July 15 2011 -- President Michel on his tour of the ministry's offices yesterday, They, along with the land registration office, will be linked online by December.
In his National Day Address Mr Michel cited the Planning Authority as one of the sections many people complain about.

The ministry is hoping to offer members of the public information about their projects online by December, meaning that subject to necessary security protecting personal information, people will be able to follow progress of their applications via the internet rather than calling various authorities.

Mr Michel said his visit was very important since he is now directly in charge of the ministry as it helped him see how things are going, the challenges staff are facing and the resources they need as well as the new infrastructure needed to make conditions more conducive for the staff so they can deliver better services to the public.

He said the government will take measures to ensure the improvements take place soon.

"The staff will also need to be trained so as to interact better with the public and in that line we will be reinforcing our public relations sections in different departments so we can better explain to the public what is going on and what they need to do to get the service they need," said Mr Michel.

He said such measures will fit in well with the drive he launched to delivering a good service for the New Seychelles.

President Michel met and spoke with staff and listened to a presentation as he better familiarised himself with the ministry.

He said it is reviewing how it works, so as to meet public expectations.

After consulting with the ministry's senior officials, Mr Michel now understands the ministry even better he said, adding there are areas where extra qualified manpower is needed along with attractive schemes of service to retain surveyors and engineers, for example.

Other government sectors also need such schemes, he said.

When the new system is in place it will be easier also for district authorities to know where plots of land are located and allow faster allocation.

The process, however, requires surveyors and other technicians, many of whom have gone into private practice given the rapid development Seychelles is experiencing, said Mr Michel, talking of the possibility of outsourcing some of the work to speed up things.

He said the Housing Finance Company is also re-organising itself to serve the public better while the government is looking at a new system, a more systematic and a more transparent way of allocating houses to cut some of the complaints related to housing.

Public relations officer Rina Yocette told Nation 1,386 planning authority applications were approved last year as 74 proposals were refused on grounds specified.

She said it should take four to five weeks to get the authority's final decision "but it depends on the specifications of the application, for example if there are amendments to be made or pending comments from other agencies, in which case it could take longer".

The new measures President Michel mentioned are expected to cut the waiting time.