President Wavel Ramkalawan chaired a scheduled meeting of the Cabinet today, Wednesday 23rd March at which a number of legal and policy memoranda were considered.
In line with the Law Revision Project 2021/22, being conducted by the Department of Legal Affairs under the Statute Law Revision Act to prepare for the revised edition of the Laws of Seychelles, Cabinet approved two Bills. The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendment) Bill, 2022, proposes amendments to the finance laws for example the Revenue Administration Act, the Customs Managements Act. The Bill proposes the repeal of a number of Acts that have become obsolete or archaic for example the Entertainment Tax Act, the Seychelles Business Number Act, the Customs Tariff and the Disposal of Unclaimed Deposits Act. The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill, 2022, proposes amendments to laws relating to land for example the Land Registration Act, Land Survey Act, Mortgage and Registration Act. Approval was also given to repeal the Complaints Bureau Act.
In addition to the two Bills, Cabinet approved 4 legislative instruments under the Statute Law Revision Act amendments to a series of legislative instruments. The aim of these amendments is to update and align legal instruments with other laws. The following legislative instruments were approved:
(1) The Mortgage and Registration (Fees) (Miscellaneous) Regulations, 2022, that provides for new fees for the registration, transcription and inscription of instruments under the Mortgage and Registration Act particularly bringing inscription and transcription fees at par with the registration fee chargeable under the Land Registration Act. This will specially benefit transactions relating to land on Praslin and La Digue that are registered under the Mortgage and Registration Act.
(2) The Land Registration (Amendment of Third Schedule) Regulations, 2022, providing for new fees for registration of instruments under the Land Registration Act;
(3) The Change of Title of Officers (Mortgage and Registration Act) Notice, 2022 and the Change of Title of Officer (Land Registration Act) Notice, 2022, that takes into consideration the existing title of officers at the Registrar General Office.
Cabinet further discussed the proposal to have a National Order of Merit of the Republic of Seychelles to recognize outstanding and exceptional services or achievements in various fields. Cabinet approved the names of the awards as Medal of Honour of the Republic of Seychelles, Medal of Appreciation of the Republic of Seychelles; and Medal of Merit of the Republic of Seychelles. The law governing the Award will be presented to the National Assembly for approval. The Nominations Committee and Secretary of the Order will be appointed by the President which will undertake further work in preparation for the first Award Ceremony during the Independence Day celebrations.
Cabinet discussed proposals to increase parking capacity in Victoria. Cabinet agreed that the Stadium car park will be converted into a multi-storey which will be done through public private partnerships. There will be opportunity for the development of a commercial centre as part of the car park development.
Further details to the media will be provided by the relevant Ministry.