Lands and Housing Minister Billy Rangasamy visits Property Management Corporation |25 November 2020

Calls on stakeholders to help rid housing estates of anti-social behaviour

All concerned stakeholders should take their responsibility and do their part to help the Property Management Corporation combat drug and anti-social issues on housing estates.

Minister for Lands and Housing Billy Rangasamy made this remark when he visited the Property Management Corporation (PMC) head office at Oceangate House yesterday afternoon.

He said his main concern is the level of anti-social behaviour, especially the sale of drugs in blocks of flats.

He stressed that something has to be done to curb this negative behaviour that is impacting on the community, especially on the children and young adolescents.

“I think we cannot let PMC fight a lonely fight against drug issues and people with anti-social behaviour on the housing estates. Other stakeholders have to do their share in the fight to eradicate such behaviour in the villages,” Minister Rangasamy said.

With regard to the visit, Minister Rangasamy said he is very satisfied with the way PMC is being run, but is saddened it has to do so with offices scattered all over.

“The company is well-organised and I have witnessed a group of people who are really interested in what they are doing and for me they are pushing in the right direction which is very encouraging,” said Minister Rangasamy, who added that his ministry will offer PMC full support, especially technical expertise to help in the challenges faced in evaluating big contracts and sewage and drainage problems at housing estates.

He added that communication is key to getting things move forward and so there should be better communication between stakeholders, including with the public to help solve problems at housing estates.

The aim of the familiarisation visit was for him to get acquainted with the place and also to meet and discuss with the staff on their work, concerns and challenges.

Minister Rangasamy was led on a tour of the different sections of PMC on the ground and first floors of Oceangate House and Oceangate House Annex by PMC chief executive Evelina Antha. He was accompanied by the principal secretary for housing Denis Barbé and his special advisor Gerard Hoareau.

Apart from visiting the various sections and interacting with staff, Minister Rangasamy listened to a brief presentation by CEO Antha on the status and functions of the company, therefore getting an insight of the challenges faced by staff of all the different sections.

PMC was set up as a body corporate in 2004 but its operations were amalgamated with Housing Finance Company (HFC) in 2009 for greater efficiency until it regained its body corporate status in 2013. Its mission is to ensure the equitable provision of living accommodation to the people of Seychelles by sale, lease or rental of flats and houses in accordance with the policy of the government, to manage and maintain buildings and other property on behalf of the government and further to ensure the provision of utility services for the aforesaid rental of flats and houses.

PMC, with 46 staff, manages 137 housing estates on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. It has over 5,000 clients of which 65% are on house purchase agreements which provide for most of its income (65%) while the remaining 35% comes from rental contract agreement accounting to 11% of the company’s revenue. Most of its expenses are through maintenance (52%) and administration (22%).

Dealing with difficult clients and those who do not abide by estate’s rules and regulations are some of the common challenges being faced by PMC.

The accompanying photos show Minister Rangasamy interacting with staff during his visit to the PMC.

Patrick Joubert

Photos: Louis Toussaint