Seychelles represented at SADCOPAC Governing Council meeting in Botswana |14 May 2025
Seychelles represented at SADCOPAC Governing Council meeting in Botswana
The Southern African Development Community Organisation of Public Accounts Committees, in collaboration with the Parliament of Botswana, recently hosted its Governance Meetings, two-day training, Peer Review Programme for members of Public Accounts Committees and supporting officials.
The sessions took place from April 25 to May 2, 2025 in Gaborone, Botswana and was attended by Honourable Sandy Arissol in his capacity as a senior member of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) of the Seychelles National Assembly. He was accompanied by committee support staff, Michelle Cupidon.
The programme began with meetings of the Southern African Development Community Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (SADCOPAC) Technical Working Group attended by Ms Cupidon and other parliamentary officials, followed by the Office Bearers and Governing Council Meetings attended by Hon. Arissol. The meetings involved discussions on pertinent matters regarding the affairs of SADCOPAC, particularly the active participation of Seychelles as Deputy Treasurer to the organisation.
On Monday April 28, 2025, Seychelles’ delegation paid a courtesy call to the Honourable Speaker of the Parliament of Botswana Hon. Dithapelo L. Keorapetse, a notable SADCOPAC PAC chairperson. The delegation also met with the Assistant Minister for State President Hon. Maipelo Mophuting at the Office of the President. During the courtesy call on the Honourable Speaker, Hon. Keorapetse implored the SADCOPAC to be a partner in the transformation journey of Botswana as it continues its democratic journey.
The two-day training took place on Tuesday April 29 and Wednesday April 30, 2025 and was aimed at strengthening the capacity of members of PACs across the SADC region and other similar oversight committees, to exercise effective parliamentary oversight and promote financial accountability within the region. It involved workshops and sessions on enhancing the skills of the PAC members and supporting officials, promoting sustainable development through improved Public Financial Management, building technical capacities, and fostering professional development.
During the second day of training, Mr Arissol chaired an insightful session which included three presentations on the following topics: Extractive Industries sector and financial Intelligence Agency by Edmond Shoko; Leveraging Media and civil society organisations (CSOs) to enhance public awareness on transparency and accountability in illicit financial flows and the extractive industry by Tumisang Seabo; and the Mandate of the Financial Intelligence Agency by Nozi Jeremia.
To conclude the training sessions, the vice-chairperson of SADCOPAC presented certificates to all PAC members and participants in thanks for their active participation.
Contributed