Local Government & Community Affairs |16 September 2023
Ministry unveils strategic plan
The Ministry of Local Government & Community Affairs yesterday afternoon unveiled its strategic plan for 2022-2026.
The plan under the theme ‘Serving our Citizens Better”, outlines the vision, goals and objectives of the ministry for the years ahead.
It represents the ministry’s commitment to transparency, accountability and engagement with the community and the strategies that will guide the ministry in fulfilling its mission to enhance services to the communities.
The plan was unveiled by Minister Rose-Marie Hoareau in a short ceremony held at the National History Museum.
Present were Vice-President Ahmed Afif, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Roger Mancienne, Designated Minister Jean François Ferrari, Attorney General Frank Ally, ministers and staff from the local government and community affairs departments.
The strategic plan has two key priorities with five objectives, each with numerous goals to accomplish leading into 2026.
The first priority is the consolidation of the ministry’s reformed programme, which is under way, including the formulation of new policies, procedures, monitoring tools and compliance to deliver on the established national and international regulations.
The second priority is to promote and facilitate the development and delivery of integrated and coordinated services at district level. The aim is to invest resources, to develop and consolidate joint projects. This is to ensure that the host community not only benefits but also feels valued and appreciated.
In her opening remarks on the ministry’s important milestone, Minister Hoareau stated that the goal is to enhance service delivery, while aligning with the visionary goals of the current administration.
She noted that guided by the administration’s unwavering commitment to transparency, accountability and community engagement, the plan articulates the direction, significant reforms and administrative changes and scope of the ministry’s mandate up to 2026.
To support her statement, she highlighted a few key changes made so far, which include the rotation of district administrators to encourage diversity, reduce complacency thus resulting in better service delivery, de-politicising service delivery at district level and within the ministry, investing in capacity-building training and empowerment of staff, ensuring an efficient maintenance programme and better management of district facilities among others.
“As custodian of the 26 districts, we are located in the heart of communities, where we strive to deliver excellent customer service to our many clients. It is therefore fitting at this point to acknowledge the strong partnership, contribution and support to the ministry by all ministries, departments and agencies, the civil society oragnisations, the faith-based organisations, the private sector and individuals from the public at large,” Minister Hoareau said.
She thanked all their partners and staff for their support and contribution towards the ministry and called on them to breathe life into the document, turning it into a living testament of their commitment to progress and continued positive transformation as the ministry strives to reach its full potential.
Presenting an overview of the plan, the ministry’s principal secretary, Kevin Perine, said that it was a road map aligned with the national initiatives such as the National Development Strategy, Results-Based Management, Programme Performance and Zero-based Budgeting and also supports all global sustainable development goals.
He noted that the plan was worked on at a time when many changes were happening at the ministry.
“The making of the document was a collaborative effort which involved the management, our district administrators and their respective teams, the staff based at the ministry, our esteemed partners and MDAs who extended their continuous support and valuable input. To all of you, we say thank you and we count on your continued engagement in the execution of the plan,” he said.
During the ceremony a hard and soft copy of the plan were officially presented to Vice- President Afif, Speaker Mancienne and Designated Minister Ferrari while other invitees were presented with a soft copy at the end of the ceremony.
During the ceremony, participants who had enrolled on the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) course offered by the Indian government were also presented with their certificates by the Indian high commissioner to Seychelles, Karthik Pande.
