FPAC visits Montagne Posée Prison |29 July 2023
Touring the facilities
- Gets an overview of the prison’s financial status and daily operations
The Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) led by its chairperson, Hon. Sebastien Pillay, visited the Seychelles Prison Service (SPS) at Montagne Posée yesterday morning to get briefed on the financial provisions of the prison and an overview of its operations including the existing challenges.
The National Assembly committee was greeted by the commissioner of the Seychelles Prison Service (SPS), Raymond St Ange, and his delegation for a tour of the facilities, followed by a sit-down briefing in the presence of local media.
The other FPAC members present were the vice-chairperson, Hon. Terence Mondon, Hon. Conrad Gabriel, Hon. Richard Labrosse and Hon. Georges Romain.
The committee brought forth three main issues it had noted from past reports concerning the prison system.
The first one pointed out by the chairperson was the asset register, which was not up-to date, meaning it took it longer to finalise its end-of-year report.
The deputy commissioner of SPS, Sam Dodin, informed the committee that work was still being done, however all assets for 2023 have been entered into the register. They were now registering 2022 assets into the book.
“We are satisfied with our work and it is expected that by the end of this year, all of the assets would have been registered,” he said.
The second issue raised was related to insurance, whereby the process of claiming the money is taking way longer than usual.
According to FPAC this causes a delay in its work as it needs to have all the proper documents before it can finalise the end-of-year report.
And lastly, was the emoluments budget, which looks at the amount of money available for prison staff as SPS had requested for more staff in 2023 and 2024.
Hon. Pillay said that emolument was an important factor because as service increases, more is asked of staff, which will automatically have an impact on the amount of money for them.
“We have to make sure that in the planning process of the current budget, those involved take this into consideration to avoid internal conflicts that will hinder staff delivery,” he stated.
Mr Pillay said the committee’s reaction will remain the same as its aim is to make sure that the funds are being used in the most efficient way.
“We are always concerned on the subject of procurement and how it is done. We have raised some points, which we want the prison department to address and improve on,” he said.
FPAC’s chairperson added that the essential thing is to make sure that the funds being contributed as a country to maintain a prison service is agreeable to the citizens of Seychelles.
“We want to assure the public that their money is being spent in an efficient way,” he added.
He concluded by stating that such visits were important for the committee as it allows it to clear up outstanding work.
Photos by Louis Toussaint
