President Wavel Ramkalawan, chaired a scheduled meeting of the Cabinet yesterday, Wednesday 15th March in which a number of policy and legal memoranda were approved.
Cabinet was briefed on status of the implementation of the Extended Fund Facility with International Monetary Fund (IMF) which was approved in July 2021. Following the presentation, Cabinet approved for the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade to undertake further discussions with International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to implement a new Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and an arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) to support efforts in maintaining macroeconomic stability, advancing the reform agenda. This will include focus on climate to enhance Seychelles’ resilience to climate-related shocks.
Cabinet approved for key deliverables under the budget support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and World Bank (WB) to be incorporated as part of the work plans of the relevant ministries. Such a move will ensure that the agreed deliverables under the budget support agreement will be achieved in the set time frame. The budget support programme was started in 2020 as a result of the economic impact of the Covid 19 pandemic and based on the financing gap.
Cabinet approved amendment of the Harbour (Inner Harbour) (Control of Traffic) Regulations, 1973. The aim of the amendments will be to address errors in the regulations. As a result of the amendments, regulation 2 will be amended to reflect the correct speed measurement as knots instead of nautical miles. Regulation 3 will reflect a speed of 5 knots while regulation 4 will increase the fine for over speeding in the inner harbour to R2000 from R500.
Cabinet also approved the draft Broadcasting and Telecommunication (Mobile Number Portability) Regulations, 2023. Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is a service which allows mobile phone users to retain their numbers when they change operator without any impairment on quality, reliability and convenience. The regulations will make it obligatory for operators to implement MNP for both pre-paid and post-paid subscribers upon request on a non-discriminatory basis.
Cabinet approved proposal for the Government to subscribe to an automated fueling system for Government vehicles. The aim of the move is to increase efficiency in the Government’s fuel management process and usage and also to address fraudulent practices and revenue leakages attributed to the current manual system. The fuel automation system is also in line with the digitalization programme of the Government.