District meetings   President thanks Port Glaud residents for their constructive proposals |30 May 2023

President Wavel Ramkalawan described his 12th public meeting in Port Glaud as “calm and pleasant”, thanking the residents for their proposals on how to improve their lives and the district in general.

As usual, the head of state was accompanied by his cabinet of ministers but the member of the National Assembly, Hon. Egbert Aglae, who is the elected member of the United Seychelles party for the district, was absent.

Port Glaud is the district from where the president received the most letters since the meetings started, with the majority of residents opting to share their personal matters in private through a letter.

Similar to other districts, road access and land allocation were the two main concerns, with some residents enquiring about their lands, which had been turned into nature reserves. They were asked to confer with the department of environment to look into the matter.

One proposal, which was welcomed by the president, was the opening of an office at the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) bus depot in Port Launay to offer similar services as the one at the bus terminal in town, such as recharging of bus cards, and which a resident said would greatly help them. Mr Ramkalawan said the point would be given due consideration.

There was also a request for a new health centre to replace the old one, which the president said would be put to the Health Care Agency and see whether it could be included in next year’s budget. However, he informed the meeting that attention was being given to other health centres, which had more pressing issues such as the ones in Baie Lazare and English River.

There was also a call to introduce mental health service in schools and for the government to consider introducing a wing at the Wellness Centre for children as many of them are facing mental health issues and were not being treated.

“We are recruiting to be able to re-open the wellness centre, so I will present your proposal to the health care authority so that they can come up with something specific for children only, when they are re-organising the centre,” said Mr Ramkalawan.

One question referred to the state of the district’s market, which was turned into a take-away and was now being used as a place for anti-social behaviours. The president informed the meeting that many people have expressed their interest to rent the place, which is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, and the Ministry of Lands and Housing.

“I am glad that point has been raised so together with the district’s authority, let us consider turning the place back into a proper market,” he stated.

With regard to the construction of a wall in the “manglier” area, to replace the one that collapsed during flooding in March last year, President Ramkalawan informed the meeting that visits by the concerned authorities have taken place and since it happened unexpectedly, it had not been catered for in this year’s budget. However, he asked the district authorities along with the local government department to look into the reports and update the families on the work’s progress.

One question related to education and it concerned the scheme of service for the school’s counsellors, which has not been addressed for the past three years. Minister Justin Valentin said there were several schemes and the ministry was not looking at each one specifically since the ministry of finance was planning to have a general national review. However, he reassured education workers that as soon as the time was appropriate to review the salaries, the ministry would do so.

“At the ministry we do not only look at salaries but at other opportunities. For example this year, sixteen school counsellors have been put on a training programme to upgrade their level,” explained Minister Valentin.

With regard to the housing and land applications for the district, the Minister for Lands and Housing, Billy Rangasamy, said there were 49 applications for affordable housing with 20 being over a decade old. There were seven applications for mid-range condominium in the district and 55 for lands.

According to Minister Rangasamy, six units were under construction and are expected to be completed in September this year.  The first phase of a housing project at the ex-Sacos area in Béolière is set for next year, and 28 units will be built, while the second phase of 32 units will start in March 2025.

For the ex-teachers redevelopment, the project is scheduled for late 2024 or early 2025.

“In general, we will be able to address the housing issues within the next five years,” stated the minister.

Yesterday’s meeting took place at the district administration’s office.

Today’s public meeting is in Takamaka.

Patsy Canaya