President visits Lands and Housing ministry to discuss challenges |28 October 2022

The meeting with Minister Rangasamy and senior officials from the ministry (Photo: Louis Toussaint)

President Wavel Ramkalawan yesterday morning conducted a brief visit to the Ministry of Lands and Housing to discuss with the ministry heads and leaders pertinent issues pertaining to the housing and land problem in the country.

The President was welcomed by Minister Billy Rangasamy, principal secretary for housing Denis Barbe, chief executive of the Seychelles Infrastructure Agency (SIA) Jitesh Shah, as well as chief executive of the Seychelles Planning Authority (SPA) Angela Servina.

The visit started at the Customer Service division located on the ground floor of Independence House, where he addressed the staff and urged that they improve the level of service-delivery, and to facilitate the procedures for citizens who want to purchase land, who are planning construction projects, and others who have housing needs.

Minister Rangasamy once again noted the challenges in completing certain housing projects due to the lack of resources, and the challenges within the ministry which can often lead to delays in handling applications and providing solutions to citizens counting on them to meet one of their basic needs – shelter.

For their part, employees pointed out that the major challenge is demand far outweighing supply for both land and housing, the primary cause of frustration for applicants.

However, President Ramkalawan also highlighted the space constraints the country faces, and the need for those seeking assistance to also do the necessary to help themselves, to contribute and to meet the government halfway.

He further urged that employees are honest, fair, and that they ensure transparency in their daily work, despite the immense pressure which the ministry is under to deliver.

President Ramkalawan also shared some words of encouragement to the staff, before holding a meeting with Minister Rangasamy and senior officials from the Ministry.

At present, the demand for land stands at around 1200 applications, while requests for housing is at 3500.

Neither the minister nor the President were available for media interviews subsequent to the meeting, although the ministry will be holding a press conference within the coming days, based on their discussions.

Laura Pillay