(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles Licensing Authority (SLA) has for the first time revoked the licenses of three building contractors for failure to complete work on time and for faulty construction.

The contractors are PALS Enterprise based in Providence, APL Building and B.N Building Maintenance.

The information officer at the Seychelles Licensing, Michael Labonte, told SNA that "the three companies had been warned in the past for their shortcomings, but it was not improved and so a decision needed to be made."

The contractors were investigated by the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) following complaints from clients and it consequently recommended that SLA revokes the licenses of the complainants, who had appealed the decision.

Their appeal was unsuccessful and the Licensing Authority upheld the decision to revoke their licenses.

A committee made up of FTC, SLA and the Planning Authority met with the contractors to remediate the situation but "the respondents were not cooperative nor concerned with the complaints levelled against them."

Labonte added that the issues brought forward in the case are not all from this year but have accumulated over time and finally the FTC decided to take severe action this year.

With their licenses revoked, the business owners will not be able to register similar companies in the future.

The SLA is an Authority under the portfolio of the Ministry responsible for Finance. Its mandate is to facilitate business socio-economic development through issuing and enforcement of the Licences Act and Licence Regulations and to create the enabling environment for sustainable business development in Seychelles

The Fair Trading Commission was set up to promote efficiency and competitiveness and improve the standards of service, quality of goods distributed and services supplied by business enterprises and service providers over which it has jurisdiction.