Africa-Press – Seychelles. The Seychelles Association of Omnibus Operators held its annual general meeting, on August 12, where the main focal point was amendment to its constitution, which dates back to 2014.
Members were able to make several amendments to update their constitution with the help of Michel Pierre, the vice chairman of the Citizens Engagement Platform Seychelles (Ceps), which is the country’s civil society platform.
The annual general meeting (AGM) held at the Seychelles Tourism Academy, La Misère, was also an opportunity for the members to discuss key matters such as the association’s performance, including presentation of the audited report, the chairman’s reports on the strategic plan and accomplishments, as well as issues affecting the omnibus sector.
The issues pertaining to the sector were the omnibus policy, informal buses operating in the sector, benefits for their members, contracts with professional centres, and Praslin omnibus operators.
The meeting also included a business-to-business (B2B) activity involving the association’s key partners.
The association’s chairperson Mervin Elizabeth said it was important to have the activity with stakeholders such as H Savy Insurance, MUA insurance Company, and Federal Tires Seychelles, so the operators could have a one-on-one discussion. It should be noted that the partners that were not present included Sacos, Cable & Wireless, Airtel and CSA trading.
“These partners are services and seller of products that we use for the daily operation of our business,” said Mr Elizabeth.
The packages they offer include discounts on insurance premiums and products such as tyres, batteries, lubricants and other accessories.
The omnibus operators are currently in discussion with telecommunication companies for better internet and phone packages, which is also crucial to their operations.
“We hope that next year we can identify and attract a larger number of partners to participate in the B2B,” added Mr Elizabeth.
“I personally think the meeting went very well, actually above my expectation. We met our objectives and we managed to take up and address most of the concerns members had,” Mr Elizabeth said.
However, one issue that members felt needs to be clarified with the police commissioner is the law pertaining to seatbelts.
“It is not clear as our passengers are being charged for not wearing seatbelts. We feel there is a discrepancy between Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) bus passengers and private omnibus passengers, and we believe this is not fair,” stated the chairman.
The association has already written to the commissioner, and is still awaiting a response.
The association’s next step following the AGM is to finalise the amendments to the constitution, and submit the document to the office of the Registrar.
Additionally, it will also finalise negotiations with its partners, and continue to engage with government in relation to the omnibus policy.
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