President Wavel Ramkalawan chaired a scheduled meeting of the Cabinet today, Wednesday 22nd September, at which a number of legal and policy memoranda were considered.

Cabinet approved for PUC to procure and install two conventional thermal dual-fuel generator sets, capable of burning heavy fuel oil or liquefied natural gas, to increase the electricity production capacity by 16 MW on Mahe, as an intermediate solution to meet the projected rise in demand for electricity.

Cabinet undertook further discussions on the workplace quarantine/isolation policy proposals by the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs.  Further work will be undertaken on the proposals that will eventually be turned into law for implementation before the end of the year.

Cabinet approved the National Policy and Strategic Action Plan on coral reef conservation and management 2021.  The National Coral Reef Policy and Action Plan presents a series of 13 policy statements along with their associated actions which provide a structured approach to the management of Seychelles’ coral reefs and the reduction of the cumulative impacts of different natural and anthropogenic stressors.

Cabinet was briefed on the outputs of the national dialogues held in preparation for Seychelles’ participation in the United Nations Food Systems Summit to be held on 23rd September, 2021.  The dialogues were organized to sample the collective opinions, ideas, perceptions and reasoning of a diverse group of stakeholders about the current status of the country’s food system, as well as the expected transformation that must happen to build a more robust and resilient food system for Seychelles.

Cabinet approved recommendations made by the Committee set up by the President to rename the streets, buildings and squares in Victoria which were renamed following the Coup d’Etat in June 1977.  The new names will be announced in October.

Cabinet was also briefed on preparation for the Seychelles - EU 8th Political Dialogue which will take place on 7th October 2021.  The meeting will involve discussions around topics such as the management of the sanitary crisis and response preparedness in COVID – 19 pandemic; the economic, financial and social impact and recovery strategy; environment, climate change and ocean governance (including Fisheries Partnership and Blue Economy); governance, rule of law, human rights; peace and stability; and AU-EU relations in preparation for the next AU-EU Summit.

Further details to the media will be provided by the relevant Ministry.