President James Michel of the Seychelles has announced plans to appoint a Minister of Tourism&Culture in his plans to restructure the government. The announcement was made during his State of the National Address at the National Assembly. The speech was broadcast live on SBC radio and television.

Tourism&Culture will now be a stand-alone Ministry in the new Council of Ministers expected to be named next week. This is a departure from the existing situation where the portfolio for tourism had been held in the President’s Office with Alain St.Ange as his CEO.

Seychelles has made great strides in advancing their visibility across the world since the island’s President and Tourism CEO, Alain St.Ange, took the helm of that vital industry of these islands. They launched their Seychelles brand of tourism and moved to implicate Seychellois in the development of their tourism industry. The news now confirmed is that the island’s President will now relinquish the tourism portfolio and appoint a new Minister of Tourism&Culture for Seychelles.

This announcement was made as the Seychelles President announced the formation of the following ministries:

- Finance - portfolios for Finance, Commerce, and Investment
- Internal Affairs and Transport - portfolio includes the Police Department, Immigration and Civil Status Department, and the Prison Services Department
- Environment and Energy
- Tourism and Culture
- Social Affairs, Community Development, and Sports
- Employment and Human Resources
- Education
- Health
- Foreign Affairs
- Lands and Housing
- Natural Resources and Industry
- The Vice President’s portfolio - Information Technology&Communications, and Public Administration.
- The President’s portfolio - for Defense, Legal Affairs, Information, Youth, and Hydrocarbons