The Seychelles Economic Advisory Council convened its first meeting on Tuesday 24th March at State House. President Patrick Herminie convened and chaired the meeting.
The establishment of the council gives effect to the government’s undertaking to reinforce macroeconomic policy formulation through structured engagement with experienced private-sector practitioners. It is designed to enhance the analytical depth, strategic coherence, and forward-looking orientation of economic decision-making at the highest level of government.
The council comprises 11 members appointed in their personal capacity. It brings together senior professionals with demonstrated expertise across sectors that materially influence national economic performance. Members are selected for their recognised insight, market knowledge, and practical experience in navigating complex economic environments.
President Herminie highlighted the importance of broad-based economic insight in national decision-making.
“No government, regardless of its capacity, holds all the answers,” he said.
He added:
“In a small and highly open economy such as ours, exposed to external shocks, constrained by scale, and shaped by global forces beyond our control, it is essential that we draw on the widest possible range of credible economic insight.”
President Herminie described the council as an instrument of disciplined reflection. He said it is a forum where experience meets policy, where practical insight complements institutional analysis, and where the quality of economic decision-making is strengthened through informed and independent deliberation.
The council’s core function is to serve as an independent macroeconomic sounding board to the president. It provides non-binding, evidence-informed advice on defined strategic economic questions. Its mandate is non-executive. It does not exercise supervisory authority, assume operational responsibilities, or duplicate the functions of existing public institutions. It complements the current institutional architecture by introducing private-sector-informed perspectives into macroeconomic deliberations.
Deliberations of the council will be agenda-driven. They will focus on priority macro-strategic issues as determined by the president. Where specialised technical input is required, the council may engage additional expertise from industry and academia to support rigorous assessment and policy consideration.
President Herminie said the council has a clear purpose.
“It is not here to govern. It is here to advise. It is here to provide considered, independent economic perspective to support decision-making at the highest level of government.”
President Herminie said members are appointed in their personal capacity. He added they are not there to represent institutions, sectors, or interests. The President said they are there to contribute judgement shaped by experience in the economy, tested under pressure, informed by real conditions, and grounded in what it takes to sustain growth, attract investment, and create opportunity.
President Patrick Herminie said the council must operate with integrity. He said any conflict of interest must be declared. He said the expected standard is discipline, independence, and responsibility to the people of Seychelles.
President Herminie said the government inherited an economy where headline indicators told one story, while the lived experience of the people told another.
“Our economic model remains concentrated. Our exposure to global volatility remains high. And the pressure on households and businesses remains real.”
He said addressing these realities requires structural change, diversification, and a more resilient and balanced economic foundation. Preaident Herminie said a stronger and more sustainable blue economy must become central to national development. He said there are opportunities in financial services, digital enterprise, and logistics that must be more fully realised.
The council includes Christopher Mancham Gill, Dr Gerald Adonis, Bertrand Rassool, Gafoor Yakub, Angelique Antat, Captain David Savy, Louis Bossy, Suketu Patel, Jean Weeling-Lee, Iouanna Pillay, and Jennifer Vel, who serves as secretary to the council.
The operationalisation of the council represents a concrete step in advancing the government’s long-term economic agenda. It reinforces a policy framework anchored in macroeconomic stability, private sector partnership, and institutional resilience, with the objective of supporting sustainable and inclusive growth over the medium to long term.
The inaugural meeting marks the transition from policy commitment to implementation. It establishes a platform for continuous, high-level economic advisory engagement in support of Seychelles’ development trajectory.