Economic Transformation Strategy

CHAPTER 2 / BROAD STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPMENT Out of all the countries in this comparison, Seychelles outperforms only the Maldives by scoring higher in all dimen- sions. All other economies perform better with the largest average difference being in Voice and accountability and Rule of law. The smallest difference is in Control of corruption. Seychelles' closest neighbour, Mauritius, scores better in all dimensions. The consultations conducted to formulate Vision 2033 and the first NDS addressed many of the issues highlighted by the indicators, namely: early stagnation and recent improvements, and Seychelles' poor performance compared to other similar economies. Specific issues cited by stakeholders include: government inefficiency and disorganisation; the narrow-based economy which leaves the country exposed to exogenous shocks; growing income inequality; a large and growing government; inefficiencies in the implementation of laws and regulations; lack of human resource capacity; the blurry mandates of state-owned enterprises (SOEs); and perceived high levels of corruption and political interference in the public service. Seychelles also suffers from some of the governance problems most associated with SIDS, such as accountability issues due to the population size and its resultant close community and extended family ties. Furthermore, weak alignment between sector allocations and national objectives, and a lack of strategic planning and participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) culture have also been cited as serious contributory issues. Despite these issues, Seychelles displays some key strengths that will allow it to greatly improve governance within the next 15 years. This includes a relatively stable economy post-2008; strong commitment for public sector reforms; good infrastructure (including ICT infrastructure), and a well-educated and increasingly politically involved population. The commitment for public reforms deserve special mention as Seychelles is considered an example in the region in the rolling out of results-based management (RBM) reforms. RBM is composed of four pillars: strategic planning; programme performance-based budgeting (PPBB); performance monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) and performance management system (PMS). The full implementation of RBM in all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in government will ensure efficiency, effectiveness and accountability - which will also go a long way towards improving the climate outside of government such as facilitating the operation of the private sector. Restructuring efforts are also being undertaken to rationalise government structure, separate the regulators from the operators and ensure good systems of checks and balances. Seychelles also enacted the "Access to Information Act" in July 2018 to improve transparency. Another commitment to good governance is Seychelles' recent approved membership to the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Good governance also features prominently in the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - with emphasis on Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions, and Goal 17: Global partnership to achieve the SDGs. In addition to the SDGs, the African Union's Agenda 2063 includes governance in the dimension entitled "Aspiration for the Africa We Want", specifically in the following aspiration – i.) An Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law and ii.) A peaceful and secure Africa. - Therefore, to ensure a democratic, transparent, secure, accountable and efficient state that is able to facilitate socioeconomic transformation, address the growing issues of economic inequality and social ills, and honour our international commitments - the following goals will need to be met. 45 45

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