16 June 2010 | State House.
Remarks By President Michel On The Occasion Of
The Swearing In Ceremony For New Ministers- 16th June 2010
Vice President,
Cabinet colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Change does not always guarantee success. We all aim to succeed. But success is rarely attainable unless there is a willingness to embrace change.
Our country has undergone some profound changes over the last two years. We have made the transformation a success, because we have embraced the change. We have all lived the change.
Every Seychellois has been faced with difficult choices in this period. We have all had to change many things about our daily lives. I am proud of how the Seychellois people have responded. Their determination and courage has been an inspiration for me.
I am also very thankful to the ministerial team that has helped guide the country through this period. They have played such an important role in bringing our country together as we faced situations that we had never faced before.
As a new team joins me today, we begin the next chapter of the great transformation on which we have embarked.
In this new chapter, we must continue to be at the service of the people. We must continue to reach out to communities, and districts. We must continue to facilitate the participation of every Seychellois in government. We must find new ways of empowering the private sector. We must be innovative. We do so because we believe in the Seychellois people. We believe in their capacity to achieve great things. We are simply the facilitators who can unlock their potential. We must continue to listen to the people.
We must also strive to deliver better service in government. While great strides have been made, the whole will only ever be as strong as the sum of its parts. So while we may improve the facilities available to our people- We will never be satisfied if our people have to queue for hours to access them. I will continue to insist that we need to provide services that address the core needs of our people.
To achieve better service, we also need more coordination among government departments. We need government departments to communicate effectively with each other and to the public. We know that things are not always perfect. Good coordination and communication allow us to fix problems where they may exist, and improve and embellish on initiatives that are already working well.
After the ministers have taken on their new portfolios, we will also reorganize government departments where necessary. The Government will announce these changes next week. To enhance the effectiveness of the civil service and also to enhance the coordination among government departments, I will also be creating a new post of Secretary of State for Cabinet Affairs who will also act as the Head of the Civil Service. This role will be taken up by Mr. Mohammed Afif, the current Cabinet Secretary. I have every confidence that Mohammed’s abilities and vast experience are ideally suited to this role.
Dear Cabinet colleagues,
The key to success is your ability to adapt and strategise. No one sets out to fail. It is therefore crucial to be constantly evaluating your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
The old adage reminds us that which is measured drives behaviours . We must measure, we must set standards, we must lead.
We need to be in touch with our staff, and the people that we serve.
I continue to emphasise the importance of teamwork in my government. We have no time for petty squabbles, nor for blame games. When we are effective, Seychelles wins. And that is all that matters.
We have achieved so much over the last 6 years.
As we start this new chapter, I am convinced that, together we can take our country to even greater heights.
Thank you for being part of the change with me.
