FPAC meets with Seychelles Ports Authority   |16 February 2023

The meeting between FPAC members and SPA officials

Members of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) of the National Assembly yesterday afternoon held a discussion with the board and management of the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) on its function, mainly with regard to its budgeting.

The meeting with SPA is the first in a series of meetings by FPAC with state-owned enterprises for this year that would further lead up to public hearings.

The FPAC members, who included the chairman and leader of the opposition, Sebastien Pillay; the elected member of the National Assembly (MNA) for Plaisance, Richard Labrosse; elected MNA for Anse Etoile, George Romain; elected MNA for Baie Ste Anne Praslin, Churchill Gill; and the elected MNA for Pointe Larue, Conrad Gabriel, were greeted on arrival by the SPA board chairman, Gilbert Frichot and chief executive Sony Payet before heading to the SPA conference room for the meeting.

The members were exposed to various presentations on the authority which included its structure, budgeting, in relation to expenses and forecast, and on investments with regard to the Port Victoria rehabilitation and extension project which will cost €90 million.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Honourable Pillay said the meetings with state- owned enterprises, before they are called up for public hearings, is a new working strategy to seek information on their budgeting as and when it is being spent other than waiting to react on the Auditor General’s report where the budget has already been spent.

“We have enlarged our scope of work to scrutinise mainly state-owned enterprises with a significant financial component and of financial importance for the country’s economy. SPA is among one of those entities and this is the reason why we are at the port authority,” Hon. Pillay said.

Hon Pillay said that other reasons to enlarge their scope of work is in regards to spending by government from loans acquired and which FPAC had never touched before as a subject in its previous sessions.

He explained that given the port rehabilitation and extension project involves a loan component, FPAC is concerned on how SPA will go about spending the money to materialise such an import port project for the country.

“Other reason is for transparency. It is import to make the government entities understand that they have to operate in a climate where there is transparency and that the Seychellois public, who own these companies, have the right to know how the assets are being used, how they generate revenues for the country and how they help in the development of the country,” said Hon. Pillay, who noted that it is the role of the National Assembly to exercise an oversight on the activities of the entities which include those of SPA.

He noted that the session had allowed the committee to ask and seek clarifications on certain issues, with regard to the authority’s assets, where it would not have been possible to do so had it come through the Auditor General’s report.

He stated that holding meetings with state-owned enterprises, prior to public hearings, will allow them to know the kind of information that they have to seek to present before FPAC while the committee will be better informed and prepared to face the entities coming before it.    

CEO Payet said that the meeting with FPAC was very productive and fruitful where they have also been able to provide the committee with information they had no knowledge of.

“This shows that the National Assembly is showing interest in what is happening in state-owned enterprises. It was vital that we address their queries and we as an authority, our door will always remain open for any information required,” Mr Payet said.

The FPAC will be holding another session with SPA which will also include a visit at the port facilities, which had to be cancelled due to time constraint.

The elected member of the National Assembly for Takamaka, Hon. Terrence Mondon (vice-chairman) and the elected MNA for Bel Ombre, Hon. Sandy Arissol, were not present for the meeting due to overseas commitments.

Text & photos by Patrick Joubert