President Danny Faure’s fifth live press conference |20 March 2018
Signed Assomption deal won’t go to National Assembly as planned
The signed agreement to build a military facility on Assomption island will not be sent to the National Assembly in April as planned for ratification.
President Danny Faure said this yesterday at State House in his fifth live press conference and first for this year.
This announcement comes after the leader of the opposition as well as members of the two sides of the political divide in the National Assembly had said they will not ratify the agreement.
“It is not right for me as president to send the agreement for the Speaker of the National Assembly when the opposition who is in majority in the National Assembly has said it will not ratify it. I will wait until when I meet the leader of the opposition (Wavel Ramkalawan) on Monday March 26 so that he explains to me what he thinks should be improved on in the agreement,” said President Faure.
The head of state also took the blame for not giving out information to the people since the second agreement was signed in late January 2018.
He noted that instead of forcing the agreement down the throat of the National Assembly members, it is best that he listens to them, but at the same time he warned about not taking the necessary measures to stop drugs from entering the country.
“We all know the effects of drugs on our communities on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. Therefore, I won’t expect anyone to say that the president and his government did not do anything to stop this scourge. The country needs such a coast guard facility based on its requirements. This is because a lot of development is happening in East Africa where a lot of natural resources have been discovered. It means that more drugs will be transferred within the Seychelles exclusive economic zone to reach this part of the world. This is because drug lords are only interested in making money and not what happens to the people,” said President Faure.
STC’s mandate remains the same
During the press conference yesterday President Faure also reiterated that the mandate of the Seychelles Trading Company (STC) remains the same and this is to ensure basic commodities are accessible and affordable to all Seychellois consumers.
“There is a reason why the STC went into the hypermarket business. It is to be recalled that there was a foreign investor who wanted to set up a Carrefour chain here but after it encountered difficulties then the STC came onboard,” President Faure explained.
He went on to add that it is up to the STC board and the Ministry of Finance to assess the STC’s performance, difficulties, challenges before any decision is taken.
“A decision to close the hypermarket cannot be taken without a detailed analysis based on concrete and available information,” President Faure stated.
Meanwhile President Faure pointed out that people should also ask how the STC maintains the same price of commodities on Praslin and La Digue.
“The STC subsidises the prices of basic commodities to ensure consumers do not pay exorbitant prices. We must understand the mandate of the STC and we should continue to explore ways to ensure it is able to maintain stable prices of basic commodities,” President Faure stated.
President suggests debate on tunnel proposals
With regard to the proposals announced in his State-of-the-nation address to build two tunnels – an announcement which has not been well received by the Seychellois public who believe the country has many other priorities like strengthening the health system, upgrading our roads, etc. -- President Faure said while he agrees with these comments, he never said that taxpayers’ money in the country’s budget would be used to build and maintain the tunnels.
He explained that a company would be identified to manage the tunnels and money generated would go towards the costs of paying the company.
President Faure said as a former finance minister he would never commit such a mistake.
He pointed out that this project would be undertaken by Seychellois investors with money in the bank as well as other foreign investors who will agree with the concept and be willing to help Seychelles.
He said the idea to have a tunnel from Cascade to Grand Anse Mahé would be useful in transporting material for the construction of the proposed dam at Grand Anse Mahé.
“What would be the advantages of a tunnel for the economy? I would like the media to talk not only to politicians and myself on the issue but also to local engineers and get their views on the concept and start a debate on the issue,” the President has urged the media.