President Ramkalawan addresses second ‘Ease of Doing Business’ session |25 October 2023
President Ramkalawan addressing the gathering
‘Let’s find solutions, remove frustration and replace negativity with positivity’
By Mandy Bertin
President Wavel Ramkalawan has called for a good partnership between the government and the private sector so as to improve the ease of doing business in Seychelles, find solutions and alleviate frustration from both sides.
The president was speaking at the second session in a series of initiatives taken by the government this year to address the issue. The first one took place in February at State House.
Present at the meeting yesterday held at the Seychelles Trading Company’s conference hall, Latanier Road, were Vice-President Ahmed Afif, several ministers and leaders of key government departments and agencies.
President Ramkalawan said the government was not there to judge but to evaluate the relationship between entities, which eases the way for businesses and at the same time to bring more awareness on how a good partnership can help to propel things forward.
He added that at times there is what can be termed a “blame game”, where businesses tend to blame the departments and agencies, while they are sometimes at fault for various issues including not completing certain procedures.
“We need to help the businessmen to generate income, as this will help guarantee more for our economy. Through the collection of tax, we can ensure better conditions for our workers and it will also help us to address so many issues raised during the public meetings in regards to health care, education, housing and many more,” the president said.
He called on the participants to speak openly so as to find clear solutions.
For her part, the Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship and Industry, Devika Vidot, pointed out that sometimes because public servants generally have stable jobs and guaranteed incomes, complacency tend to set in, making it easier for them to ignore the businesses depending on their services.
“To you as a public servant, it does not make a difference, however to the business that has been waiting over two weeks, every single day counts, as it represents lost opportunities,” she said.
“In the private sector, it is a different reality. For someone who is self-employed, their tomorrow is not certain.”
“Therefore, the easier we make it for businesses, it means we give them space to make money, generate wealth, create jobs and grow our economy,” Minister Vidot added.
“In return, it means raising our standards of living because the government will have more funds to reinvest in salaries, capital projects and other public services,” she said.
She noted there was a lot of work to be done to ease the procedures and processes of the services that the government offers to businesses.
Improving the ease of doing business is not the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Investment, Entrepreneurship and Industry. It requires team effort, attention, guidance and leadership of all those present, she pointed out.
“It will involve moving away from a mindset of authority and control, becoming more attentive, solution-driven and a facilitator.”
The speeches were followed by a presentation on the Seychelles experience on the ease of doing business by the deputy chief executive of the Seychelles Investment Board, Lenny Gabriel, and one by Minister Vidot.
Photos by Louis Toussaint
