Economic council identifies, debates areas needing focus |14 January 2012

When welcoming them, Mr Michel had reminded them that his government pursues an economic policy that aims at fairness and social justice.

The members talked of the need for stricter local fiscal and monetary discipline as the world economy experiences turbulence and highlighted the value of diversification of tourism markets and products.

They focused on Mr Michel’s call for banking support to entrepreneurs and also tried to identify ways to encourage local farmers to meet local agricultural produce needs of tourism establishments.

The members looked at possible ways to strengthen local businesses for them to be more competitive,
and how local industries can get better support.

They called for better scrutiny of public sector enterprises and said there is a need for a better, more disciplined and accessible taxi service.

The need for more efficient land transport with a better traffic flow within Victoria also came into focus.
They said there should be better monitoring and control of customs declarations.

When launching the meeting, Mr Michel had stressed the need for a sound economic policy, which he said should consider the impact of economic decisions on employment and social welfare in society.

“It has been shown that unbridled neoliberal approaches to economic development tend to widen the gap in incomes, and generally work to the benefit of those who already wield economic power,” he had said.

“It is the priority of my government to ensure that Seychelles continues on a path of economic growth that fairly benefits all Seychellois.  This is a goal that we must never lose sight of.  Our economic cake must not only be bigger, but we must also ensure that it is shared fairly,” said the President.

The President noted that economic policy would need to stimulate more business activity and get more Seychellois involved in entrepreneurship, who would in turn need more credit facilities from banks.
 
He said the banks need to be proactive and cater for ‘easier credit’ for both large and small businesses.

“We need an economy that reflects our democratic principles of social justice, and not one based on technical considerations alone.  We need an economy that empowers and benefits our people and puts their interests first.

  My Government will continue to improve the policy framework that will enable all economic actors to feed the engines of productivity and economic growth.”

He stressed the need to work together, across organisations, in smarter and more innovative ways that serve the national interest.

“Seychelles is too small for myriads of little empires, where getting simple things done finally takes just too long and costs too much. We must always put Seychelles first! We must keep on striving for our New Seychelles!”

Mr Michel appointed the council – which will meet once a month – to advise the government on the best economic policy for sustainable national growth and development.