Seychelles Tourism Ministry streamlining for greater efficiency

Following the announcement of re-structuring of his ministry, the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St.Ange, met his employees at the ministry’s annual general meeting to explain the

Following the announcement of re-structuring of his ministry, the Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St.Ange, met his employees at the ministry’s annual general meeting to explain the changes and the way forward.

โ€œThe planning of this has been going 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,โ€ said Mr. St.Ange.

In a general staff meeting held at the International Conference Centre (ICCS) in Victoria on Thursday, December 12, Mr. St.Ange also reassured the staff that the imminent changes would improve the quality of service the ministry provided as well as its output.

โ€œThe aim 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,โ€ he added.

โ€œIt is very important that all staff are aware that all their work and performance will be under constant monitoring and evaluation, which means that each individual will have to ensure that he or she is giving the highest level of service at all times, because this will definitely have a significant impact on end-of-year appraisals.โ€

As of next year, a new agency will be set up to run and manage major cultural events the government holds. As a result, the Events section at the Seychelles Tourism Board, the National Arts Council (NAC), and the Seychelles Heritage Foundation, will merge to form the Creative Industries and National Events Agency (CINEA).

โ€œThis 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.โ€

UNESCO experts who were in Seychelles in 2012 to help Seychelles draft its policy and music strategy, advised on the move that would help 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 Creative Industries and National Events Agency (CINEA) 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 includes 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.

โ€œIt 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 or 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 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,โ€ stressed Mr. St.Ange.

โ€œFor 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,โ€ he added.

Also as of next year, the ministry will welcome the Kreol Institute โ€“ soon to be re-named the International Kreol Institute at the upcoming Indian Ocean Commission meeting in January 2014.

โ€œThe Seychelles Tourism Boardโ€™s function will now focus only on marketing. The Ministry will assume the regulatory functions of products and standards as well as policy and international cooperation. The Events management of the Tourism Board will move into the new national body, the Creative Industries and National Events Agency,โ€ said Mr. St.Ange, whereas the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA) will become a more autonomous body and will now fall directly under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

To recall, the Seychelles Tourism Academy is currently being rebuilt, and it is set to reopen next year.

As he ended his address at the general staff meeting, Minister St.Ange said that there would be further discussions with staff in specific sections such as the Film Classification unit which will also experience some change next year.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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