GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES MORE RESOURCES TO POLICING
The Seychelles government has responded swiftly to calls by the tourism fraternity to strengthen security measures, acknowledging that the safety of tourists and citizens alike was a high priority and needed extra input, also in line with President Michels commitment to vigorously combat crime and social ills across the archipelago.
A follow up meeting between the Minister for Home Affairs Hon. Joel Morgan, tourism stakeholders and community leaders on the island of La Digue brought these assurances to the attention of the public and giving resort operators the result they were seeking in an earlier meeting when they demanded government action on a range of issues. The minister revealed in the presence of the Commissioner of Police that a special training unit of the South African police force was assisting the Seychelles in modern surveillance and crime fighting techniques while the setting up of a serious crimes unit was providing the organizational changes needed to address the concerns of citizens and tourism stakeholders.
The current force of 13 police officers on La Digue will be boosted to 20 just as soon as renovations at the police station were completed, but it was noted that the private sector had offered to host additional police officers until then to facilitate an immediate deployment.
The Seychelles Tourism Board CEO Alain St. Ange, who hails from the island of La Digue, welcomed the news as did Louis DOffay, Chairman of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association, who also attended the meeting at the Chateaux St. Cloud.
