Cabinet press briefing   |09 February 2024

VP Afif (Photo: Joena Meme)

Government wants CCCL to make available its stock of materials

In view of the prevailing shortage of construction materials, Cabinet took the decision for government to engage with the Civil Construction Company Limited so that its present stock of materials is made available in priority to inhabitants of Cascade affected by the events of December 7, 2023.

The decision was taken at the last Cabinet meeting on Wednesday chaired by President Wavel Ramkalawan.

Yesterday, Vice President Ahmed Afif elaborated on the decision at the weekly press briefing at State House. VP Afif was being helped by the deputy cabinet secretary for policy affairs, Margaret Moumou.

“We would like to see the situation in the construction sector go back to normal but that will take a long time,” stated Mr Afif.

“The idea is to engage with Civil Construction Company Limited (CCCL) and all other respective authorities, which include the police so that a negotiation can be made and an agreement can be reached where they can get access to and use leftover materials on site, which is estimated to be at 70 to 80 tonnes, without disrupting the ongoing investigation,” said Vice President Afif.

Priority is being given to Cascade residents, he added.

Vice President Afif also revealed that over 20 houses which were severely damaged need to be reconstructed and with the lack of materials the redevelopment of these houses are moving along at a slow pace, prolonging each project.

Other legal and policy memoranda were also approved on Wednesday, which included the procurement of an electronic invoicing solution to be introduced by the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC).

The E-invoicing is a solution which allows for the automatic transfer of billing information between businesses and tax authority instantly. This solution will reduce leakage and improve revenue collection, reduce the cost of enforcement and administrative compliance button and also elevate the quality of value added tax (VAT) declaration and simplifying the completion of return process.

“We will start implementing this in stages, starting with certain sectors and analysing the difficulties that this may bring and improve when need be,” said the vice president.

The intention is to make the system mandatory over time, according to the vice president. “It would not be effective if not all businesses are in on it. The idea is to have everyone, once they have their license, to be on the system.”

The government said its aim is to eventually find ways to reduce tax in the future. “This system will allow further collection of tax to be more effective and there will be a better method of evaluating the amount of tax that is supposed to be collected, which will prove beneficial for all,” explained VP Afif.

“We have no intention of increasing tax in the country but we need to make sure that everyone is making their contribution and if that is so then it can lead to the possibility of us looking into reducing the amount of tax imposed,” he added.

This new system will only be covering VAT for the moment.

Following an assessment of the cleaning services with the aim of assessing the economic viability of the cleaning and landscaping contracts in their current forms within the given budget, Cabinet approved the first review of the outsourcing of government cleaning and ground maintenance services.

“I would like to thank the contractors who are presently working in a respectful and efficient manner because their work forms part of government’s effort to ensure that as a tourist hotspot, we remain clean and appealing to visitors,” said VP Afif.

However, there are some weak areas that need to be addressed where some works are left incomplete, said Mr Afif.

“There are ways to improve this, the government has requested that the Landscape and Waste Management Agency (LMWA) reviews its contract process so that the work is done in a proper and efficient way. We want to address all of the shortcomings and keep a certain standard,” he noted.

Cabinet has also approved further amendments to the Foreign Exchange Act of 2009 to address some loopholes that still exist within the existing law, such as exorbitant tariffs on foreign exchange set by some businesses such as hotels, when charging clients.

“If you are licensed such as a bank or bureau de change then there is no problem. But if your business is not to sell and buy foreign exchange then you have to follow the prices that is set by the market on that particular day,” VP Afif explained.

“Else there will be a distortion in the market with people not authorised to sell foreign exchange engaging in such activities.”

Cabinet also approved amendments of the policy on refund of Vat on goods and services purchased locally for diplomats, consular posts, international organizations and other entitled individuals.

Diane Laramé / Press Release from State House