President meets retiring public servants |27 January 2017

A group of retiring public servants from different ministries met President Danny Faure at State House yesterday.

The 12 officers have retired from the Ministry of Habitat, Infrastructure and Land Transport, department of health, of education, of information and communications technology (DICT), Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), department of employment, Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC), Ministry of Finance, Trade and Economic Planning and the department of environment.

Two women, Doreen Souris and Monique Bibi, are also retiring after serving at State House for 42 and 53 years respectively.

Ghislaine Labrosse, who has been working in the Ministry of Education since she was 16 years old, retires after 45 long years.

“I am very satisfied as a lot of students which I taught and worked with in the teacher training are now prepared and ready to teach the next generation and feel up my shoes when I’m gone,” she said.

She said she would try to have more disciplined children if she could change anything with the system.

“If discipline were to join the picture then more young people would opt to join the teaching profession,” she said.

Among her challenges and grievances during her career as a head teacher was teacher absenteeism and while being a teacher trainer was seeing teachers leave the profession after 4 or 5 years.

Victorin Laboudallon has worked in the environment for 37 years and has had the chance to visit 107 of the 115 Seychelles Islands.

“I feel privileged to have known my country to this profundity, I even have a dive masters so I know underwater as well as I know the surface,” he said.

He said the biggest challenge during his career was to enforce new laws and policies.

“I would get insulted when I was trying to enforce those laws and although we claim that Seychelles is a champion in terms of the environment there is still a long road ahead,” she said.

Mr Laboudallon started out as a park ranger and retired as a senior conservation officer so he is encouraging the youth to choose a career in the environment department.

“Seychelles is so small that you have to work in various areas and the environmental field is so vast that you have a lot to learn before you take a decision in what field or post you want to work in. More than half of our territory is preserved and a lot of foreigners are looking to take these opportunities so I would encourage the youth to grab it while they can,” he said.

A health officer retiring after 40 years of service, Madeleine Valentine has worked for most of her life in the female ward but occasionally left to help out in other areas which required assistance.

“During all this time I worked with an open heart, always showed love towards my patients, served them with a big smile, was obedient to my superiors and punctual to work,” she said.

Miss Valentine thanked all her superiors who have helped her throughout her career and although she will dearly miss her patients, she will be kept busy by her three grandchildren.

She encourages youth to work as hard as she did, and to have patience and be honest in their place of work.

All three officers said they would willingly help out at their previous ministry if there are needed.

During the meeting, President Faure thanked them for their dedication and hard work as well as for their professional and loyal service over the many years that they worked for the government.

The retirees were accompanied by the deputy Cabinet Secretary in the Office of the President, Jeanne Simeon, Chief Secretary and Head of Civil Service in the Office of the President, Jessie Esparon, as well as the heads of various departments and authorities.