First National Order of Merit to be awarded next year |04 August 2022
Five of the six members of the committee during their last press conference held in June this year. Absent was Pat Matyot (Photo: Joena Meme)
The much awaited National Order of Merit of the Republic of Seychelles which was set to be announced on June 29 this year, has now been rescheduled for the same date next year.
This announcement was made by the chairperson of the National Awards committee, Robert Grandcourt, exclusively to our newspaper.
The National Order of Merit award was announced by President Wavel Ramkalawan in his state of the nation address on February 22, 2022.
“We are proposing to have a National Order of Merit of the Republic of Seychelles; the project is in advanced stages and if all works we expect that for National Day this year, we will decorate the first Seychellois. There will be an independent committee to receive nominations and through this we will be able to decorate our Seychellois people to valorise our Seychellois people, to make them know that when you contribute for Seychelles, Seychelles recognises you,” President Ramkalawan said when launching the award.
Mr Grandcourt explained to us that “by the time the Act was passed and the committee appointed, it was impossible to respect the required 30 days before the National Day to submit our recommendations to the President”.
What is the next step? Now, the committee is campaigning for more nominations and the Chair shared that they already have many candidates who meet the criteria.
The National Awards committee comprising Robert Grandcourt, Sister Nita Servina, Herman Maria, Gemma Jessy, Lena Desaubin and Pat Matyot will be working on three awards – the Medal of the Republic of Seychelles (which automatically goes to the President); the Medal of Honour of the Republic of Seychelles; and the Medal of Merit of the Republic of Seychelles. It is a great honour for any citizen to be honoured and recognised for his exceptional service to his/her country.
Vidya Gappy