Month: June 2023

The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) published on Friday a circular to Authorised Intermediaries No 2023-03, dated June 30, 2023, on the transfer of expenses relating to vocational training abroad. The aim of the circular is to simplify the procedure for direct debits to Authorised Intermediaries for professional training abroad.

As a result, “from June 30th 2023, certificates relating to whether or not the beneficiary has received a grant will be replaced by a declaration on honour certifying that the beneficiary is not the holder of another transfer file for the training period concerned. In addition, the certificate of non-objection to pursuing vocational training abroad has been abolished”, explained the BCT in a press release published on its website.

Other conditions, as stipulated in circular no. 2007-09 of 12/04/2007, remain unchanged.

The BCT also announced that “from now on, registration and training fees may be paid to entities duly authorised by foreign training establishments”.

“This decision follows that of the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training to abolish the attestation of non-objection to pursuing vocational training abroad and the attestation of non-scholarship holder (certifying that the person wishing to pursue training abroad is not in receipt of a grant) or, if in receipt of a grant, an attestation specifying the amount of the grant”.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Ghazi Chaouachi, the former SG of the Democratic Current, was heard Friday by the investigating judge at the Tunis Court of First Instance and kept at liberty.

This was in a case brought against him by the Minister of Justice, on the basis of decree-law No. 2022-54, lawyer Ayachi Hammami told TAP.

Proceedings were initiated over remarks to the media in which Chaouachi said case files were fabricated against opponents.

Chaouachi will not be released Friday though as he is detained on charges of plotting against the internal and external security of the state, the lawyer further said.

Two cases were filed against Ghazi Chaouachi by the justice minister in late 2022 over comments to the media in connection to the resignation of Premier Najla Bouden and the fabricated file cases against opponents.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Seychelles’ La Gogue Dam, the largest water storage of the island nation, is back in operation after undergoing five years of work to enhance its capacity by 60 percent.

The dam, which was inaugurated on Wednesday, will be able to store 1.6 million cubic metres when full and this will partly address water scarcity which is more evident during the dry season from May to September when the southeast trade winds kick in.

The inauguration plaque was unveiled by Seychelles’ President Wavel Ramkalawan.

The raised dam was inaugurated by President Ramkalawan. (State House) Photo License: CC-BY

In his address, the Designated Minister, Jean-Francois Ferrari, said, “The maintenance of our people’s wellbeing is closely tied to water availability. Many countries around the world face dramatic water scarcity as a fundamental challenge to their economic and social development. Seychelles is no different.”

He said that “the regular and safe supply of water is one of the regular challenges facing our government today. Demand is rising but availability is stagnating. In our quest to dress our fair share of water problems, progress to build significant storage capacities in the like of La Gogue Dam has been slow mainly due to our limited financial resources to meet those very high investment costs.”

The project of raising the dam by 6 metres amounted to almost SCR400 million ($30 million) and was funded through a $20 million loan from the African Development Bank with contributions from the government and the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC).

According to the chief executive of the Public Utilities Corporation, Joel Valmont, currently, the dam is at 82 percent capacity.

Valmont told reporters on Wednesday, that although the dam is operational, “at this point in time, our aim is to impound the dam to continuously increase the water in it for us to be able to subject it to a test that it needs to go through.”

Valmont said that currently, the dam is at 82 percent capacity. (Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

Valmont added that “if we get rainwater, it will fill the dam and what we decided at this time in our dry period, is gradually using the water for treatment at Hermitage to serve to a certain extent, the northern Mahe region and the central region.”

He explained that the dam is connected to the Hermitage station and the zone covered by this station does not arrive to the south of Mahe.

“South Mahe from Cascade upwards to Port Glaud is still vulnerable. These areas are still depending on water from the rivers mainly and the fallback is from the desalination plants,” he added.

Minister Ferrari said that “If we are to increase our resilience to the ever-increasing challenges of droughts, we have no choice but to give particular attention to the investments required in storage infrastructures such as this one and the likes of such dam projects in the southern part of Mahe and on Praslin.”

La Gogue Dam was first inaugurated in 1979 and Valmont said, “It has loyally served our growing population until 2018, the year which we took it out of operation to enhance its capacity by 60 percent.”

The CEO said the project faced several challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic which caused “supply chain disruptions, cost escalations, held up of contractor’s workers and supervision personnel internationally, and quarantine requirements upon entry in the country.”

“Today, the La Gogue Dam stands taller, resilient and proud; making a remarkable impression, on all who behold, this engineering accomplishment. […]. This achievement has allowed us to take firmer strides towards achieving water security on the main island,” said Valmont in his address at the inauguration ceremony.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

Advancements made by Seychelles in the digital financial space were one of the topics of discussion between the executive director for the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), Alfred Hannig, and President Wavel Ramkalawan.

Hannig, who met with the President on Friday at State House, told reporters that discussions with the President revolved around the digital economy, the objectives of the country, and some of the progress it has made in this field.

“The President was also interested to hear what other countries are doing in this space. So we were discussing a little bit of the benchmarks that Seychelles looking at, but also how Seychelles can also provide knowledge to other countries in the network,” said Hannig.

Sharing his observation on how far Seychelles has reached in the field, he outlined that the island nation has made major strides in terms of digitisation, striving for the implementation of the digital economy.

“I can actually say that compared to many other countries in the network, this small island economy is pretty advanced, especially as you are already moving towards digitisation of the basic services and this is of course very important for the poor population because technology can be an equaliser,” said Hannig.

The courtesy call on the President by AFI’s executive director comes after the meeting of the 12th African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI) and the 8th Pacific Islands Regional Initiative in Seychelles this week. More than 140 policymakers attending from 40 countries were present.

The AFI network is a group of central banks from 84 countries that meet regularly to exchange on financial inclusion policy initiatives. This is the first convergence of the African and Pacific regional groupings of the AFI network.

The meeting in Seychelles was the first convergence of the African and Pacific regional groupings of the AFI network. (Central Bank of Seychelles) Photo License: CC-BY

Under the theme of “Rising above Global uncertainty – Pathways through Inclusive Innovation,” participants from the two regions got to discuss how policymakers can use innovation to increase inclusion in times of uncertainty.

The event, which was hosted by the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS), provided a forum for the development of tangible suggestions and action plans for developing the two regions’ resilient, inclusive, and policy-driven financial services ecosystems.

When she addressed the Leaders’ Roundtable on Thursday, the CBS governor, Caroline Abel, also the current chairperson of AfPI, highlighted Seychelles’ dual membership of the two groupings, noting that geographical locations should not limit associations.

“Despite the geographic differences between our two regions, we share similar concerns and challenges. Disruptions to supply chains; inflation; climate change adaptation and adoption of green financing; economic slowdown due to the pandemic; the need to enhance consumer

protection; I could continue with the list, to which I know as leaders, we can all relate. However, the theme for this meeting calls upon us to be active participants and propose tangible solutions that will build the resilience of our economies,” said Abel.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a cable of congratulations to President Wavel Ramkalawan of Seychelles, on the occasion of his country’s Independence Day, observed on 29th June.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, dispatched similar cables to President Ramkalawan on the occasion.

Source: Seychelles News Agency