New centre at Providence to store official records |15 June 2012

The official opening of the Providence Records Centre was held on Wednesday in the presence of Vice-President Danny Faure, Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange, members of the diplomatic corps, principal secretary for culture Benjamine Rose, special adviser for culture Raymonde Onezime and other government officials.

Others included the director of the National Archives Alain Lucas, director for culture Marcel Rosalie, and staff of the ministry and National Archives.

It was Mr Faure who cut the ribbon after Mr St Ange and Miss Rose had unveiled the commemorative plaque.

Mr Faure and other guests were given a tour of the centre and learned more on how it will operate.

Addressing those present, Mr Lucas said the construction of the centre was initiated in 2006 as a response to the urgent need for the government to have the records properly stored.

Due to financial constraints, the project was brought to a temporary halt in 2007 but started again in 2010.

Mr Lucas said the two-storey building will provide storage for records for 30 years.

Documents stored at the centre will be accessible to the organisation which created them and securely stored until the decision is taken to archive them for public use and posterity.

He added that the project cost around R7.5m and has been fully funded by the Seychelles government.

“The Providence Records Centre is indeed a large scale investment that will benefit the population as a whole,” he said.

In his address, Mr St Ange said the centre is also recognition of the International Archives Day, an annual event celebrated worldwide on June 9.

Mr St Ange added that the centre will play a vital role to ensure an efficient storage and management of files in government offices and in some instances freeing space for other purposes.
“Every school, every young Seychellois must see the importance of this Providence Records Centre,” he said.

The government remains committed to ensuring the preservation of our history, he said.
“The Providence Records Centre is the testimony of hard work, devotion and commitment of staff of the department of culture to ensure the efficient preservation of our historical records,” he said.

He thanked Mr Faure, who headed the Ministry of Finance and Trade then when the decision was taken to fund such a project.

The Providence Records Centre is located next door to the Seychelles Bureau of Standards offices.

Those present had the chance to view an exhibition mounted for the day, depicting the evolution of the National Archives from 1964 to 2012.