The President of the Republic, Mr Danny Faure, chaired a meeting to address alcohol abuse in the country this morning at State House.

This meeting follows the announcement of the President in his State of the Nation Address on 26 February this year of a set of measures to tackle the issue. The meeting was an opportunity for all stakeholders involved to formulate an action plan to ensure that measures are in place by 1 June 2019.

President Faure reiterated to the members of the appointed Task Force the importance of collaboration and working together to reduce the consumption of alcohol in the country, and help tackle the challenge affecting families in Seychelles.

“We have taken this collective responsibility to give our children a country that is better than it is now in terms of alcohol abuse. Government is committed to tackling the issue and as we head toward 1 June, there will be concrete measures to address it,” said the President.

During the meeting, the Task Force discussed the different points raised in the SONA, including those already in force, those that will be implemented by 1 June, and others that will require a legal framework and come into force at a later date.

The moratorium on the issuance of licenses for alcohol production is already in place, as is the non-renewal of licences to sell alcohol by shops on Market Street. The Seychelles Bureau of Standards will also continue ensuring that alcohol content is correctly and clearly labelled on alcoholic products, as per its mandate as the designated laboratory for testing of alcohol under the Public Health Authority Act.

The meeting also discussed the regulation of a designated area to sell alcohol in shops, separate from other goods. This will be in force by 1 January 2020 and retailers will be guided on how this will be implemented.

The President and members of this committee also spoke about measures which will require legal framework such as regulations on alcohol advertisement and marketing, and a possible revision in the hours to sell alcohol.

Present at the meeting this morning was the Minister of Health, Mr Jean-Paul Adam, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Kishnan Labonte, Attorney General, Mr Frank Ally, and representatives from the Police, Ministry of Health, APDAR and the Seychelles Bureau of Standards.