President holds first meeting with fund-raising committee for the new Seychelles hospital |29 September 2023

Members of the committee in a souvenir photograph with President Ramkalawan after the meeting (Photo: Patrick Joubert)

President Wavel Ramkalawan yesterday met with the fund-raising committee for the new Seychelles Hospital at State House.

The aim of the committee, chaired by Marie-France Macgregor, is to raise funds for the construction of a new and modern Seychelles Hospital which will be built on part of the premises of the current Seychelles Hospital based at Mont Fleuri.

Given that it was the first meeting since the committee was set up, it was for the President and the members to greet each other and to come up with some ideas for a strategy to raise funds for the hospital.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Mrs Macgregor said that no strategy to raise funds is in place yet but the committee will further meet in the coming weeks where it will work and come up with a plan for the fund raising.

“We do not have a strategy yet. We have met for the first time as a new committee, we have thrown lots of ideas around and it’s now that we are going to work on a strategy. Perhaps in two, three, four weeks from now, we can come up and say this is what we are going to do,” Mrs Macgregor said.

Mrs Macgregor said that the strategy will be geared towards seeking for everybody’s involvement without imposing anything on anyone.

She stated that the estimated sum for the construction of the new and modern hospital could amount to R1 billion.

“We know that things are not Ok with the current hospital. It’s old, it will be one hundred years in November next year, so government wants to build a good, modern and high standard hospital. We don’t have all the funds, we want to do it, so we have to find ways and means to do it. And one of the ways the president has come up with is a fund-raising committee,” said Mrs Macgregor, who noted that there are many people and organisations who are ready and happy to help.

The announcement for a new and modern hospital for the country was made by President Ramkalawan during his national day message in June this year. This was followed by the opening of a bank account at the Central Bank Seychelles (CBS) in July for voluntary contributions. 

Mrs Macgregor said that all transactions with regard to donations given will be transparent and accountable whereby the public will get to know of what is and what has been done with the money.

“We are ready and happy to keep people aware of what is being done with their money and how it is being spent,” Mrs Macgregor said.

Other members of the committee are Dothy Raforme, Marie-Antoinette Laurence, Thereza Dogley, Ambassador Nico Barito, Francis Mondon, Marthy Vidot, Marie Ah-Moye, Dean Padayachy, Roy Noel and Anne Bistoquet.

Patrick Joubert