Public meetings resolve over a hundred issues so far |29 May 2023

•           Housing and road works dominate Bel Air meeting

Over a hundred issues have been resolved during the first ten public meetings, the head of state has said.

Speaking at the eleventh meeting in Bel Air on Saturday afternoon, President Wavel Ramkalawan said the matters, which were most of them minor ones, were dealt with promptly and the inhabitants were satisfied.

“We have been able to find solutions to over a hundred issues with the ministers taking actions immediately, because that is the only way to stop people from becoming frustrated,” said President Ramkalawan.

Saturday’s meeting at the district administration office started with a minute silence following the passing of Bishop French Chang-Him the previous day and then went straight into question time, with road works and housing being the main topics raised by the residents.

Similar to the three previous meetings, the minister responsible for lands and housing, Billy Rangamasy,  gave a summary of land and housing applications in Bel Air as long as the ongoing and upcoming housing projects, in a district he stated had limited land resources.

So far there are 49 applications for affordable housing, and 19 of them are over ten years. Twenty-six people have applied for mid-range condominiums and 19 for condominiums. There are 8 housing loans and 85 people have applied for land under land bank.

“There are 6 housing units nearing completion at the ex-SPDF area; they will be allocated next month. Of course we will be allocating those to the oldest applications,” said the minister, adding that construction of 16 mid-range condominiums will start in September at the former day care area to cater for graduates. Constructions of 16 units are also being considered at another site.

Minister Rangasamy has also appealed to residents who have undeveloped lands, to reach out to the government, so that these can be used to alleviate housing demands in Bel Air.

According to the minister, already, an inhabitant has entered into negotiation with the Ministry of Lands and Housing for the sale of her land to the government for housing projects.

One question touched on the state of Bel Air school’s playing grounds, which consists of red earth and causes lots of dust, deemed unhealthy for the students and staff.

The head of state said he has a visit scheduled to the school on June 2 and will be taking this into account.

The issue of police corruption and abuse of power was also raised with one resident claiming that some officers lacked competence, were irresponsible and unprofessional and were falsifying evidence and using excessive force during arrests.

She requested that those in charge should look into how officers in the field were behaving to ensure there was no abuse of human rights. 

A parent claimed she was among many financing drug trafficking at the Montagne Posée prison, as she had to send money for her son who was a drug user, and called on the minister to look into the matter, which she claimed was out of hand.

Another parent queried why Seychelles was not investing into tuna vessels to ensure that young people graduating from the Seychelles Maritime Academy could guarantee a job at the end of their courses.

The minister responsible for fisheries, Designated Minister Jean-François Ferrari, informed the meeting that although he also thought this should have been done a while back, technically it is complicated but it was one of Seychelles’ dreams and a task he has been given.

He added that the matter was raised at his recent trip to Oman where the two countries talked about the possibility of co-sharing a tuna vessel.

Many residents requested roads to facilitate access to their houses, while some appealed to the district administrator to assist with way leave, so that construction of secondary roads could get underway.

Other matters raised related to construction of bin sites and bus stops, employment and sports. 

Patsy Canaya

Photos by Louis Toussaint