The Seychelles Column - By Christopher Gill

Praslin Booming Like Las Vegas?

Recently, James Michel, President of Seychelles, managed to commandeer the IDC plane for two (2) straight days, and loaded it with staff, ministers, principal secretaries and did two (2) trips back to back on successive days to Praslin.
Michel and company made it a point to meet some key sectors that have unsettled grievances with his government. You need to salute Michel for his ability to Hollywood over problems that have reached a crisis level.
SBC posed few questions, though they had three (3) reporters on hand, not including State House press staffers.
Let’s quickly uncover the actor in James Michel.
Tourism On Praslin Booming He Says
After visiting one of his close friends at Tropique Villa, he said he was happy to see tourism on Praslin booming. We are in fact in a peak period and occupancy at most Praslin and La Digue hotels are at an all time low, with some hotels below 35%. They have been low for Three (3) months.
Reason being, Air Seychelles unilaterally increased the price of an airline ticket to Praslin from 52.00 euro one way to 86.00 euro one way, making Praslin a very expensive excursion for 15 minutes by kerosene Twin Otter.
Michel has done nothing about this yet and we hope he moves on it as Minister of Tourism to re-establish viability to Praslin and La Digue tourism industry.
Michel Says Drugs Destroying Praslin
Michel then said that drugs are destroying Praslin. Well, drugs will destroy any community if a government does not do anything about it. This is where the problem lies, with the government of James Michel. Why? Let me explain in detail.
The SHTA Public Safety Committee I chair on Praslin made a request to Ministry of Health to take over the old Praslin hospital to renovate it and implement a drug rehabilitation treatment centre for 40 patients at a time, in conjunction with the Catholic Church and other NGO’s. The request sat on Marie Pierre Lloyds desk for over One (1) year. She said she did not know who owned the old hospital.
One fine day a few days before she was removed as Minister of Health, she packed SBC camera crew and reporters, all her staff, and did up the hair and made her way to Praslin to meet with me and the Centre D’Accueil staffers on Praslin to review the old hospital site.
Fine except for one little problem: Minister Lloyd did not call me to advise me that she will be on Praslin and I was on Mahe.
Consequently, she made her way about the old hospital filming the place with SBC, but having no clue what we wanted to do with the old hospital. Before we could hear from her, she received the boot and foot by Michel.
After many years, of trying to bring about a drug rehabilitation on Praslin, it is the Government of James Michel that has set it back for many years. With our work we have even trained drug rehabilitation counsellors and funded their courses overseas. Where is Ministry of Health on this? Nowhere.
Blame Game With Police
Michel took a highly political swipe at the Police on Praslin, saying that everyone on Praslin knows who traffics drugs, except for the Police. This is a highly dishonest statement by Michel. The inference is that the Police are not doing anything about the situation on Praslin.
We all know that the Seychelles Police is divided into different units. There is a traffic unit, regular police unit, dog unit, Special Forces unit, and drug unit called NDEA, acronym for National Drug Enforcement Unit. The NDEA is in charge of all drug trafficking cases which include investigation, surveillance, detection, arrest and so forth. The regular Police have little to do with this under the Michel Administration set up.
Incidentally, if Michel did not know while he visited Praslin, the NDEA is based with an office at State House and run by Irish men answerable only to him. If the Irishmen do not know what is going on on Praslin, I am not surprised! They do not speak Seselwa, Michel.
For Three (3) years, the Police successfully cooperated with the SHTA Public Safety Committee to bring crime down on Praslin, until Naill Scully, was appointed Deputy Commissioner by James Michel, himself.
The Police on Praslin are under the immediate command of Deputy Commissioner of Police Naill Scully, a sergeant in the Irish Army. The SI on Praslin takes orders directly from Scully. Scully has advised the SI on Praslin to disengage with the SHTA on matters of crime detection and prevention. Hence, over the last 4 months, we have again seen a significant increase in crime on Praslin.
The Police are easy to blame. But who has created this situation? Only last year, the Police budget was reduced by almost Scr. 17 Million. On Praslin, they have a monthly fuel budget of Scr. 10,000.00 while the private security patrols spend over Scr. 25,000.00 per month funded by the hotels to keep crime at bay as much as possible with little patrol being conducted by the Police themselves.
On Praslin, we had only one (1) Tourism Police for years. We need perhaps 15 at least.
Hospital Collapsed A Long Time Ago On Praslin
When talking about the failing hospital on Praslin, Michel spoke as if it was a new thing to hear. The Praslin hospital collapsed years ago, under James Michel himself. How can he rightfully now tell us, that this is a new problem?
On the day of the bus accident, there was only one doctor to attend to over 40 patients. The Emergency Response Unit (ERU) has had two (2) flat tires for over ten years and most of the time James Michel has been President. The tires have not been fixed. Oxygen tanks at the hospital have been empty for months and were not enough on the day of the bus accident. Louis Larue, Mitcy Larue’s husband, died because the oxygen tank in the ambulance, responding for assistance.... was empty. No Hollywood acting will change the collapse at the hospital of Baie St. Anne Mr. James Michel.
Praslin Farms Collapse
The problems of the Praslin block farmers have been ongoing for years. The entire Ministry of Agriculture has failed these farmers. Today James Michel blames the hotels for not buying the farmers produce. He wants them to buy produce all year round.
How An Economy Works or Collapses On One Decision
But I advise Mr. Michel, hotels buy produce when they have guests. If Air Seychelles makes tickets to Praslin too expensive, hotels do not buy produce, because there are fewer guests. Farmers do not sell produce and fishermen salt their fish.
As this cycle goes on for a prolonged period, our blood pressure increases from a poor diet, since we add coconut milk to our fish to cut the salt taste and we get heart attacks from it. Once we get heart attacks, we die prematurely, because we have no oxygen tanks at the hospital that are full.... they are and have been empty most of the past year.
If we get into an accident on the road, we usually die, because the ERU has two flat tires for over Ten (10) years.
Our people stay on drugs because you have failed to deliver a drug rehab centre.
The traffickers continue to traffic drugs because your Irish man in charge of NDEA spends his time on the golf course, soaking up the sun, much like another catastrophic failure did at STB not long ago.

Sesel Pou Seselwa , Michel!
May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois!