Seychelles' Central Bank governor to step down in mid-March at contract end

Abel gave the news during the CBS press conference on the monetary policy for the upcoming three months. (Central Bank of Seychelles)

(Seychelles News Agency) - The governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS), Caroline Abel, announced on Thursday her departure from the post in March 2024 when her contract ends.

Abel gave the news during the CBS press conference on the monetary policy for the upcoming three months. She has occupied the role since March 14, 2012. 

"Today is my last press conference as governor of the Central Bank. I am preparing myself for the end of my contract, which is mid-March 2024," she told reporters.

In her last message to the public, Abel said, "Sometimes people associate an institution to just one person, and I want to say that the CBS is a team and despite Ms Abel moving forward, the CBS will remain a strong institution. There is nothing for the economy to worry about what will happen to the CBS after 2024."

Abel has been a prominent figure at the national level since her appointment in 2012 and became the first female governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles.

She has been praised for her handling of the press and her ability to educate the public with clear and detailed presentations. Abel was awarded a Medal of Honour, at the first-ever National Awards ceremony earlier in 2023.

Abel has also been recognised internationally, being named Central Bank Governor of the Year by the African Banker Awards Committee in 2020, and the Global Women Achievers Award in 2022 for her influential role in the development of Seychelles' economy.

 Monetary policy to remain relaxed

The governor announced during the press conference that the CBS will maintain a relaxed monetary policy for the start of 2024, staying at 2 percent.

She explained that this is due to a good economic performance in which tourism has been the driving force, contributing $873 million to the economy from January to November, a 4.8 percent increase over the same period in 2022.

The year-to-date figure for 2023 shows that 342,306 visitors disembarked in Seychelles. Compared to 2022 (324,286), the year-to-date visitor arrivals increased by 6 percent.

Meanwhile, the appreciation of the Seychelles rupee meant the prices of commodities both in terms of food and non-food items have gone down.

She warned, however, that external factors remain a threat, notably with the ongoing conflicts between Ukraine and Russia, along with others, which could affect global food and oil prices, and as a result prices locally as well.

According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in November 2023, the "All items" annual (year on year) inflation rate stood at -2.65 percent compared to 2.62 percent in November 2022.

Abel said that despite these positives, financial stability remains important to the CBS, which is why work is being done to ensure that financial institutions are better prepared to react faster to any shocks that may happen, while a new legal framework will be in place next year to enhance the resiliency of the financial sector.

In terms of the impact of the recent disastrous events that affected many businesses and individuals on December 7, Abel said that information is still being collected and analysed, to truly understand the economic impact of this event.