The Minister for Finance, Economic Planning and Trade, has ordered an investigation into the procedure of the disposal and sale of one its tankers, Seychelles Pride.
The sale was concluded on 12th January 2022.
Seychelles Pride is owned by the Seychelles Petroleum Company Limited, (Seypec).
The Government as the main shareholder of the state-owned enterprise, Seypec, was not informed of the disposal and subsequent sale of the tanker.
Pending the conclusion of the investigation, the CEO of the Seychelles Petroleum Company Limited, Mr. Conrad Benoiton, has been suspended.
The Minister has mandated the Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission (PEMC) to conduct the investigation, in accordance with Section 42(a) of the Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission Act, 2013, which states:
‘The Responsible Minister may at any time, order an investigation into the affairs of a Public Enterprise as the Responsible Minister deems necessary’.
Seypec falls under the responsibility of the Minister for Finance, Economic Planning and Trade.
The investigation will be conducted in collaboration with the Board of Directors of Seypec.
In the interim, on the recommendation of the Board, Mrs. Sarah Romain, the current General Manager Commercial at Seypec, has been appointed Interim CEO.