President lays foundation stone for new SRC building |01 July 2022
Guests in a souvenir photograph
President Wavel Ramkalawan, accompanied by the Commissioner of the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC), Veronique Herminie, laid the foundation stone for a new building which will house the SRC headquarters.
The foundation stone was laid in a ceremony on June 29, the country’s National Day, next to the International Conference Centre (ICCS) on Bois de Rose Avenue where the new building will be built.
Present for the ceremony were First Lady Linda Ramkalawan, Vice-President Ahmed Afif, ministers, members of the National Assembly, partners and staff of SRC.
Currently SRC has offices at Providence, Maison Collet, Airport Cargo, Unity House, FSA zone, seaport, offices on Praslin and La Digue. The organisation employs 362 employees and for the year 2021 SRC has reportedly collected a total of R6.5 billion. In the last three years SRC has collected on average more than 85% of government budget revenue.
The SRC expects to be more efficient in their services in the future with a more spacious work environment and majority of their key services under one roof.
The building has been designed by Seychellois architect Vincent Ah-Time with the aid of a Czech architect. The building is expected to be completed in 2025 and the Minister for Finance, National Planning and Trade, Naadir Hassan, noted that the occasion is a significant milestone in SRC’s quest to obtain their own building.
The minister noted that the project has finally been put forward with the partnership of GICC (Green Island Construction Company).
He described the concept of the building as modern and which will “change the façade of the town”.
The architects gave a brief overview of the building concept and design with a short SRC building mock-up video.
The Tax services currently at Maison Collet and Customs at Customs House will both be transferred to the new building, including parcel delivery.
The Concessions department, bond and excise tax will operate in the new building.
Mr Ah-Time noted that the building’s site is an awkward one, overlooking the motorway and a few buildings around it with trees and sidings.
He highlighted that to design the building they had to look at all the elements around the site. He stressed that traffic also was a key factor on how it will fit in with the land transport’s plan for the future.
The concept of the building is one that takes on the natural elements as to not appear out of place.
It also allows for the movement of air and shade through the design.
It is a building designed for sustainability with a roof that will contain photovoltaic solar panels, low- E glass coated with a UV reflective film, brise soleil façade, central void and a water harvesting system.
“We thought of the people, how they will move from floor to floor, building to building,” said Mr Ah-Time.
He noted that they considered the mental health of the people, if they are in an environment where they would feel comfortable.
At the moment SRC is paying more than R22 million per year in rent. Minister Hassan stated that the savings that will be made will now be used to repay back the credit that GICC will take after the completion of the building.
President Ramkalawan, the SRC commissioner, Minister Hassan and board member for SRC, Serge Durup, officially laid the foundation stone of the building.
The President also received a token of appreciation from the SRC Commissioner followed by the unveiling of the commemorative plaque by the president and the SRC board member.
During the ceremony Ms Barra launched a competition for a logo and a name for the new building. The logo competition is for people aged 18 years and up compared to the building name competition which starts from 10 years and up. This is part of SRC’s rebranding project to bring about a new look and feel to the organisation “with the aim of enhancing its service offering to better influence the overall perception of the organisation”.
The criteria and terms and conditions for the competition will be available on SRC’s social media page and newspapers.
The director has called on schools, artists, graphic designers and the Seychellois population in general to participate.
The accompanying photos show some highlights of the foundation stone laying ceremony.
Marla Simeon
Photos by Joena Meme
