President Ramkalawan visits ongoing projects on Praslin |22 October 2022
President Wavel Ramkalawan journeyed to Praslin yesterday to tour various sites in both districts on the island.
Upon his arrival on Praslin, the presidential delegation, which comprised Vice-President Ahmed Afif; Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment Flavien Joubert; and other governmental officials were welcomed by members of the National Assembly for the island Churchill Gill (Baie Ste Anne), Doyace Poris (proportionate) and Wavel Woodcock (Grand Anse), liaison officer for Praslin Vincent Cedras and district administrators Dennis Antat (Baie Ste Anne) and Michael Jean-Louis (Grand Anse).
The delegation then proceeded to the Anse Corbizeau seafront where they viewed the effects of coastal erosion. Offshore protection is required for the area and rock armouring work is expected to start soon. This will be from the ex-STC (Seychelles Trading Company) warehouse area, extending 18 metres out to sea along the Anse Corbizeau coast.
On the beachfront next to the ex-Dove centre where a vacant plot of land stands idle, survey work will soon start in order to set up a kiosk for artisanal fishing and other marine-related activities in the area.
“New rock armouring work is expected to leave more vacant land in this beachfront area which can eventually be turned into a ‘promenade area’ to enjoy the sunset. To note that financing for this project is expected to come from contributions from Travisory and I believe that people will be glad to see how proceeds from visitors are utilised,” said President Ramkalawan.
On the opposite side of the road stands the ex-Dove centre where only one room is currently being used for drugs tests and counselling by the Agency for Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation (Apdar) on a monthly basis. Discussions are ongoing for the conversion of this building into a juvenile detention centre which will help solve the dilemma of a lack of detention facilities for young offenders. This will include staff quarters for internal affairs staff. Currently, the centre can host around 40 persons on a residential basis with classroom, kitchen and canteen facilities.
“This facility is ideal to be converted into a juvenile detention centre. We might need to build a new workshop for vocational work and areas for farming but discussions are ongoing on the best way forward. Today, we lack somewhere where juveniles who have been convicted can be placed, they are simply being sent to prison,” President Ramkalawan shared.
The delegation then moved to the Grand Anse recreational area next to the market where a ‘Beach Bar & Grill’ is being proposed by a private developer. This will provide recreational activities for the local community and the delegation is to see how best this can proceed.
Charles Morel, owner of Anse Kerlan farm and his team welcomed the delegation to his abattoir in Amitié. There, he operates livestock slaughtering and processing of poultry, beef and pork for the local market. Mr Morel discussed the setbacks linked with the newly opened abattoir and difficulties faced on a regular basis.
France Rose of Baie Ste Anne and his son Bryan guided the delegation around their farm in Côte d’Or, the ex-Dawn Dew farm area, where they are mainly focusing on livestock and charcoal production. Facing issues such as non-conformity to the land use plan, the delegation discussed how best they could help the well-known Praslinois farmer implement a change of use for the said plot.
The visit continued in the main Baie Ste Anne area where work on the market is progressing well except for a few slight amendments in the original plan to cater for Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) utilities.
The construction of the new passenger terminal is also on track and proposals were made for water harvesting as well as installation of solar panels on the main terminal building. The delegation also viewed the ongoing works for the new roundabout including additional lanes for access to the new passenger terminal.
Antoine Souris, assistant divisional officer, welcomed the delegation at the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency (SFRSA) based on Eve Island. President Ramkalawan praised them for their noble and hard work and interacted with the staff to hear their concerns and queries. These were mainly focused on allowances, the need to upgrade training facilities, revision of scheme of service, lack of resources such as a boat to be used for incidents at sea, among others. The team comprises around 30 members with the majority deployed from Mahé.
Works on the Pasquere road is steadily progressing and the delegation viewed both the Grand Anse entrance (next to Britannia hotel) and the Pasquere entrance. President Ramkalawan was disappointed to note that the Pasquere entrance is too large while the Grand Anse area comes to a bottleneck. The owner of Britannia hotel Lydia Lablache shared her concerns about the plans for the Pasquere road which runs alongside her tourism establishment to the delegation.
The delegation then visited the ex-Anse Boudin community centre where there is a proposal for a ‘residential rehabilitation centre’ project for drug addicts. The building is currently abandoned but can be refurbished. Currently, a total of 250 drug addicts are registered with Apdar on Praslin and there is an outcry for rehabilitation. The proposal which came from a private individual remains to be discussed further.
“Today I was able to update myself on the progress of some projects on Praslin. Several proposals were explored and we shall discuss them further with respective stakeholders. We hope to be able to come back with finalised proposals,” said President Ramkalawan.
“It is however sad to note that we viewed much wastage of resources today. We hope to be able to come up with projects that can make better use of these resources,” President Ramkalawan added.
Nadia Bedier
Photos by Romano Laurence
