Breaking Vienna Convention Rules To Please Sheik Khalifa of UAE
After all the speeches of the month of June, James Michel has come across as a President that will say anything and do anything to justify his policy of “Sell Baby Sell”. Under his administration, we have heard every excuse under the sun to justify the entry of goods and containers by the plane loads daily, tax free for the residence of Sheik Khalifa. Sheik Khalifa was tendered a large parcel at La Misere for Scr. 1.00 as a gift and we were told that it is necessary to do so. Subsequently, numerous plots have been sold to the same person; we are told it is necessary. As the monstrosity project goes up at La Misere, all materials are brought in tax free and no Customs inspection even takes place. I have personally witnessed dozens of incidents wherein the large Antonov cargo planes unload cargo uninspected, no taxes paid.
SPPF/PP Says Vienna Convention Gives Sheik Khalifa Tax Free Imports on All Goods
To head this frontal assault on the minds of the People of Seychelles, Mr. James Michel sent Mr. Barry Faure two (2) months ago to tell us that the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, compels the Government of Seychelles to allow Sheik Khalifa to import all goods, tax free into Seychelles. This is COMPLETELY FALSE and could not be farther from the truth. Even the last IMF delegation to Seychelles was perplexed over the matter, but they had not yet been briefed on the Vienna Convention.
$300 Million Customs Taxes To Be Lost in One Year
It is estimated that by now, the People of Seychelles have lost over $200 Million in unpaid customs and tax revenue and this number will likely reach $300 Million by the year’s end, if Sheik Khalifa continues to import into Seychelles, at the rate he is currently.
That amount of money represents ¾ of the Republic of Seychelles’ commercial debt. Had the administration of James Michel collected this revenue, Seychelles would have been able to pay off the commercial bond debts that bankrupted us in October 2008 and restructured any existing debt to more favourable conditions, and moved on as a country, instead of being stuck in limbo as we are now. With that money, James Michel would not have to ask the commercial banks to drop interest rates and make money available to jump start the Seychelles economy. With that money (and the precedence set from collecting it), Seychelles would be on its way to becoming a rich nation as it should be with a fractional population of merely 85,000 inhabitants.
With $300 Million in paid taxes, we would not be facing a collapsing health and medical system. We would have the best medical system $300 Million could pay for with the best medical health managers we could pay to do SPPF/PP’s work. With that kind of money
we would not need to beg Sheik Khalifa for a medical ambulance for treating patients from the bus accident on Praslin. With that money, we would buy our own generators to provide electricity to Mahe. With that kind of money we would have equipped Mahe, Praslin & La Digue with reservoirs to alleviate our hardships with water collection.
Vienna Convention Applies to Diplomatic Missions Not Individuals
In the preamble of the Vienna Convention, it is clearly stated that the Convention’s rights are applicable to diplomatic missions and are not intended to benefit individuals.... “Realizing that the purpose of such privileges and immunities is not to benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient performance of the functions of diplomatic missions as representing States”.
The tax free privileges granted to Sheik Khalifa as an individual contradicts the very spirit of the Vienna Convention. The Convention is intended to benefit diplomatic missions. The UAE has not even set up a diplomatic mission in Seychelles!
The Seychelles has been primarily a private second residence for Sheik Khalifa among many others around the world. He comes and goes occasionally. Additionally, the benefits of tax free concessions under the Vienna Convention, under Article 1 apply to the mission itself. This is clearly restricted to key posts which include 1. The Head of Mission, 2. The person in charge of a mission, by a sending State, it does not apply to the Head of State and is in fact, restricted to the diplomatic staff who are agents of the principal Head of State.
Under Article 14, Heads of Missions are divided into three classes, namely:
(a) Ambassadors or nuncios accredited to Head of States...”
(b) Envoys, ministers,....accredited to a Head of State;
(c) Charges d’affairs accredited to Ministers for Foreign Affairs.
There are no expressed circumstances under the Vienna Convention that applies to Head of States or private residence of Head of States where a mission is not already established as in the case of Sheik Khalifa in Seychelles.
Article 23 states:
1. The sending State and the head of the mission shall be exempt from all national, regional, or municipal dues and taxes in respect of the premises of the mission, whether owned or leased, other than such as represent payment for specific services rendered.
2. The exemption from taxation referred to in this article shall not apply to such dues and taxes payable under the law of the receiving State, by persons contracting with the sending State or head of mission.
Under the Vienna Convention, tax exemption applies to the premises of the mission. It would not apply to the exemption of goods that are used by a contracting party, if they were building a mission.
Even if Sheik Khalifa’s residence at La Misere and Barbarons were to be registered as diplomatic missions which they are not, Sheik Khalifa would still be obligated to pay taxes for the works done and materials used by third parties such as ASCON construction company, in spite of the slight detail that ASCON is an illegal company in Seychelles, not registered to do business or conduct any construction works. ASCON would have to pay GOP permit fees and could not apply for exemption under Sheik Khalifa’s name. It is a violation of our sovereignty. The fact that Ministry of Finance approves the GOP permits for 2000 workers does not make it right. It has no authority to approve work permits. That is the domain of Ministry of Employment, statutorily.
Sheik Khalifa cannot assert that the goods brought into Seychelles are by diplomatic bag either. Under Article 27, diplomatic bag status is intended for communication purposes, not the building of three huge buildings on top of La Misere that are over 5 levels high each.
Article 30 says “private residence of a diplomatic agent shall enjoy the same inviolability and protection as the premises mission. Sheik Khalifa is not a diplomatic agent, he is a diplomatic principal, as such the Vienna Convention would not apply to him or his residence. HE HAS TO PAY HIS WAY!
Article 34 details wherein taxes are due by missions, as this is not a carte blanche privilege intended to allow someone to walk into a country and have thousands of Antanov flights follow with tax free goods and construction materials, right down to toilet pipes and water tanks, tax free.
Article 34 states that - A diplomatic agent (not diplomatic principal) shall be exempt from all dues and taxes, personal, or real, regional or municipal, except:
(a) Indirect taxes of a kind that are normally incorporated in the price of goods or services
(b) Dues and Taxes on private immovable property situated in the territory
This means that a diplomatic agent has to pay taxes on goods normally incorporated in the price of goods and services. On landing that would mean customs would have to assess the tax mark up and retail mark up and assess a tax bill for Sheik Khalifa’s goods.
Sheik Khalifa also has to pay taxes on land. Sheik Khalifa is not even a diplomatic agent as he is a principal Head of State. Hence, he would have to pay taxes on all land sales and taxes on all goods imported into Seychelles for personal use as opposed to mission use, which would be subjected to tax exemption if a mission had already been officially established.
Exemptions may apply to : (a) taxes on goods for official use of a mission, (b) for personal use of a diplomatic agent, which could apply to UAE diplomatic agents, if a mission was set up, but not to a diplomatic Principal for his private residence.
Article 42 says: “A diplomatic agent shall not in the receiving State practise for personal profit any professional or commercial activity”.
Now if Sheik Khalifa and SPPF/PP insist that the Vienna Convention does apply to the Sheik, and he does not have to pay taxes on the goods he imports, then the Convention says under Article 42, that he would then not be able to do any business in Seychelles.
Hence, buying land at Beau Vallon, buying Four Seasons, buying out Raffles, and Curieuse Island for example, would violate the Articles of the Vienna Convention. Basically, the Convention envisioned that one cannot enjoy diplomat status and be in business at the same time in a receiving State. The Convention uses the bar words: a diplomat “shall not”...practise for personal profit any professional or commercial activity”.
A Proposal To Table
Instead of going on and on about this matter as a citizen of Seychelles, as it appears the President of Seychelles cannot ask for reasons unknown to me, I ask that Sheik Khalifa please, with due respect worthy of a Head of State, to pay the back taxes on all goods imported to Seychelles for his private residence which, I reasonably believe has exceeded $200 Million, unless proven otherwise.
It would be wise if our opposition MNA’s could take this up at the next sitting of the Assembly and table a motion to set the record straight and dispel the SPPF/PP’s deliberate attempt to fool the people and cover up on the blunders they have made, and short changing our people in the process.
We are not against Sheik Khalifa or anyone and welcome him and everyone to Seychelles, if they pay their way. If ordinary Seychellois can pay their way, the rich and well heeled of the world can pay their way as well. To make Seychelles work well, there must not be any exceptions to this rule.
A little gift here and there is not paying your way, nor is making little cosy deals, paying your way. Paying your way means paying, every step of the way. Now I do believe the People of Seychelles can give Sheik Khalifa a little credit as follows to be applied to his bill: 1. $8 Million, medical health scanner center, 2. Two (2) 8 megawatt generators worth $1 million per megawatt or $16 Million. If there is anything else missing, please mention in comments section. We can leave the interest calculations for the time being, if the bill is settled soon.
Please pay directly to our creditors holding our bonds and not to the Government of Seychelles.
Sesel Pou Seselwa!
May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
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23 comments:
Totally agree with your article. While Michel sells us to his camel friends from the land of Arabia, his new VP that famed idiot screwball Danny Faure who was trained in Cuba tells us that he wants to redistribute wealth with his newly introduced tax system. What wealth have you created you moron? Apart from the money of course that you borrowed and that has now been stolen by Albert, Mukesh, Michel, Changleng and friends that today total over US$2.4 billion US Dollars that sit in overseas accounts, hidden away by the Currumjees of Mauritius and the Sunny Kans in Malaysia and other friends of SPPF in Singapore.
Jesus, please help us take our country back from these morons. As for Kalifa, he will regret coming to SEychelles one day. Karma will prevail.
-------------------------------
Here's a post I copied from another blog:
Danny Faure is bloody useless and still thinks like a communist. Did anyone see him in the Assembly last week explaining the new tax system, while he had no clue whatsoever what he was saying? The best part was when he shouted out in his usual arrogant voice and tone that this was what one calls "REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH".
Well Faure you Cuban-trained idiot, you now join Michel and Rene as the King idiots of the past 34 years of misery. One has to earn wealth before one reistributes it. Taxing the hard-working Seychellois people so that you can give back OUR MONEY to your SPPF lackeys and lazy SPPF asses who prefer to stay home instead of working is not my idea of redistribution of wealth. It is corruption on your part to win votes from lazy SPPF who cannot get off their fat asses to go to work in the morning. These are the fat ones who vote for you usually, so of course you can distribute OUR wealth which is nothing more than taxing workers to pay for non-working and non-productive stay home SPPF followers. All so you can continue to remain in power from their votes so that Albert and Michel can enjoy their stolen millions while we the poor Seychellois continue to toil like slaves.
So GO SCREW YOURSELF with your redistribution of wealth you communist donkey.
I raise my hat off to this great article and I also make a brief comment:
Is it really hard to see the persistence failures? Come on people of Seychelles. Our life now hangs on a thread, driven by the personnel so called bond between the Sheik Khalifa of UAE and James Michel because the SPP government has failed to provide these facilities and professional services in the Seychelles.
Is it hard to see that these personnel favours works best when the government is mostly ineffective, corrupt and where the government is failing consistently?
What kind of government takes pride in that? The answer is very simple. Only irresponsible governments with few elites doing everything it takes to stay in power share prides in that.
Clearly, everyone should see the charity approach this government has adopted. We could not guard our own EEZ against the pirates, we could not maintain and develop our economy and now the IMF governs for us, we cannot provide water to the citizens in the dry season and there has been decades and piles of explanations on how the water problem was supposed to be finally addressed. The Ex- Minster for Environment, Mr. Jumeau once claimed there will be no more to water restrictions and problems in the Seychelles when the desalination was introduced. Now he enjoys the good job and living in New York when we have to carry buckets of water and wait for the rationed water. This is one of the many daily struggles the Seychelles people should never forget when casting their votes. We live 365 days in a year not one day before and after the election.
Now every incident of this level or problem of such magnitude depends on a personnel contact between the President of the Seychelles and the UAE head. What will happen when the Sheik is not there for all our needs because he is ski diving somewhere not reachable or when his luxury jet is in use. Are we building a county for ourselves or building empires for the few while we depend on their charity assistance.
I call on the people of the Seychelles to think bejond the SPP horizons
ID1
Michel and PP the Pirates Party have been breaking the Rule seen years because they don't no how to Rule and how to do they jobs.ID1 my brother we will take our land back no matter how we have to take it back.Soon before ist to late.
Johnny
34 years ago Seychelles became independent for only 11 month and the young democratic ruled Nation was hijacked by a dictator and his accomplices which made Seychelles for the next 33 years - and up to date, but hopefully only till the next election - anything else then independent. So what is there to celebrate since 33 years??
Independence means freedom, but not Hitlers version of ruling with terror and fear.
Once this nightmare is over the
5.th of June should remain a national holiday but renamed as the "National Day of Mourning". This would make sure that the Seychellois will never, ever again
let a group of criminals enslave
them once more.
Sorry to change Topic,today 30.6.2010.This are think that just pist me off GURKAS in our Prison.I just read in Nation,that 12 British GURKAS has arrived and have alredy settle in our Prison and there are more to come from Nepal.Its that a joke!Seslwa can not do this jobs Michel?May be not,but there need good training and Discipline and equipment to do the job.But we MSR we are reading in your mind,this 8 Gurkas coming from Nepal are security for KALIFA to watch his ass and his Palace when it finish built.During the day Gurkas will be watching prison in the night there will be watching KALIFA ass and his Palaces.Michel are still doing dirty deal with out Seselwa knowing wants going on,KALIFA have paid Neapal Government may be a frew dollars to bring his security.This is also one last dirty deal Michel and Morgan zako blan bam head did with KALIFA, when Michel made his last trip to visit KALIFA.who you think you are trying to foul Michel.
Johnny
Johnny:
By bringing the Ghurkas to our motherland the Pp Collaborators are implementing an evil strategy to bring more foreign troop to murder us Rasin if we should revolt - they do not trust the rasin army. They have brought in Khalifa's troops masquerading as sailors to fight pirates and now these Ghurkas as prison guards.
When the time comes, we will defeat them all. There is nowhere for these Pp Collaborators to hide. We will, however long it takes, find them and bring them to justice for their crimes against the Seselwa Rasin people - their own people. No amount of Ghurkas or Arabs will stop us from achieving that.
Very good article Mr.Gill. Article 42 says: “A diplomatic agent shall not in the receiving State practise for personal profit any professional or commercial activity... See more”.
Now tell us who all diplomatic agent in Seychelles which has professional or commercial activity? Any names did not come up in your research? You dont see cc car parking in front of business?
Please calculate with your magic calculator how much tax they owe for goods import and cc Cars driving for last 30 years and penalties and interest.
This schoolboy tactic you are dividing opposition and stopping all Seselwa unite to make Sesel progress. Be sensible Gill. We must win the war and graduate from school, not daily battle in the playground.
On Ghurka, maybe it is simple no? Sesel is small. Is hard to find prison guard who will not be on side of prisoner or victim one day. This have proved to be main problem with prisoner mistreatment and also prisoner riot and escape.
But of course MSR want use anything for making bloody violence.
Reply to Beer Bottle-
Article 42 refers to diplomatic agents in a "mission", not not Honorary consul corps.
For your information, I am not a Consul and I never obtained a car tax free as a Consul for the time I was for Republic of Lithunia.
The point of the article is that SPPF is selling our soveriegnty for amounts we do not know, and compromising our future.
Now Beer Bottle, proxy for Ramkalawan, are you against the premise of the article, and would you prefer I did not write anything about the breaking of the Vienna Convention by SPPF?
Ramkalawan and SNP are not even mentioned in the article.
They never highlighted the breach of the Convention, either.
Instead of attacking me, Ramkalawan Proxy, why do you not tell Ramkalawan to do a Private Notice Question on the issue and file a complaint on it in international courts.
Christopher Gill
Mr Gill, now that is asking too much from Mr Ramkalawan. What you require from him is hard work and a few sleepless nights. Hard work and lack of sleep is something Mr Ramkalawan has an aversion for. The most work the fellow can stomach in a week is a column in REGAR, and that takes up a lot of his energy!
I hope they not even try to murder one RASIN IF WE REVOLT because TROUBEL WILL COME DOUBEL FOR MICHEL AND HIS GURKAS AND HIS TAZAR.
Johnny
To Anonymous on the Ghurkas:
The argument you present is that the imported Ghurkas are likely to more objectively enforce our laws than Seselwa Rasin. So therefore, you argue, we should be policed by foreingers in our motherland.
I have often heard this argument from the Pp Collaborators to justify them selling us out to foreigners and Fabrike.
First of all Seselwa Rasin should never be policed in their own country by foreigners. This violates Sesel Pou Seselwa the founding principle of our nation.
Secondly, I disagree with your premise that foreigners can more reliably police us Rasin than we can police ourselves. Foreigners are just as susceptible to corruption and perhaps more so than Rasin policeman. The Ghurkas will be no different. The experience with the Irish cops is also a clear example that foreigners are not better police than Rasin policemen - the Irish cops show that foreigners cannot be trusted to police us. They look out only for their own interests - not ours.
But that is the real issue. The corruption associated with the Irish and with the Fabrike and foreigners whom the Pp have imported to police us suit the Pp Collaborators just fine.
The Pp Collaborators like foreigners and Fabrike policing us because they will not put up any resistance to the Pp selling us out to fill their own pockets and they will not contest the Pp dictatorship and instead will support it.
Finally The Mouvman does not promote violence as you say. The Rasin-ist Creed only advocates violence as a last resort and only in response to violent suppression which it appears the Pp are now planning.
It is becoming clear that Michel is giving national soveregnty to foreign forces.Khakifa isillegally a biulding his little illegal kingdom within our state wwith his own gurkha army and navy.Sooner than later Barbaron will be declare autonome state.We won't tolerate such a shit and another reason why we must screw pp^s ass.
As to the redistribution of wealth Faure can start by bringing our stolen billion back.
Jeanne D'Arc
That Michel is trying to justifies his illegal act by misinterprerting Vienna covent is normal he did not understand what he read .
Jeanne D'Arc
Michel did not read the Vienna Convention likely.
Like he did not read the Bond Contract Notes.
He had Barry Faure read the Vienna Convention after he offered Khalifa tax free status to be a nice guy. He likely did not ever think Khalifa would bring in so much stuff and finally, want the country for himself.
What else would one of the richest men in the world want if he lives in a dessert?
Maybe someone should answer this simple question as to why does His Eminence the Pope use Swiss Guards and not Roman Guards for his protection?????.
And whilst you are at it, please do tell us where is it written that Seychelles cannot hire the services of the Ghurkas or any other Nationalities?.
what's with you guys and what others do everywhere else? For crying out loud we are seychellois and it's about bloody time we do what's best for seychellois. Numerous occasions on this blog it has been, how come they (other countries ) do this or why do they do that ...so that the bad things they are doing in seychelles can be justified. Hell with what others do. Let us try to lead for a change. why can't we do things that others will look up to?
DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY!
We don't give a rats arse if the pope use Swiss Guards, I am sure the pope can afford it. What the hell is wrong with you? In case you have forgotten WE ARE BANKRUPT.
Lets not live beyond our means.
Lets give us seychellois our own way of doing what we need to do and within our means.
The pope can sort out the vatican problem ..lets sort out seychelles problem.
While am at it..when will the government spend some time moving seychelles forward? To me it looks like the government spend 90+% of their time working on keeping PP in power rather than 100% pushing seychelles forward.(Am sure by doing the right thing for seychelles you will be voted for). Stop working out how to trick the people into voting you in . work for for a change. politicians in seychelles should be ashame of themselves. i cannot understand how they sleep at night.
Theres a thought,A competition should be run for the school kids and the question should be draw or write what you think seychelles will look like in 50 years. I am sure this will give us an idea of whether we have instill hope in our young kids or not.
Seychelles politician should refrain from being self serving and work for a better seychelles not spend their time working how to keep PP forever in power.
J.
To Anonymous Re Swiss Guards:
First The Vatican is a separate country from Italy. So if the Vatican used Roman guards as the inquiry suggests, they would still be using foreign troops to guard the Pope. In the Vatican's view using a Swiss guard is just a foreign as using a Roman guard.
Secondly, the Vatican, for obvious reasons, does not have a population of unemployed individuals within it's boundaries. We Rasin have a large pool of our own people to chose from to run our country and to police our country. We do not need nor do we want foreigners policing us Rasin in our motherland - it is a violation of Sesel Pou Seselwa.
Finally, the Pope has moral jurisdiction over a large "flock" so to speak. The Swiss are considered a neutral country because its neutrality is a central feature of its foreign policy. So the Vatican selected and continues to select Swiss guards to emphasize that it does not side with any part of its flock in political disputes between them and to ensure that its guards are not partisan in political disputes that can influence the Pope's decisions. We Rasin have no such interests.
We only have Sesel Pou Seselwa which has been repeatedly betrayed by the Butcher and Michel the Collaborator. They are doing it again by bringing foreign Ghurkas onto our sacred soil to murder us Rasin to stay in power and to police us in our own homeland.
We must resist these Ghurkas and not cooperate with them and not treat them like they are welcomed. Make everything they want or ask for a huge effort. Even if it is getting them a cup of coffee. Undermine them and their effectiveness. They must go home. So Go Home Ghurkas!! Seychelles is not your country.
We must remove these Pp Collaborators from power and bring them to justice for their crimes against the Seselwa Rasin people - their own people.
The present condition of land acquisitions are raising the risk that our people will be evicted or lose access to land,water and other resources if not regulated.
The lack of transparancy and checks and balances in contract negotiations,a fact that more often that not promotes deals that not do not quarantee public interest.
Insecure local land rights,inaccessible registration procedures,legislative gaps and other factors too often undermine the position of the people.
Moreover,where land laws are still weak and unco-ordinated,are likely to witness massive landlessness as our mainly provety-stricken citizens sell their parcels of land at throwaway prices to moneyed foreigners at whatever terms.
Such conditions allow the so-called foreign investors who come here to set up their businesses but are not competing against seychellois businesses fairly.Most of them find ways to avoid tax,ship money made here out of the country and when things get tough here they will probably for whatever reason leave the country.
We need to urgently discuss this policy and put an end to it.It just doesn't do us any good.It disowns Seychellois and we must not forget that once you get ownership of a piece of land ,it is yours forever.
However,i maintain that such condition should not be understood to mean that we are anti-foreign investments.For the people of this land this fight is to have a country where competition is fair for both local and foreign businesses people alike and where all businesses obey the law of the country.
True foreign investors are those capable of making meaningful contrbution to economic,diversification,growth and job creation.
Troukler
The biggest mistake you made was being so anti Australian Tax Officers. These people were on your side trying to stop the mass abuse of the Tax system by SPPF/PP cronies leaving the rest of us to Pay . The IMF brought them here, not the Government and the reason they left was because of constant interference by Afif, Faure, Michel et al telling them to leave certain people and companies alone, Khalifa being an example.
We were not anti-Austrlian tax offciers .There have been lots of Australians brought in the country to do this and that for fat cat salaries the end results of their actions were equated to that of pp thus nul.secondly we have plenty of qualified Seychellois fit for those positions and they would have cost the country less tax payer^' money if The IMF brought them in yes,but have you seen any progress in the field of transparency since it is operating in this country? No a graet deal.We still do not who stolen our money,we still don't understand why IMF is not putting pressure of pp to to collect tax from Khalifa etc ect and etc.
NB; that IMf as an international is still in the country and to achieve the goals in cleaning pp 's mess it does need to have Australian as part of the body to achieve their goals.
Jeanne D'Arc
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