National Assembly |07 April 2026
PS Cétoupe engaging with members of the IAC (Photo: National Assembly)
IAC meets with DRDM
The International Affairs Committee led by chairperson Hon. Egbert Aglaé, met with a delegation from the department of Risk and Disaster Management recently to discuss the Charter on the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
This is part of International Affairs Committee’s (IAC) responsibility to review international treaties and agreements prior to their being discussed in the House for ratification or accession.
The delegation from the department of Risk and Disaster Management (DRMD) was headed by principal secretaryDaniel Cétoupe, who was accompanied by senior risk management officerCatherina Bonnelame. Also present at the meeting were Hons. Trevor Louise, Andy Labonté, Denise Clarisse, Alvin Grandcourt, and Wavel Woodcock. The committee was helped by committee clerks Samia Lebon and Emma Didon.
The meeting began with a presentation from PS Cétoupe on the Charter on the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), which included its history, vision, purpose, and the ways in which Seychelles would benefit from being a party of the coalition. It was noted that the CDRI aims to mainstream disaster risk reduction in infrastructural development, which integrates and considers climate change to produce resilient infrastructure.
The IAC engaged the delegation with questions on the country’s preparedness to tackle disasters and the involvement of the CDRI. This raised the matter of the existing early warning system and information management system, in which the CDRI with the facilitation of the DRDM, will help the relevant planning and infrastructural MDAs by identifying risk triggers to allow for more effective implementation of risk measures in infrastructural development.
PS Cétoupe informed the IAC that the DRDM’s parent Act is set to be revised, including updates to the subsidiary legislation for all relevant MDAs and the National Integrated Management Plan, to properly cater for CDRI.
The committee acknowledged the important risk management coordination the DRDM is undertaking nationally, which will be further bolstered by the CDRI. The fruitful meeting then concluded with the IAC extending its support for the approval of the CDRI by the House.
Press release from the National Assembly of Seychelles