12 new apartments delivered in Sans Soucis, St Louis |22 August 2023

The two new housing units in Sans Soucis (left) and St Louis (Photos Louis Toussaint)

Twelve families now have decent homes after 12 two-bedroom apartments were delivered yesterday at Sans Soucis in Bel Air and St Louis.

The families were all present to receive the keys to their new homes from the hands of Minister for Land and Housing Billy Rangasamy, principal secretaries Jude Florentine (housing) and Clive Roucou (family within the Ministry for Youth, Sports and Family), representatives of the Property Management Corporation (PMC), Seychelles Infrastructure Agency (SIA), and their members of the National Assembly.

Six units in Bel Air

Six two-bedroom apartments at a cost of R8.1 million were delivered at Sans Soucis in the Bel Air district. The building is equipped with fire safety equipment as well as service ramps.

Hon. Norbert Loizeau, member of the National Assembly for Bel Air, urged the families to work together to keep the new block safe and to respect the boundaries.

“I am very happy today as the last housing project was under the previous administration where we got 24 units at Sans Soucis. We are pushing to get a few more units here and there to help more families,” said Hon. Loizeau.

Daniel Zialor, 14, shared his happiness with Seychelles NATION when his mother, Maria Marcel, received the keys to their new home.

“I have already chosen my room and I am utterly grateful to my mum for contributing towards the home saving scheme for us to get a house,” said Zialor.

Marie-Celine Rose, a constable based at the Mont Fleuri police station, is also one of the new owners.

“I am very happy today as I have waited for 10 years to get a home. I am excited to go into my new home even though we will have to add a few amenities. I am ready to move into my new abode,” said Ms Rose.

Minister for Land and Housing Billy Rangasamy welcomed the six families into their new houses and urged them to take great care of the facility. He said one setback was the lack of play area for children. He expressed sadness for not being able to cater for such a space as the area is very small.

“Wherever there is space we integrate a play area. I spoke to the families about it but they were all happy, excited and grateful despite the lack of play area. We were able to also provide for a parking area. We are always learning on how to make things better,” said Minister Rangasamy.

He shared that future housing projects in Bel Air would be mostly mid-range condos. “We have received quite a lot of demands for these, mainly from graduates and professionals from the district. We have a project for 16 units which will start soon at ex-Day Care and there are also negotiations with the private landowners for further development in the district,” he explained.

The minister added that another option being considered was the re-development of the two sets of apartments next to the newly built ones.

“The main challenge of Bel Air is there is no government-owned land that can be developed and we are continuously asking private landowners to come forward if they want to sell their land to government. Demand in the district has exceeded 100 families and 50 among them are looking for mid-range facilities,” stated Minister Rangasamy

He has asked those waiting for a house not to lose hope and to keep contributing towards the home saving scheme.

Six units at St Louis

In the afternoon, Minister Rangasamy was at the new housing unit opposite the Belonie secondary school on Frères Maristes Road, where six residents from the St Louis district received keys to their new homes.

It was the elected member for St Louis, Hon. Sathya Naidu, PMC chief executive Francis Collie and project manager Brighton Mapfum, who handed over the keys to the new tenants.

Others present were the principal secretaries Jude Florentine and Clive Roucou, district administrator Hannah Quatre and staff from the ministry and PMC.

The three-story apartment containing six two-bedroom units was constructed by Dubai Civil Engineering at a cost of R6 million. Work on the project started in August 2022 and ended in July 2023. The housing apartment is equipped with fire safety equipment as well as service ramps and solar lights around the building.

Two residents who spoke to Seychelles NATION said they were very happy to have received their new house and added that the place is ideal for them.

“I am very happy. I have been waiting for this moment for 15 years and today my dream of owning my own house has come true. I will be in my house relaxing in front of my TV tonight (last night). This is for sure,” said Winsley Smith.

The St Louis resident, who is father to two grown-up sons, has been living in a bedsitter at La Retraite with his brother Charles Souris, for the past five years. They will be moving in together on the first floor of the building. 

As for Sylvie Laporte, she had this to say: “I have been waiting for 15 years for this to happen and I am very happy. I was living in an old abandoned house at Belonie for some time and now I am looking forward to move into my new house with my husband and his daughter. She is 13 and very happy. We are all very happy.”

In his opening speech, Minister Rangasamy reiterated the importance of contributing towards the home saving schemes for self-benefit and for others waiting for a house. He noted that due to scarcity of land in the district, the ministry has been negotiating with private landowners to acquire land for future projects. 

“I know there has been some disappointments that we have only six units but your contribution in the home saving scheme is very important which will show your level of responsibility towards your home in the future,” said Minister Rangasamy, who also called on the new residents to live in harmony and to refrain from any anti-social activities. 

For his part, Hon. Naidu congratulated the six families and announced that within a year, more houses will be available to qualified residents on the waiting list, given the new housing development to take place in the district, namely at La Plaine Basin, Waterloo, by October 2023.

On behalf of her fellow tenants, Sheena Adela thanked the authorities for the beautiful project and called on the residents to live peacefully and to respect each other, while being a model to other housing estates around the country.

Vidya Gappy and Patrick Joubert

Photos: Louis Toussaint