Getting our priorities wrong!

Seychelles Music & performing arts in the doldrums

We have read recently that the cricket association has been allocated a plot of land by the government to construct their cricket stadium. This is well and good but it seems that we have got our priorities wrong yet again. We note the continuous neglect of other sectors of our societal development by the Parti Lepep government. Its blatant disregard for the aspirations of our cultural advancement is obvious when we see that no particular attention is being paid to music and arts in general.

Unfortunately, the arts council has become a redundant body with a budget solely to prep up its existence. There is a serious need to reallocate these funds to the musicians and artists in order to assist their emancipation and further advancement. Our arts council cannot even organize shows or competitions for the whole nation and allowed the local entertainment scene to be high jacked by the Jj Spirit foundation. In fact, it is a scenario that is purposefully perpetrated by the government to allow the Parti Lepep and its quasi political ‘foundations’ and ‘institutes’ to take over the entertainment sector to fully propagate their own brand of red tainted activities. Today, real talents have to dig deep into their own pockets to be able to produce anything to further their talent. We witness these artists plying their trade in discotheques, ex-SMB hall and other obscure venues without proper facilities apart from a few breaks at the already tired ICCS center when it is not being monopolized for yet another political function. The astonishing prizes handed out at the recent ‘Sesel I annan talan’ Jj show would have gone a long way in assisting budding artists to make headway in their careers. Yes, the Seychellois artists have great talent. But it needs to be a nationwide movement and not a James Michel adoration society!
The case of the allocation of funds and assets to yet another sports discipline is proof enough that music and the performing arts is being castigated and left in the doldrums.

The government built a music stadium in Victoria to sois-disant assist the artists to better promote their talents and productions. The venue was pivotal in hosting shows both local and international, acted as the showcase for several national events such as Festival Kreol. After a few years of operation, the government foolishly decides to bulldoze this complex to make way for a fallow piece of ground that consists of a big circular mound, a gigantic flagpole and a ‘constitution monument’ dreamt up by the fantasy mind of James Michel. Since he cannot face the music of his coup d’etat sin to go and lay a wreath at the fictitious ‘Zonm Lib’, he now has to play the statesman on the altar of a ‘Koste’ Monument. Our constitution that Michel wants to adore spells out some vital fundamental rights that he needs to respect.

The issue of the allocation of land to the cricket association is interesting in the sense that it is a sport that is practiced mostly by one dominant sector of our society comprising mostly of expatriates. It shows how much of influence this community has in our country. It is the same community that has an ever-growing economic power. It is time to see a democratization and rid our system of all the political machinations that is but impeding the growth and ‘epanouissment’ of our society. We need to free ourselves from this mentality that the ruling party has to have the entire population to eat out of its hands. Enough of the favoritisms for only a few sectors of the community. The true spirit of togetherness is not achieved on a specific agenda. It is based on liberty, equality, fraternity. A fraternity that goes beyond political boundaries and colors. This basic recommendation supported by our constitution needs to be applied at all times by any government in order to safeguard the cohesion of our society in the spirit of ‘Annou viv konman frer’. Let our artistic brothers and sister be empowered to release the potential of their talent so that they will make our WHOLE nation proud.