Small grants programme - Civil societies invited to submit project proposals |10 October 2017

Civil society organisations or associations working on projects aimed at improving the basic economic and social conditions of the community and consequently impact on Seychelles, are being invited to submit project proposals so they can get financial help to implement their projects.

The call was made by the newly established national committee for the management of the Civil Society Small Grants Programme (CSSGP) during an information session and launch of the call.

The ceremony took place last Thursday at the Citizens Engagement Platform Seychelles(Ceps) conference room at Orion Mall.

The CSSGP aims to finance services, programmes and projects of civil society organisations which encourage empowerment, social entrepreneurship, sustainable development and capacity building and education.

To benefit under the CSSGP, civil society organisations must be active and registered; in good standing with the Registrar of Associations; have a mechanism in place for effective financial management; are active within the community and have the capacity to implement the proposed project.

The grant scheme follows a commitment made by President Danny Faure when he presented the 2017 national budget to the National Assembly, announcing  that the amount of R1.4 million will be put aside for civil societies.

When the grant was ready, it was important for Ceps to create a mechanism to manage that money. And to that effect, some members of Ceps formed a committee in December last year where a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with the Department of Finance for the setting up of the CSSGP.

The committee is made up of representatives from Ceps, the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the government through the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Economic Planning. It is being chaired by Kenny Roberts from the mentioned ministry.

“It is a government commitment to inject funds in this grant as members of parliament last year questioned the fact on whether NGOS should be supported individually or through a formal framework,” said Jules Hoareau, Ceps chairman. He said during a meeting held with the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Economic Planning, Ceps suggested two ways of implementation: one of financial assistance to projects and the other operational, meaning NGOS which have employees and a functioning with paid staff.

“The call is not for Ceps members only, but for both Ceps and non-Ceps members,” Mr Hoareau said.

It was Michel Pierre, committee secretary, who went through the proposal formalities. Civil societies have two weeks to work on the project, meaning these will have to be submitted by October 19 when the committee will review, shortlist and check the credibility of the association.

Shortlisted proposals will be called on October 26 in front of the committee to discuss or defend their project. Afterwards the committee will decide which project will really get financing.

The grand signing ceremony for the grants will be on October 31.

Successful candidates will have to provide banking details afterwards and money will be disbursed around November 15, 2017.