President talks of need to beef up security at Providence-Pledges to tackle problem of poor quality material entering the country |02 February 2008

Another issue of concern the Head of State has spoken about and which he said his government is determined to crackdown on is the entering into the country of poor quality material.

The President was talking to the media at the end of a visit on Thursday to several small businesses being run by Seychellois entrepreneurs at the Providence Industrial Estate.

The issues of security and poor quality material were in fact raised by some of the entrepreneurs that President Michel met with during his two-hour visit.

Referring to concerns that vandalism is rampant in the area as a result of poor security, President Michel said that there is a need for the police in collaboration with other government agencies to beef up security in the area.

While the police should step up their patrol so as to deter thieves and vandals, President Michel said the ministries responsible for National Development and Environment should consider sprucing up the area so that it can live up to its status as a small industrial town.

“When an area is well looked after and is neat and tidy it’s more difficult for vandalism to occur and it is easier to monitor what goes on,” President Michel said, adding that he would urge the relevant government agencies to seriously look into this matter. 

On the question of poor quality material entering the country President Michel said it was his intention to put into place soon legislation to tackle this problem, noting that meanwhile the Seychelles Bureau of Standards (SBS) has a role to play in inspecting the quality of goods entering the country so that consumers do not end up buying low grade material.