President Danny Faure visited the Local Government and the Culture departments this morning, as part of his weekly visits to workplaces and institutions.

The President’s visit began at the head office of the Local Government department, Oceangate House, Victoria, where he was welcomed by the Designated Minister Macsuzy Mondon, the Principal Secretary of Local Government, Ms Marie-Celine Vidot and the Special Advisor for Community Development, Mr Dan Frichot.

While touring the offices on the 3rd floor of the building, the President was briefed on achievements as well as challenges being faced by staff.

The delegation then proceeded to visit staff in the Culture department which is headed by Ms Cecile Kalebi, the Principal Secretary. Also present during the tour was the Special Advisor to the department, Mr Emmanuel d’Offay.

Following his visit of the Culture department’s Secretariat, the President went on to Mont Fleuri where he was guided around the National Conservatoire of Performing Arts by Mr Pierre Joseph, the Director.  The President had the opportunity to view the facilities, meet with the instructors and receive an update on the renovation of Theatre de Palme, one of our national monuments.

The next stop on the programme was the National Arts Council (NAC), where the President was briefed on the set up of the Council by the Chairperson of NAC, Mr Gabriel Essack and the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Jimmy Savy as he went round the premises.

The visit continued at the Natural History Museum, which is responsible for the acquisition, preservation and exhibition of historical artifacts.  President Faure sighted the different exhibits on display and learned about the Museum club section where young people can come and learn about biodiversity.

Following the tour of all the sections and agencies under the Culture and Local Government departments, the President chaired a meeting with the Senior Management teams of the respective departments. During the meeting he described the staff as highly motivated and conveyed his gratitude and appreciation for their hard work. He confirmed his new found understanding of the challenges that both departments are facing in areas such as infrastructure, office space, workforce, fungus, and amendments to new laws and regulations. The President advised on the need to effectively prioritise activities in order to have better budget management.

The President expressed his satisfaction with the important programmes that he had been briefed on and emphasised the need to further develop them at the community level in order to bring more benefits to the youth. President Faure noted that more publicity should be given to those programmes.

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