MIEI and related entities’ budget allocations approved |30 November 2022
The National Assembly yesterday considered and approved the 2023 budget allocations for the Ministry of Investment, Entrepreneurship and Industry (MIEI) and all entities under its portfolio.
Minister responsible for the ministry, Devika Vidot, was accompanied by principal secretary Michael Nalletamby and other ministry officials in defending the budget appropriations.
MIEI
The ministry will in 2023 be allocated a sum of R16,356,000, an increase of around 23 percent as compared to 2022 where the budget was R13.3 million. The budget was approved by 25 votes, while seven members abstained.
As per Minister Vidot, the increase is to account not only for salary increases, but also makes provision for the development of a new digital investment portal which seeks to modernise the investment framework and improve the ease of doing business, at a cost of R545,000. However, it is essential that all actors pull together to effectively improve the ease of doing business, Minister Vidot noted.
Additionally, the increase is to finance the setting up of a national foundation for research and development. A total sum of R100,000 has been allocated to cover overseas travel for official meetings and events, as well as to finance recently launched business technology incubator.
The business incubator, for which R150,000 is budgeted, was conceived and launched with the aim of providing youths and aspiring entrepreneurs with a dedicated space where they can benefit with training, mentorship and such services to be able to develop their ideas into profitable business enterprises. The incubator is run by the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is to support Seychelles with capacity-development for those working in the incubator.
The ministry has three main programme heads, namely, governance, management and administration at R9 million, policy, planning at R2.4 million and Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) at R4.8 million.
Seychelles Investment Board
The Seychelles Investment Board (SIB) has in the 2023 Appropriation Bill been allocated a budget of R9,617,000, an increase of R2.9 million or around 43 percent from 2022, towards its efforts to diversify the domestic economy.
SIB will over 2023 see an increase of around R1,854,000 for its programmes, comprising promotion and events, and secondly, facilitation and services. The entity is to over the next year make the move towards becoming more digital, through the first phase of a project to digitise its files, investments in investor-friendly software and campaigns to educate the public as to investment opportunities in priority sectors. The progressive “Ki Rol SIB” campaign centres on the role and functions of SIB.
Among its strategic priorities for the year are to be the focal point to coordinate the promotion and investment in niche and high-value emerging industries such as vanilla, coconut oil, honey and spices so as to increase investments, yield, and businesses in these activities, to drive increase in export and economic diversification.
SIB is to introduce its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system towards the beginning of 2023.
Twenty-seven members voted to approve the budget, while one member abstained from the vote.
Industrial Estates Authority
The Industrial Estates Authority (IEA) is to be allocated R60,474,000 for 2023, a slight reduction from the 2022 revised budget, following the approval of twenty-six members.
The appropriation provides for capital projects, three large ones and four smaller ones, including infrastructure project implementation on Eve Island, Zone 20 bulk infrastructure, the extension of Zone 20, as well as in the Light Industrial Zone of Perseverance.
Materialising the ‘One District, One Project’ is a priority for the next year, with work having commenced both in the Perseverance and Au Cap districts. These two pilot projects are to be financed through Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs).
The budget also makes provisions for IEA to employ a surveyor instead of having to outsource the service.
Seychelles Licensing Authority (SLA)
The assembly approved the budget allocation for the Seychelles Licensing Authority (SLA) which was earlier this year transferred under the ministry, with the aim of facilitating the ease of doing business in the country. The authority is currently undergoing reforms, initiating changes to its laws and internal processes, and moving towards digitisation.
In comparison to the R17 million budget for 2022, an increase of 12 percent or R2.083 million is budgeted for 2023, bringing the total for 2023 to R19,145,000.
According to Minister Vidot, the increment is to cover efforts to ensure that licensing procedures are seamless and swift, and to allow the authority to regulate more activities, promote business continuity and expansion, and facilitate entrepreneurship.
Addressing the issues of ease of doing business requires that the SLA increases accessibility, speed and transparency of the licensing service, as well as digitising records to support digitalisation of services and develop a more transparent, up to date, and secure database which can be merged with other agencies to facilitate processes.
An additional R300,000 has been allocated for inspections, investigation and enforcement for the year.
Seychelles Bureau of Standards
A sum of R29,108,000 allocated to the Seychelles Bureau of Standards (SBS) was approved unanimously, despite the entity not appearing before the assembly to defend its allocation.
Enterprise Seychelles Agency
Similarly to the SBS, the Enterprise Seychelles Agency (ESA) did not appear before the assembly. Nonetheless, its budget of R9,433,000 was approved unanimously.
Laura Pillay