Former natural resources principal secretary Walter Talma passes away |13 July 2019

Mr Talma

Former natural resources principal secretary and special advisor Walter Talma passed away yesterday and President Danny Faure has expressed his condolences to his family.

Mr Talma, who had been a USAID coordinator for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), and based in Zambia, was on a working mission in Seychelles this week, and had left Seychelles on Thursday evening to return to Zambia.

USAID is the world's premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID's work advances US national security and economic prosperity, demonstrates American generosity, and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience.

Among his duties as programme coordinator for the USAID funds at the Comesa, Mr Talma had to prepare proposals, ensure funds are properly used, monitor and evaluate activities, prepare biannual report on results, achievement and targets and budgeting for yearly programmes.

Aged 56, Mr Talma had served as principal secretary for natural resources (agriculture and fisheries) from August 2006 to January 2009 when former President James Michel appointed him as special adviser to the Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Transport.

In May 2010, he left the government of Seychelles to work for Comesa. He was also chairman of the Seychelles Agricultural Agency.

He studied at the Seychelles College before moving to Cuba from 1983 to 1989 for further studies and earned a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics at the Higher Institute of Agricultural and Animal Sciences of Havana.