Africa-Press – Seychelles. The National Day Celebrations Committee has commended the public for their exemplary behaviour and active participation in this year’s National Day celebrations namely Constitution Day and Independence Day on June 18 and 29, respectively.
Speaking to the local media at his headquarters at Maison Collet yesterday afternoon, the committee’s chairperson, Designated Minister Jean-François Ferrari, thanked the public “for their incredible participation”.
On behalf of the President and the cabinet of ministers, he thanked them for turning up in droves especially for the military parade on Independence Day, which he said was very professional, well organised and executed.
“They behaved in an exemplary manner and everything went well, without any incidents. They made very good use of the designated spots for the parade. On behalf of the President and the cabinet of ministers I would like to thank the Seychellois population because it was a beautiful celebration,” said Mr Ferrari.
He had a special mention for the youths who also took part in the parade. “It is vital that each year we do something that brings them together. It is a form of entertainment but also for them to understand the sense of patriotism, where we are celebrating our country, and we need to start early on with their involvement,” said Mr Ferrari.
Similar to last year, activities were also held on Praslin and La Digue including the flag-raising ceremony on June 18 for Constitution Day.
“I have to say that based on our feedback, the public applauded how the celebrations went on La Digue,” he stated.
Mr Ferrari also thanked the committee members, whom he said worked under a lot of pressure and did their utmost to ensure the country had a very good celebration.
He commended the sponsors for being generous and forthcoming, stating the two days would not have been possible without their input.
“We had to reach out to the sponsors and just like last year, they were very generous and this allowed us to conduct side events, which was particularly important because other than the solemn events, the two days are also for entertainment,” stated the designated minister.
With regard to the expenses, Mr Ferrari said it could be slightly over the budgeted amount of R5 million, but the committee is yet to finalise all the payments.
“Considering all the logistics on the three islands, it could be that we have gone over the national budget, because we wanted to have more celebrations. We had tried our best to stay within the budget. We are conscious that we need to have a great celebration but to balance our budget as well,” he added.
Meanwhile, due to this year’s success, the committee is considering maintaining the military parade on Constitution Avenue, in town.
According to this year’s estimates, around five thousand people were present along the avenue to watch the parade and Mr Ferrari said they plan to maintain the ambience annually, and hopefully attract and cater for a bigger crowd.
“We want to stay on the street in town, and we are seeking the cabinet’s support to turn this year’s spot into a more permanent venue. We want to set up all the infrastructure so that Constitution Avenue could welcome the military parade annually, at a more manageable cost,” concluded Mr Ferrari.
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