Minister of tourism Seychelles holds general staff meeting to herald the grand advent of 2014

Published on : Monday, December 30, 2013

In preparation for the coming reorganization of the semi-autonomous bodies that have the Ministry of Tourism and Culture as their parent Ministry, Minister Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, accompanied by Benjamine Rose, the PS for Culture, and Anne Lafortune, the PS for Tourism, held a series of staff meetings to ensure every staff member remains well informed on the coming restructuring.
Meetings were organized at the Board Room of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture at the National Cultural Centre in Victoria with staff of the National Arts Council and those of the Seychelles Heritage Foundation, as well as with the staff from the Events Celebrate Seychelles Department of the Seychelles Tourism Board and those of the International Conference Centre Seychelles (ICCS).
Minister St.Ange started each meeting by reassuring everyone that NO STAFF member would be losing their job because of the coming restructuring. He said that it was important for him to personally reassure everyone to ensure that the right and correct information was received instead of hearsay and gossip. “Everyone is guaranteed of their position,” the Minister said.
Minister St.Ange said that the planning for this restructuring has been going on for quite a while. Many a meeting has taken place, and finally the proposed structure has been approved by the Council of Ministers, and it will come into place in the first two months of 2014. The aim for the restructure has been to increase productivity and to ensure high performance and the delivery of service within respective departments, and also the delivery of service to our respective public or clients.
The Minister reiterated that as of next year, the new agency that will be set up will run and manage major cultural events the government holds, and as a result of this, the Events Celebrate Seychelles Department at the Seychelles Tourism Board, the National Arts Council (NAC), the Seychelles Heritage Foundation, and the Conference Centers, inclusive of the International Conference Centre of Victoria and the National Theatre and the Theatre des Palmes of Mont Fleuri, will all merge to form the Creative Industries and National Events Agency.
This has been necessary because the government will be implementing the new Creative Industries Policy, as well as a new Strategy for Music Development, in accordance with UNESCO. UNESCO experts who were in Seychelles in 2012 to help Seychelles draft its Policy and Music Strategy advised on the move that would be helping the Ministry of Tourism and Culture fulfill its commitment to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which Seychelles ratified in June 2005.
The new Creative Industries and National Events Agency will also be responsible for the promotion, development, and preservation of National Heritage Sites. The new agency will also house a Division for Events Management, which will include all arts and cultural manifestation, festivals, and carnivals, formerly organized by the Department of Culture, the Tourism Board, the International Conference Centre, or the National Arts Council.
Minister St.Ange stressed that it is important for me to again re-state to avoid any misunderstanding or misrepresentation. No one, I repeat, no one will be losing their job, their employment, through this coming change. A new body, a new administration, yes, but every staff member today working at the National Arts Council, the Heritage Foundation, the Events Celebrate Seychelles Department at the Seychelles Tourism Board, and the International Conference Centre will be offered a new contract of employment simultaneously as the one body is phased out and the new one created.
He also added that for all staff touched by this change, think of the avenues ahead that create opportunities. Any moment can be seen as the darkest if you do not take time to talk or the brightest if you get the right information from the right person.
Prior to meeting the different organizations` staff members, Minister Alain St.Ange, accompanied by Benjamine Rose, the PS for Culture, and Anne Lafortune, the PS for Tourism, had met with Madame Noellie Alexander, the Chairman of the National Arts Council, and her Board members as well as with Mr. Marcel Rosalie, the Chairman of the Seychelles Heritage Foundation and his Board members, to thank them for their work for Seychelles. Minister St.Ange said that it was his personal duty to meet with the staff as the changes are being implemented. He also thanked all on behalf of the government for their support and time.