IDC welcomes Mr. Denis Matatiken as the newest member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Matatiken is currently the Special Advisor to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change.
He replaces Mr. Alain de Commarmond who has served on the IDC Board for the past 3 years. IDC thanks Mr. de Commarmond for the invaluable contribution made to the advancement of the company. The composition of the new IDC board is as follows: Mr. Patrick Berlouis (Chairman) Mr. Glenny Savy - CEO (ex-officio) Mr. Christian Lionnet - Deputy CEO (ex-officio) Mrs. Sherin Francis (Director) Ms. Angelique Antat (Director) Mrs. Angele Lebon (Director) Mr. Patrick Lablache (Director) Mr. Willy Confait (Director) Mr. Denis Matatiken (Director) The new Board has been appointed for a period of 3 years effective from 15th February 2020.
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Bel Eau primary school has received a new block that has been constructed and sponsored by the Green Island Construction Company.
The new block, which consists of a conference room, a resource room and two sets of staff toilets, has cost R1.5 million and was inaugurated by the Minister for Education and Human Resource Development, Mrs. Jeanne Simeon and the chairman of the Islands Development Company (IDC) board, Mr. Patrick Berlouis. The Director General in the education department, Mr. Cyril Pillay, noted that this project is definitely a very important step in the public-private partnership. “In 2017, Green Island Construction Company (GICC) built a new block of classrooms at English River secondary school with similar arrangements. It is very heartening to note that GICC has taken heed of our call once again and shows that education is a shared responsibility.” said Mr Pillay. In an effort to encourage more Seychellois to visit and enjoy the outer islands, and following a board decision, IDC has reduced airfares to all outer islands with guest accommodation, regardless of their distance from Mahé, to a flat rate of R3,000 with immediate effect.
In a press conference, the Chief Executive Officer of IDC, Mr. Glenny Savy gave details of the facilities on the different islands with a guesthouse to accommodate Seychellois residents. Before the reduction, Seychellois visiting Farquhar paid an airfare of R7,500 and R10,000 for Astove. Mr. Savy explained that Seychellois can immediately visit islands like Silhouette, Desroches, Farquhar, Remire, Platte, Astove except for Alphonse where he noted a new guesthouse is being built and it will be ready by December. He also gave details of access either by plane or boat, payment process and other important logistic details. For Silhouette, which is closest to Mahé, the return boat fare is R200 while accommodation is R100 per day and R500 is charged per day for a three-course meal and the latter also applies for meals on all the outer islands. For the other outer islands mentioned, the return airfare is now R3000, while accommodation cost is R250 per day. Mr. Savy also announced that the IDC will in the coming days submit documents to the Planning Authority for a project to build six additional chalets which will double the capacity of Silhouette guesthouse. “Emphasis on Silhouette is because many people love it as it is close to Mahé, more flexible and easy to access,” Mr. Savy said. He added that the new facilities on Silhouette which will be more comfortable and will offer more privacy are expected to be completed and ready by June next year or before. Mr. Savy noted that the number of available rooms on these islands do not necessarily mean the same number of seats on flights for transfers to and from these islands. He stressed that the availability of seats will depend on the number not taken by hotels on these islands. Meanwhile, Mr. Savy explained that the reduction in return fares has been possible because the IDC is absorbing the cost. Alongside the reduction in fares for residents, Mr. Savy also announced that IDC will also put in place a programme for senior citizens to visit Silhouette. An environment programme for school children in collaboration with Island Conservation Society (ICS) and the Ministry of Education is also being finalised and is expected to start by the end of the year or early next year. Family members and friends joined officials of the Islands Development Company in a memorial mass at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception to remember the four crew members who disappeared in a tragedy at sea, a little more than a year ago.
It was in the early hours of 26th August last year that the cargo vessel Sea Horse, which was carrying a consignment of fuel and food to Coetivy, caught fire and sank not far from the island. The search for the missing crew – Darren Morel, Nigel Franchette, Norcy Serret and Ranjit Premathilaka a Sri Lankan national – has until today been in vain. During the mass organised by the IDC, family members tearfully shared their pain and sorrow of their painful loss. In an interview to the press after the service, IDC’s Chief Executive Officer, Glenny Savy announced that the company would continue to support the children, especially in their education. He also added that the IDC has appointed a lawyer to help the families to obtain a death certificate for their loved ones as well as support them through the legal process which would ensue to obtain compensation. Employees had their eyes examined to detect vision problems and eye disorders during a free eye screening camp organised by the Rising Lions Club Seychelles at the company’s head office at the New Port.
The eye screening, organised with the support of opticians from Optic Seychelles, started at 9am and extended through the early hours of the afternoon. Over 50 employees had their eyes examined, in the brief exam aimed at detecting vision problems and eye disorders. Chief executive of IDC, Glenny Savy made an appearance during the camp and thanked the Rising Lions for the initiative as well as the senior Lions from sister clubs who also brought their support for the camp. Govin Pillay, a member of the Rising Lions Club, said that the welfare officer from IDC requested such a camp and Optic Seychelles collaborated with the club to realise it. “Eye care is important and we find that from our previous eye screening camps, quite a lot of people have undetected vision problems. Eye screening should be part of everyone’s regular health routine but most people tend to overlook the importance of screenings until they start to encounter problems and symptoms,” he said. Of the employees screened, a number were found to have some sort of vision or eye problem and have been referred to relevant health facilities. There is no indication of the construction of a foreign military base on Assomption.
This was the conclusion of a 2-day visit on Astove and Assomption by members of Preserve Seychelles, the association which has been campaigning against the construction of a foreign military base on Assomption. The visit was organized by IDC, upon the request of the government to shed light on the various speculations on the issue of a military base on Assomption and the presence of the Indian military on Assomption and neighbouring Astove. The three members of Preserve Seychelles who were selected for the visit were its Chairman Mr. Terry Sandapin, Mr. Guynemer Corgat and Mr. Ralph Volcere. “We are satisfied at not having seen any indication of foreign presence on the outer islands. IDC has been transparent, it has given us and the press all the possibilities to visit wherever we wanted and ask whatever questions we had. The media is here and they will diffuse information so they can put the minds of the people at rest” said Mr. Ralph Vocere, the Media and Communications Consultant of Preserve Seychelles. “As we have all seen, the allegations are false and we hope that next time, when there are rumors and allegations, they can ask questions and we do not need to spend money to prove it. It was a good trip and everybody is satisfied and most importantly it is a win win situation for the people of Seychelles as they will know the truth once and for all” concluded Mr. Savy at the end of the trip. Following the visit, Preserve Seychelles will produce a report to disclose their findings. Residents of Silhouette are now enjoying SBC digital TV with the installation of equipment to capture digital TV signal from Mahe and retransmitting over Silhouette.
A team of 4 engineers from the national broadcaster spent the weekend on Silhouette to do the necessary installation, then went door to door to ensure that residents are receiving SBC television. Since the introduction of digital television, TV reception on Silhouette island was very poor, with residents barely able to watch a programme. Now that Silhouette has moved to digital, residents and guests at the IDC Guesthouse can enjoy several free to view TV channels being offered on SBC TV, among which SBC 1, SBC 2, TV 5, CGTN, France 24 and RT TV. In Addition to that, they can also tune in to Radyo Sesel, Paradise FM and BBC radio. IDC is neither cropping, nor selling bird eggs this season.
IDC has learned that some cartons of bird eggs with its logo there-on are currently in use and that a carton of bird eggs is being sold for up to SR1500. IDC would like to state that these are most probably boxes from last year that are being re-used by some other persons or agencies. IDC would like to reiterate that it is not selling bird eggs this year. As a policy, IDC only crops bird eggs from Desnoeufs island once every two years. As bird eggs were collected last year, this year there will be no bird eggs from IDC. President Danny Faure visited Providence, where he saw the newly completed airstrip on the island.
The airstrip measures 1300 metres in length by 23 metres wide and is crucial to future development of the island. Work on the airstrip started on 10th December 2018 and was completed on 20th March 2019. Government contributed SR 5 million toward the total cost of the project, which was SR 19.5 million. The CEO of IDC, Mr. Glenny Savy and the Deputy CEO, Mrs. Veronique Herminie accompanied the President on the visit. The Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Col. Michael Rosette, Principal Secretary for Finance, Mr. Damien Thesee and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ted Barbe also formed part of the delegation. While on the island, President Faure toured the developments, including renovated facilities that have been made cyclone proof. IDC is in the process of developing infrastructure on Providence, having earmarked a 10 room guesthouse for tourism, and 2 bungalows specifically for Seychellois, so as to encourage local tourism. The new facilities is expected to be operational in March 2020. This is the last runway to be built on the outer islands. The other 10 runways are on Alphonse, Assomption, Astove, Coetïvy, Desroches, Farquhar, Marie-Louise, Platte, Poivre, and Remire. After the collection of 10.627 tons of marine debris on the beaches of 8 outer islands, Alphonse, Astove, Coetivy, Desroches, Farquhar, Platte, Poivre and Remire, the 36 volunteers who took part in the first ever large scale beach clean-up on the outer islands were awarded and recognized for a job well done.
The clean-up team consisted of IDC staff, members of The Ocean Project Seychelles, medical staff from the Ministry of Health and volunteers who did not make the shortlist for the Aldabra clean-up as well as several partners; Island Conservation Society, Alphonse Hotel, Desroches Hotel and the Prison Services which allowed a group of inmates on Coetivy to join in the clean-up. As a sign of appreciation, they received trophies and letters of appreciation from President Danny Faure, Vice President Vincent Meriton and IDC CEO, Mr. Glenny Savy in a ceremony at the Savoy Resort & Spa. The Ocean Project Seychelles which was in charge of data collection for the clean-up made a presentation on the quantity and composition debris collected – 18,028 flip flops, 1,962 lighters, 2 tons of ropes and nets, 18,224 plastic bottles, 2,594 glass bottles, 967 buoys, 703 lightbulbs and tubes, 34 FADs and 452 kg of foamed plastic. In his address, Mr. Savy thanked all the volunteers for the success of the activity. He called on everyone to help bring awareness on the impact of marine debris on the outer islands. “There is an urgent need to inform the world of our dilemma, of the consequences of of inadequate waste management, of the need for more restraint when throwing away trash in the storm run-offs or leaving it on the beach after a picnic, of managing fishing operations in a more conscious and sustainable manner, and of the result of dumping all that we no longer have any need for along our coastlines.” All the rubbish collected are being brought back to Mahe and a good amount will be recycled and re-used as a tool to create more awareness on the effects of rubbish in the ocean. The Outer Islands Clean-Up exercise was held between 18th and 31st March as a follow-up to the Aldabra clean-up project. |
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