Open letter on our Chamber of Commerce Situation

THE CHARADE THAT IS THE SCCI ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

I am writing as a Seychellois and member of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) to appeal to reason in order to salvage the credibility of our country's premier and venerable business organisation.

I am not in politics nor am I a member of any political party. I believe politics should be left to politicians. However, I endorse our Government’s stance that it should only be a facilitator and regulator and let the private sector free to do business.

However, the election of the Chairman and Council (executive committee) of the SCCI which took place on Friday 9th April, at the National Theatre was a charade that has brought the reputation of our venerable organisation into disrepute. The way the whole affair was conducted raises questions on the credibility of the election of the Chairman and other office bearers, in view of the fact that the outgoing chairman as well as the meeting as a whole agreed that there were serious discrepancies between the number of members entitled to vote and the number of ballots that were counted. In political jargon this is known as stuffing the ballot box.

Moreover, the manoeuvrings of one of the candidates, who was also the outgoing chairman, in the weeks prior to the ballot, when many “new” members were admitted, their subscriptions paid for by the candidate himself, without any proper verification of their claim as legitimate businesses, raises doubts on the credibility of the entire exercise. It is further propounded by the tactics of the candidate using his newspaper to publish a list of candidates to the exclusion of other candidates standing in that election and using his printing press to print ballot papers to be used in the elections without the authority of the outgoing Council. No one should be blamed for coming to the conclusion that this whole episode was an exercise in blatant vote rigging.

Today I am simply putting forward my point of view about the whole affair for reflection. Notwithstanding the manoeuvrings of one of the participants in that election, the episode has helped to underscore a trend in the conduct of business affairs in our country which is disturbing and potentially destabilising for our social coherence. Dr Ramados’s own publicity in the local press this week, thanking those who voted for him, a number of whom are small shopkeepers whose membership he collected at the last minute, gives the distinct impression that he would be speaking for only a section of our business community.

His heavy handed manner, reminding everyone that he has countless companies employing a thousand people or more serves only to re-enforce the notion that, under his leadership as a result of his tactics, the SCCI has become a subsidiary of his business empire. Will dignitaries and foreign representatives see him as a premier representative of the private sector of Seychelles when they meet with him, or rather see him as an individual with his own private agenda?

Finally, Dr Ramadoss must appreciate that there is no obligation for any business to be a member of the SCCI, and that if by his actions he earns only opprobrium from them, the important and legitimate businesses would desert the Chamber and render his “victory” an empty one. I sincerely hope reason will prevail before permanent damage is done to our country's image and social coherence.


Daniella Payet-Alis