Seychelles’ new Minister for Transport, Ports and Civil Aviation, Veronique Laporte, has continued her familiarisation programme with a series of visits across key transport facilities, including a return to the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC), where she previously served as chief executive officer.
The minister toured the SPTC terminal, the Ile du Port bus depot and the corporation’s workshop at New Port on Friday, accompanied by the Principal Secretary for Transport, Pat Andre; SPTC board chairman, Andy Moncherry; SPTC chief executive, Geffy Zialor; and the head of corporate affairs, Alex Etienne.
Minister Laporte said she received “a really warm” welcome, adding that revisiting the terminal where her former office was located 14 years ago highlighted “a lot of changes”, which she described as positive. She said she was encouraged by SPTC’s focus on customer care and commercial services, and confirmed she would continue engaging with the corporation on these priorities.
According to the minister, staff raised several operational challenges during discussions, and both sides agreed to work together to address them.
She also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reviewing public transport fares, a pledge made during the 2025 presidential campaign. She said the review would be carried out “as soon as possible” to benefit the public.
On SPTC’s cashless policy, Minister Laporte said she remained supportive, noting that electronic payments should be implemented “in a manner that facilitates customers”. SPTC currently uses bus cards and a mobile app for cashless transactions.
Earlier in the week, the minister carried out her first site visit since taking office. She inspected road improvement works on Curio Road, Stevenson Delhomme Road and a bus lay-by near Vines on Royal Street, projects aimed at improving traffic management. She was accompanied by the chief executive of the Seychelles Land Transport Agency (SLTA), Parinda Herath, and senior technical officials from the ministry and SLTA.
Minister Laporte will continue her familiarisation visits in the coming week, including a visit to the Seychelles Airports Authority on Monday 15 December.