VP visits SBC |25 May 2015

Vice-President Danny Faure last week toured the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) at Hermitage as part of activities to mark ICT week.
VP Faure was accompanied by information, communication and technology principal secretary Benjamin Choppy on this visit.

On the tour the vice-president was able to see the different departments and facilities of the corporation and the main concerns that were raised are lack of space and human resources as well as budget problems.

However in terms of technology the establishment is well equipped with the latest modern technology and numerical systems.
Over the past five years production has increased exponentially as SBC provides local programmes at a very high percentage for a small island state.

SBC’s chief executive Antoine Onezime explained that renovation plans for the corporation will help alleviate the space constraints which it is now facing.

In the upgrading plans it will also try to resolve the network problem by linking all their systems to the fiber optic as the broadcasting files are heavy.
In relation to the lack of human resources he said emphasis should be put on the long serving workers as they are the pillars of the company.

VP Faure was very happy with his observation and said: “You are doing a good job as you provide good quality services. I’m happy with what you have been able to maintain over the years and how you plan to address your challenges and we are ready to support you.”

He also noted that the main priority is the archive as there is a need for digitalisation and amplification of the storage capacity.

And with new broadcasting stations in operation and to keep up with the competition, investments need to be made.
Mr Onezime expressed his gratitude to government for including SBC in the programme of activities for the ICT week as it provides the opportunity to bring forward its concerns, constraints as well as successes.

He also highlighted that great casting is technology driven and it is previewed that by the end of this year SBC will be able to provide multi channels through the digital terrestrial television (DTT) networks.