VP’s Office and Ceps hold first bi-annual meeting for this year |11 February 2020

The first bi-annual meeting between the Office of the Vice-President and the Citizens Engagement Platforms Seychelles (Ceps) was held on Thursday February 6, 2020 at State House.

The aim of the meeting was to review projects and activities held throughout last year, and decide on new areas of cooperation and collaboration for 2020.

Both sides acknowledged the potential of a stronger working partnership, in particular, to have mechanisms for information sharing between the entities and more visibility of Ceps representation in the governance structure.

The meeting reviewed the progress of implementation of some key Ceps projects including the building of the Ceps House, which when completed will be a one-stop shop of services for NGOs in the country.

The meeting also discussed extensively the issue of funding which remains a major setback for Ceps in delivering on its mandate.

It was agreed that the Office of the Vice-President will continue to play a role in ensuring that Ceps gets necessary support for the effective implementation of its obligations, and to ensure that Ceps participates in the national budget dialogue at an early stage.

The bi-annual meeting is chaired by the Vice-President and was established in 2018 under the memorandum of understanding signed with Ceps, as an agreed formal mechanism to consolidate and strengthen the government and civil society relations.

Present at the meeting was the principal secretary in the Office of the Vice-President, Rebecca Loustau-Lalanne, and the special advisor to the Vice-President, Shelda Commettant. Ceps was represented by its chairperson, Jude Fred, chief executive Michel Pierre, deputy CEO Julie Florentine and other members of the Ceps board, namely Anne-Marie Elizabeth, Germaine Gill, Françoise Larue and Claudette Albert.

Joint press release from the Office of the Vice-President and Ceps