Seychelles Performing Very Well on Fiscal Performance, Says Finance Ministry
VICTORIA, Seychelles — Seychelles is ‘performing very well’ in terms of fiscal performance, officials from the finance ministry have said. Principal Secretary for Finance, Astrid Tamatave, explained during a press conference held at the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade’s headquarters yesterday, that although there was a slight underperformance of R160.8 million in total revenues, including grants, for the first six months, this is nonetheless an improvement from the same period in 2024. As at June, total revenue amounted to R5.2 billion, against a budget of R5.4 billion. In terms of expenditure, there is a primary balance of R692 million, representing 2.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Initially a neutral primary balance was forecasted for the first six months, and considering the trend of increased expenditure towards the end of the year, the ministry expects to end the year with a primary balance of 1.2 percent, better than the initially planned 1.1 percent of GDP.
Ms Tamatave noted that the 2024 fiscal performance was very good, with a primary balance of over 3 percent of GDP due to prudent expenditure as a country. In light of this, the ministry has revised its revenue and expenditure projections for the year, expecting a revised budget which will include a supplementary of R452.2 million, mostly for capital projects amounting to R244.3 million, with the bulk going towards the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and the CJSOI games. This will be financed through an approved budget cut of R969 million, which will reduce the Appropriation Bill by R517 million in effect.
Shedding light on the sectors that have contributed towards this performance, principal economist in the Macro-Fiscal Division, Sophie Belle, noted that economic growth is forecasted at 3.95 percent for the year, based on the positive performance in ICT, tourism, construction and manufacturing of fisheries products. She noted that in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seychelles economy suffered a historic contraction of around 11.7 percent, but the following year there was significant recovery. From January until the end of August, Seychelles welcomed 248,977 visitors, representing a 10 percent growth compared to the same period in 2024, and if the trend continues, the country may surpass the 2019 benchmark of 384,284 visitors. Despite the forecasted positive performance, Ms Belle noted that, as a small island state, Seychelles remains vulnerable to external shocks, especially those impacting on tourism.
