our economy is on a stronger footing and the world has come out of recession, we will be in a better and stronger position to forge ahead with our strategy and even do better than expected.