First female prison commissioner of Seychelles takes office

President Wavel Ramkalawan appointed Georges on July 23 to replace Raymond St Ange, who occupied the position.

The first-ever Seychellois female Commissioner of Prison in Seychelles, Janet Georges, who took office on Tuesday, said she is ready to help society by reintegrating inmates after they have served their time in prison.

Georges met with President Wavel Ramkalawan who appointed her to replace Raymond St Ange, who occupied the position, as of July 23.

The Seychelles Prison Services include the main prison facility at Montagne Posee and the Bois De Rose Detention Remand Facility, both located on the main island of Mahe.

Georges told reporters that her appointment is an honour and "she is not just looking at the position and the fact that I am the first woman to get it, but I am looking at it as I can work for my country, as the prisons services require much work."

Ramkalawan said, "With the level of discipline she has exhibited in sports and on the force, I am sure that she will be a capable Commissioner of Prisons."

George is a well-known athlete in weightlifting in Seychelles and on the international scene. She won a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, and four years later she grabbed a silver in Delhi, India. She has won the Seychelles' Sportswoman of the Year several times.

Before assuming the position, Georges was a police officer working with the Prisons Services management team and officers for five months.

"We already have a strategic plan that we are working on so we know that our vision and mission tell us to work mainly in rehabilitation," she revealed.

For the rehabilitation programme, she explained that "as long as there are people who want to come forward and help inmates, this strategy will work since our door is always open."

This will also include the strategy of restorative justice - where the victims meet the offenders.

"Sometimes people act in anger and end up in prison, or there are times that they are in prison they feel like asking forgiveness from the person they have wronged," she explained.

The Prisons Services personnel will attend training sessions to get properly acquainted with the new strategy.

Other facilities soon to be commissioned are high security prisons at Bonne Espoir on Mahe and another on the island of Marie Louise.

The Seychelles government is funding the facility at Bon Espoir at SCR 8.7 million ($645,000) for the first phase which will include an administration block, a clinic, and the first block of 40 cells, which are expected to be completed in December of this year.

"Then we will be able to build workshops and create places with enough space to allow the inmates to rehabilitate themselves," said Georges.

Georges joined the police force in 1998 and left the force for her latest appointment after reaching the Assistant Superintendent of Police level.