National Assembly |16 November 2023
The House approves budget allocations for nine entities
Nine government entities had their 2024 budget allocations approved by the national assembly during yesterday’s sitting. The ministry of employment and social affairs, led by Minister Patricia Francourt was the first before the House, to justify its 2024 budget allocation of R100. 304 million.
R45.429million is set for the employment department, which is an R2.9million increase compared to its revised 2023 budget of R42.484 million.
The Minister said the sum will cover various schemes and benefits for workers, among others.
The social affairs department has received a sum of R54.874 million, which is an increase from its previous revised 2023 budget of R45.925.
The ministry’s budget allocation was approved unanimously.
Another entity to have its budget approved unanimously was the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts, which will operate with a budget worth R147.002 million next year.
The institute has also seen an increase compared to the revised budget of last year, which was R132.6 million.
The Department of Information Communication Technologies also received the support of the House for its R78.928million allocation, with all 30 members voting for the amount.
The budget allocation for the Public Service Bureau, which is R42.296 million was approved by members of the ruling LinyonDemokratik Seselwa, with 22 members present giving their support, while the 10 opposition MNAs abstained. Vice president Ahmed Afif explained that R17.3million will cover wages and salaries, R16.8 million will go towards goods and services, while R8.2 million will cater for non-financial assets. The House also approved the sum of R384.549 for Other Wages and Salaries.
The budgets allocations for five entities were approved without debate. Seychelles Communications Regulatory Authority will next year function with a budget of R11.46. The Social Workers Council got the full backing of the MNAs, for a sum of R760, 000. The Information Commission’s budget is R3.529 million, while that of the Seychelles Media Commission is R2.753 million.
The Office of the Mayor Victoria stands at R3.928.
The last debate for the day addressed the budget allocation of R54.9 million for the Seychelles National Assembly. This was chaired by deputy speaker, Gervais Henrie and after one a half hours of discussion, the budget was approved unanimously.
Patsy Canaya