World Bank considers ways to assist Seychelles after double disasters on 7 Dec.

(From left) Floribert Ngaruko, President Wavel Ramkalawan, Secretary of State Patrick Payet, and Governor of the Central Bank, Caroline Abel. 

The World Bank is looking into ways to offer help to Seychelles after the devastating effects of the heavy rainfall and explosions that happened last Thursday, a top official said on Monday.  

The executive director for a group of 22 countries, including Seychelles, from the World Bank Group, Floribert Ngaruko, made the statement to reporters after meeting with the President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan at State House.

Ngaruko offered his sympathies to the government and people of Seychelles before adding that the discussions were on how the World Bank could assist Seychelles.  

"The situation at the moment is in the assessment stage but going forward, in a few days, we hope that we will get a report, and from that, we will frame up the actions for response on that," said Ngaruko.

Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, suffered two major disasters on the same day on December 7. After several days of torrential rains, the northern region of the main island of Mahe, suffered rock and landslides, along with flooding due to heavy rain in which three people died.

In a separate incident, in the east region of Mahe, in the Providence industrial estate, a massive explosion that originated from explosives stored at a local quarrying company, which flattened large buildings, businesses, and residential houses in the vicinity.

A 7th December Disaster Fund was launched for any individuals, businesses, and organisations, locally and internationally to donate to the restoration of the affected areas and people.

Ngaruko congratulated the President on the good management that Seychelles has shown in the post-COVID period.

"It is a prudent management that is now showing results," said Ngaruko, who cited the recovering tourism sector, the main contributor to the Seychelles economy.

He added that the discussion also looked at the World Bank Country Partnership Framework (CPF), being worked on by the Ministry of Finance. The World Bank is looking forward to an ambitious CPF from Seychelles in the coming years.

The CPF aims to make the World Bank's country-driven model more systematic, evidence-based, selective and focused on the Bank's twin goals of ending extreme poverty and sustainably increasing shared prosperity.

The model seeks to maximise the impact of the World Bank Group's support to the twin goals, by contributing over time to high-level outcomes consistent with a country's development goals.