President Wavel Ramkalawan yesterday, Wednesday 19th May, chaired a virtual meeting of the Cabinet at which a number of legal and policy memoranda were considered.
Cabinet approved the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Seychelles and Other countries on Mutual Recognition of Certificates pursuant to Regulation I/10 International Convention on the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping, 1978 (STCW). This will allow for the Seychelles’ Seafarers Certificates of Competency to be endorsed and recognised internationally by the signing countries. It will also be applicable with respect to seafarers holding certificates issued by the member states in accordance with the relevant provisions of the STCW Convention. This Memorandum of Understanding will allow more Seychellois to gain employment on foreign vessels.
Cabinet gave its approval to a proposal to amend the Minor Offences (Fixed Penalties) Decree and Minor Offences (Fixed Penalties) Regulations. The spot fines which are presently regulated by the Minor Offences (Fixed Penalties) Decree was last revised in 1996 and no longer acted as a deterrent to traffic violators. Several amendments have been proposed in the regulations including introduction of a penalty for vehicles with default plate numbers, increase in the appropriate period to pay a fixed penalty from 3 days to 14 days, increase in the spot fines from SCR200 to SCR1000.
Cabinet was briefed on the proposal to introduce a Driver Improvement Point System which will deter drivers from violating traffic laws. This system will involve allocating each driver with a number of merit points on their licence, with points being deducted in instances of violations of the law. Cabinet has welcomed the proposal and requested that further consultations be done to clarify the manner in which the system will be implemented.
Cabinet was briefed on Labour Market Statistics Report: January to March 2021. The Minister of Employment and Social Affairs reported that the employment policies and programmes were reviewed to adapt to the new labour realities brought about by the COVID‑19 pandemic. The new policies have led to a reduction in the unemployment rate, a reduction in redundancies and an increase in the number of registered job seekers. It was reported that the Ministry has a Division, the Employment Promotion Division, dedicated to supporting job seekers. Re-skilling was identified as a key action needed for job seekers to meet requirements of the labour market. The President emphasised the need for collaboration between the different ministries to identify the real human resource needs of the country and ensure that the training programmes on offer meet the requirements of industries. He also reiterated the importance of addressing the social issues impacting on youth and of continued guidance of the youth for sound life planning.
The Respective Ministries will provide further information to the media.