In the National Assembly Silhouette retreat at President Ramkalawan’s expense, Designated Minister says |04 August 2021
Designated Minister Jean-Francois Ferrari yesterday confirmed that the retreat over the weekend on Silhouetteislandhosted by President Wavel Ramkalawan for the Cabinet of Ministers and members of their families, was a working retreat not at the expense of taxpayers, but of the president himself.
He added that all public health and safety protocols were adhered to during the retreat.
Minister Ferrari gave those details when answering a private notice question (PNQ) on the issue by leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Sebastien Pillay.
Minister Ferrari was answering the question on behalf of Minister for Finance, Economic Planning and Trade Naadir Hassan.
He explained thatthe retreat was an essential exercise to plan the national budget for the upcoming year and to look back on what has been achieved since the President and his Cabinet assumed power in October 2020.
“For President Ramkalawan, it has always been really important to have consultation, not just around a table at State House, but also in other informal ways where all sentiments can be laid out and analysed. It is important for the public to know that the travel to Silhouette was not a holiday, but it was really a working session,” he stressed.
“As of Friday when the team arrived on the island, we started the session whereby we analysed the executive’s strategy, the ways in which we communicate this strategy, if all the ministers are pushing in the same direction. We also took the time to analyse our successes, our challenges and where we have failed to meet our objectives. We went over the different commitments that we made before the electionsand the expectations of the public today. We analysed the international challenges and took stock of the friendly countries who are accompanying us in the reconstruction of our economy,” Designated Minister Ferrari highlighted.
He went on to note that it was during the retreat that Finance Minister Naadir Hassan announced that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board hadapproved the US $105.63 million 32-month extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
As per the minister, the delegation worked through Friday evening, all through Saturday, and ended on Sunday with a spiritual meeting, followed by a visit around the island whereby they interacted with employees of Hilton Labriz Resort & Spa.
“No public money was used for this. It is important that I state that all permissions for this working session were given by the Public Health Authority (PHA). All precautions including social distancing and mask-wearing were observed and respected, and a rapid test was conducted on all participants before leaving the island, and it is with pleasure that I confirm that all the tests were negative,” Designated Minister Ferrari added.
Moreover, he clarified that the hotel expenses for the retreat are being handled by President Ramkalawan as the organiser of the retreat, although he urged that the parliamentarians look beyond the financial aspect, to take into account the benefits for the governmental team.
Laura Pillay