24th March 2015
The CEPS Board convened on Friday 20th of March at 9 am for the quarterly “Commissioners Forum”, the first held following the election of the CEPS Board, elected in November of 2014.
The Commissioners forum is the platform whereby commissioners share the achievements, strength and weaknesses of their Commissions, and also get a chance to promote their action plan and synergies with other commissions for collaborative action.
The forum was attended by media representatives who have been following the transition process.
During his welcome address CEPS Chairperson Mr Jules Hoareau outlined that a lot of work was being carried out as part of the transition from LUNGOS and that the commissioners have been fully engaged in the process. He thanked the commissioners for the works being undertaken and the need to focus on turning CEPS into the platform for all of civil society in Seychelles.
As part of the forum agenda, Mrs Monica Servina, Commissioner for Gender, Rights & Governance presented ‘Extra Roles & Responsibilities of Civil Society’. This follows her representation at the African Development Bank’s third Capacity building for SADEC Senior Officials on Value for Money, Sustainability and Accountability in Social Sectors. As part of her presentation she informed other commissioner’s present that CSOs must be involved in budget planning of the sectors to ensure that budgeting is evidenced based.
Mrs Homa Mugapen National coordinator for the Action/2015 Campaign, briefed the commissioners on what has been done so far in the areas of Gender, Faith based, youth and environment sectors as part of the campaign which is being championed by CEPS. Mrs Mungapen shared with the commissioners that ‘This campaign is trying to make sure it’s remembered for all the right reasons. Action/2015 is an unprecedented attempt to bring together the different agendas at stake in 2015 and help create a tidal wave of public demand for action, it deserves all of our support’.
Other matters discussed at the forum included the ‘CEPS Clinic 2015’ for which terms of reference are to be drafted and then presented to the board.
The forum ended with a revision of the Term of Reference for Commissions, currently being used by CEPS.
