25 Apr 2019

Chairperson of  Promises, Undertakings and Assurances Committee from the National Assembly of Seychelles, Mr Gervais Henrie says there was a possibility of twinning between the Gaborone City Council (GCC) and Victoria, the capital city of Seychelles

Speaking during a courtesy call that his delegation paid on Gaborone City Council, Mr Henrie said if Gaborone City Councilcould be prompt, it could sign a twinning agreement with the city of Victoria council even before the present councillors’ mandate ended in October.

Mr Henrie said that would be a historic moment because it would be the first time Seychelles council twinned with an African city.

He said the team visited Botswana because of good relations and urged Gaborone City Council to be prompt, saying an opportunity has presented itself.

Meanwhile, Mr Henrie informed the councillors that Seychelles led the way in promoting gender equality, adding that women were well represented in all business.

He pointed out that women formed nearly half of the enrollment in prestigious positions and that there was a 30 perc ent representation of women in the National Assembly.

He said the 30 per cent was reserved specifically for women in Parliament, and was a must that they be represented.

Mr Henrie also made a call to Botswana to support the need to protect the environment, saying in Seychelles, Environment Education was taught in schools and they had active social clubs to instill a change of mindset.

He said that could be practiced in Botswana to curb the effects of climate change going forward.

For his part, acting Gaborone City Mayor, Mr Sesupo Jacobs stated that the initiative on twinning was a welcome development.

Mr Jacobs said the two city councils were looking forward to deepening bilateral relations by signing a twinning agreement.

He pointed out that the visit by Seychelles National Assembly delegation represented a unique opportunity for networking and the exchange of experiences and ideas on a variety of issues of common interest.

He stated that the focus areas for the cooperation agreement were to be on tourism, issues on environment, and economic development, as well as women representation, sports and education, among others.

He said they would share technical expertise on various issues.

He promised the Seychelles team that they would not miss the opportunity of twinning, assuring them that Gaborone City Council would work on twinning in a short space of time. ENDS