Seychelles Company Implicated in Arms Sale

 

 

Serbia blocks arms shipment to Libya: minister

(AFP)

12 March 2009

BELGRADE - Serbia has blocked a large arms shipment to Libya because the company that arranged the sale appears on a UN blacklist, a minister said Wednesday.

Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said that Serbia’s intelligence service blocked the sale when it discovered which company was involved.

He did not identify the company or its owner, but said the firm was on the UN blacklist for breaking an ban on selling arms to Liberia.

Blic, a Serbian daily, said the shipment, worth 50 million dollars (39 million euros), was being arranged by the Seychelles-based Malvale, a company owned by Serbian businessman Slobodan Tesic.

Seychelles Column - by Christopher Gill

The Seychelles Column by Christopher Gill

Seychelles Hits Economic Hardship

In the State of The Nation address, President Michel made the announcement that the Seychelles was facing economic hardship in 2009. He announced that Tourism Arrivals could fall by 25% in 2009. Already, the first three (3) months of the year have brought lowered arrivals by -15%. While this is not a pretty picture the President Michel has painted, there is more to these numbers which he has not mentioned and decided to be quiet and leave the remaining Truth in a closet of silence. The recent Seychelles Tourism (STB) Board meeting exposed a little of what was in the closet of silence.

-25% is Wishful, It Is likely To Be More like -40%

The assertion that we will have -25% less arrivals in 2009 is optimistic. President Michel and his low acumen advisors chose to hide the truth. A big mistake.

In The Back Room

The Seychelles Tourism Board is promoting Seychelles with inadequate financing to offset this downturn. The private sector, which is having its own problems battling with the downturn, has been asked to finance the marketing promotions where Government has left the bag hanging over their heads. Inadequate financing in marketing is a formula for a failed marketing program. This is not a time to fail.

Marketing tourism must be tied to a percentage of GST collected on room nights paid by every hotel, to make contributions fair, and sustainable over the long term. This is common practice for all economies that rely on tourism. It is unclear why Seychelles relies on the trade directly to foot the bill for marketing and not simply take a percentage of GST from room charges to foot the bill. This is the most logical self sustaining manner to cover marketing costs. To call on the industry every year to foot the bill for national promotion does not fit into any text book on marketing. Nor will shareholders understand it, if contributions become disproportionately burdensome to one company over another. Making the contributons partially tax deductible does not solve this problem as one has to have the cash flow in order to contribute.

In 2009 we will be trying to catch our tails. Already we have lost revenue from the first three (3) months which we will never be able to earn again. That money Mr. President, is gone forever, because our Tourism marketing program is being launched in Berlin three months late. So we are potentially down to a 7 month year already.

The Haut De Gamme Image

For many years now, the Seychelles destination marketing promotion campaign has been aimed at millionaires, sheikhs, the famous and high-net worth individuals. Put simply, this marketing image is very much out of fashion today, as the world undergoes a financial crisis not seen since the Great Depression. No longer is it chic to travel to far away island destinations. It is considered a splurge and an act of opulence. As Europe goes on strike on May 1st and onwards in the Summer, cars and buildings set on fire, it will not be very fashionable to holiday in some faraway destination costing thousands of Euros per night. The highly touted haut-de-gamme program is out!  

The current national slogan is: "Another World". To many potential holiday makers considering Seychelles for their next trip, they may just conclude it is "another world", as establishments are forced to out price themselves out of market according to the ongoing Government policies. In his State of The Nation speech, Michel recently asked for a new service charge to be added to hotel bills, which will invariably increase prices further. Service charge should be voluntary, not mandatory as to keep with world industry standards. Shedding the communist reaction to a dilemma does not always come so easy. Along with a service charge module, Michel could have opened up the discussion to encourage hotel staff to work double shift and earn double income, that is not communist in orientation. But he remained silent.  

To Michel's credit, he listened to the industry and has put off the increase in GST to 12% for tourism services in 2009. But the cost of living coupled with high interest rates at the banks, make tourism establishments generally uncompetitive on the world market. This explains the reoccurring low occupancy percentage Seychelles knows without much choice till now. Most recently, we have dropped to a low 40% and below which is unacceptable for a destination like Seychelles. We have a crisis in our tourism industry.

To overcome this hurdle of non competitiveness, the Government of Seychelles must rethink the haut-de-gamme image in 2009 and 2010, especially when most seats on inbound Air Seychelles are economy seats and not Business or First Class seats.  

To Survive Resorts Must Discount and Cut Costs

The name of the game in an economic downturn, is not preserving the high profile haut-de-gamme image at all cost, it is simply: survival. For the industry to survive it will have to discount and cut operational costs. Simply put, the tourism market that existed for Seychelles one or two years ago has been wiped out, it has disappeared.

Jj Spirit needs to wake up to this reality.

Even Arabs with oil selling at $32.00 per barrel, and loans secured for high rises based on peak oil prices of say $140.00, will not be able to afford the little villa on the beach so easily in 2009. Dubai is bankrupt from over extending itself. So even that destination strategy must be thought out again. They literally built a city out of sand, as the financial crisis winds blew, so went their dreams of biggest this and that. 

As the interest rates rise, the overdrafts accumulate, the bank payments are missed, many hotels in Seychelles will have to embark on discounting and cost cutting to survive, contrary to Government's past policies of maintaining an haut-de-gamme product at ridiculously high prices.

Finally a Change in Gear

The new STB board marketing section led by Alain St. Ange (which is a revolution in itself) has made a push in the right direction, with the national slogan for the next year "offer of a lifetime etc". St.Ange adds a practical no nonsense angle to marketing which was badly needed at STB. After all, the best marketing ideas must depart from a premise of common sense, and not bounce about in some red-hair floozie's brain and translate into millions of catalogues, posters being published, stored in a store room while the millions of dollars stack up in a CEO's private account. As the money builds up, we get stuck with Seychelles in black and white, and yes, too expensive for our markets to consider as a holiday option. 

In the end, a good value for money holiday, will do millions worth of good publicity to the destination, so Government of Seychelles must make the mental departure of treating discounting as a bad marketing concept. In fact, it is a world wide trend now, with 5 star hotel resorts at Sharm al Sheik, Egypt discounting rooms at resorts for euro 35.00 per night, they too must try to survive in this long winded downturn. 

Oh But Our Special Label 

While you want to consider the Seychelles product as something special, remember, to the owner, a Dollar is also something special these days, so decide what you want. 

I have discounted at my hotel since January. In March and April, we are full. That translates into 150-200 seats on Air Seychelles, if they did the same which I did. If not, Air Seychelles flies empty seated, hoping Air Mauritius does not cancel the 100 pre-sale seats it has. The 200 clients I have in two months means Air Seychelles could earn average Euro 160,000 from that business in turnover at Euro 800.00 a seat or lose that money if it holds out to earn Euro 240,000.00 at Euro 1,200.00 per seat. So take your choice Air Seychelles.  Earn a little less or earn nothing. In the meantime, our establishment regularly advises clients which flight offers the best value, so we do not lose a client.

I cannot afford to push the Kreol Spirit for Colonel David Savy, so he can engage fancy dinner parties with imported bands, dancers, food from Seychelles to Ile Coco-Mauritius on company expense to thank Air Mauritius for buying 100 seats on each flight, when an email with little bells and smiley could have done it.

The Comparative Advantage of Seychelles 

As discounting becomes the norm in Seychelles, it will give the destination a comparative advantage over other sun, sea and sand destinations, because we are such a special destination, inherently. In turn, that will translate into positive marketing by word of mouth and internet feedbacks. Friends love to tell friends about a great deal, they talk about it day after day.

Government Must Take Less 

For Government, discounting will translate into less receivables per head. So SPPF will have much less to squander and will have to start tightening their belts themselves, but if you act fast SPPF, you may survive 2009.

Start at Air Seychelles, and then take another look at your bloated ministries. Consider freezing salary payments and allowances to Ministers for 6 months, and tell them to drive their own cars and no more gun-toting security at night for their many homes. Set ministerial salaries at Sr.8,000.00 and National Assembly salaries to Sr.5,000.00. Sell off the fancy cars like we have been telling you for years now. Cut the fancy trips and let the girlfriends go home once and for all......let them live, let them go! Go to church on Sunday and ask the Lord forgiveness for your failure upon us, instead of trying to fabricate a fake opposition to stay in power.

The Worse Is Yet To Come

What Michel did not tell the Nation in his "SONA" was that the worse is yet to come. As usual, Michel hides the Truth in appeals for unity, togetherness and all the other puppy love antics you can expect from a secondary school pupil. No clear definition of unity, just a general appeal to "Koste". No foresight and warning to the People of what is ahead for us.

Well, People of Seychelles, the worse is yet to come. But this time, the SPPF have little to do with it. But that does not excuse them from not knowing or from not having a plan for Seychelles to survive the downturn ahead. There is no plan! I am working on one but SPPF will not like where they fit in this plan. But we have no choice. They must go where they must. Some of the persons named may not like what has to be done to save Seychelles, but they will not have much of a choice.

For money (the lack of it) is a great equalizer of all men. When there is no money, in pocket, a fat cat can feel very, very humble and his brain can squeeze him into a two piece bikini! See cartoons coming. 

Zone Leader Says It Cannot Get Worse  

Zone Leader says it cannot get worse. Of course, as Zone leader sits in his zone, waiting for SPPF to do some magic, while he is getting hungry. Zone Leader no longer worries about whether or not he will get a bottle or Red Label or a Bottle of Black Label from headquarters. He now worries if the stores will run out of rice and this will prevent him from being able to make it home one night.

A hungry man is an angry man. We see this all over the internet now when we click "Seychelles". But Zone Leader is wrong again...it will get worse. Much worse. Read on Zone Leader! 

Why It Will Now Get Worse

We have just past through dire days of the financial crisis on Wall Street that was announced with the Masters of the Universe for Atheists ,Lehman Brothers, bankruptcy. As President Obama moved into the White House, he tabled and passed a bailout bill of about $ 1 Trillion for the US banks. Well, in Europe, a similar problem conceived out of bloated mortgages, bad debts, bogus hedge funds, dead beat debtors, like SPPF, and its problem has now amounted now to a $24 Trillion problem that is about to implode any day now. The daily reports of banks failing is a sign of the imminent implosion. Gordon Brown giving a pep talk to joint session of the US Congress and Senate is a sign. There will be many more to follow, each collapsing state will sound off on CNN weekly now.

Just as Michel was hoping we will have only a - 25% downturn, now our tourism markets are about to go belly up. Try -40% Mr. President. As banks collapse, money supply tightens. As there is no money to go around, the first thing people do is cancel trips to paradise for a little sand castle therapy. So wake up SPPF, come up with an Emergency Plan to save the Seychelles economy.

It can be done. But your thinking must change overnight. What St. Ange has proposed is a small start to generate more business so SPPF can have more money to spend. But how will SPPF spend that money? Will you implement more budgetary cuts or will you continue to send MNA's on drinking trips to Rodrigues in Pearl Class? Will the weekly shopping trips to Dubai be stopped or will they continue? Will we continue to waste money like it flows from the ground SPPF? What about all those ill-transferred islands?

Do you not think it is time that these islands be returned to the People of Seychelles, SPPF, so we can benefit from them, instead of just a small group from your royal family having the time of their lives. The villa going up on Felicite or Zil Pasyon are a disgrace SPPF. Once the government changes in the next election, these property transactions must be rendered null and void, because the master lease was never offered out on tender.

Head Spirit Says, "What Can I do"?

For starters, instead of running about town telling everyone to "Koste", start walking the talk. Come up with a serious plan. Create a master plan which includes constitutional amendments for a Government of National Reconstruction, with SPPF (after failing) accepting a junior partner position in the Government. Announce the Plan, then call all parties to the round table. Do not think for a moment that SPPF can viably remain as a Senior partner in Government. We need you to step aside sly-SPPF because, the Paris Club, does not trust you, the ADB in spite of having Peter Sinon there, barking your whims and wills, does not trust you. Hell, it looks like the whole world does not trust you SPPF. So that is why they deal with you with a 10 foot pole called IMF quarterly meetings. So make the deal to step aside, but remember, you have to get Boss and family to give back some of that $2.4Billion, whatever is left, after wasting it in the financial crisis.

Engage the Opposition in the Plan. Wavel Ramkalawan is the Leader of Opposition, so you must deal with him, in spite of his faults. But you must also include all other players outside of his realm of support to mantain peace and foster cooperation. Be polite, he might be your President next year. Don't go beating him up on the head and sending him to ICU, now SPPF. If Ramkalawan does not want to deal with you, then be humble SPPF, after all you are failures. But do what is necessary for Seychelles to survive, not yourselves. The gesture to meet is good, but there are no parameters. So try again Head Spirit, try again. If you need help, ask Bishop Denis Wiehe to intervene. But do not give up Head Spirt. Your moment in our history is being defined now. Tomorrow you will be but a breath of light passing wind. 

I have more advice to our President in this year of "Koste"- but for now, I will allow him time to think these points over. Take your time.....but don't take too long. The people are eating down our supply of rice.

May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois and our Beloved Seychelles!

Author's Email: sezfree4u@yahoo.com

 

 

Seychelles - Sticker of the Week

Seychelles - Sticker of the Week

Seychelles Satire - State House Anytime Now

Seychelles Satire - State House Anytime Now

Talk shops, pluralist Democracy, french descendants and everything in between…

2009 has started off with bad Omens for the President. His grand idea to get everybody on board to ‘Koste’ is slowly fading! His State of the Union invitation to engage the Opposition leader into a new round of dialogue has been turned down. The strategy of talking them to death has to be revised. His briefings from now on will be more pluralist and he will invite both Orderly and JenPA (the smallest “j” PS) to ensure that they have a more coordinated strategy from State House – only two more years to the next election and we need all the spin doctors on the same wavelength…

President: Good Morning Orderly! Good Morning JenPA! What a pleasure to see this tandem of brains this morning. I know that people are already labelling you guys as the Abbot & Costello or Laurel & Hardy team. But who cares? At least I have a think tank to see me through this presidency and beyond… So ‘Who’s on first?’

JenPA: Sir, I am delighted and honoured to form part of this most prestigious association of the land. I will make all my valuable contributions to ensure that we maintain you in power. As we discussed on our numerous trips last year, you are paving the way for a new generation of leaders. I have started this with the Jj Spirit Foundation and my popularity seems to be on the rise based on the friends that I am attracting on ‘Facebook’. My motto is peace & love and the creation of a ‘rainbow’ nation.  And Sir, do remember that the great Adam family is of French descendants, including Uncle Seypec and the ex-First Lady as you know..

Orderly: Sir, the Butlers are also a great, smart French family.  And I also welcome the idea of a joint briefing as I will now be more in the loop as to what you guys are up to with these overseas missions. JenPA’s networking with the youth seems to be working well, although a lot of those kids are only in it for the free booze, burgers and that generous Jj Foundation loan which they know they won’t have to pay back. But we should not deviate too much and need to have more ‘straight’ people as our followers, if you see what I mean.

President: Indeed Orderly! I do not want to be surrounded by too many of this new species! I gather that there is a very big community in our country (especially in the SPPF rank & file) and a lot still in the closet! But we need to focus. JenPA has a special charm and does a good job with the ladies close to State House. He lends a hand, sorts out the cat fights between the secretaries and the wives and is always there when one needs a shoulder to cry on! Now we need to focus on the agenda! The Opposition’s message is slowly getting through and people are slowly seeing through our lies.  I’m getting really worried for 2011. We need to engage in as much talk and dialogue as possible so that we do not allow the opposition one inch of airtime.  So give instructions immediately to that little SBC Afif, alias “Gollum2”.  We already have the original Gollum Afif working hard in the Ministry of Finance with Danny.   

Orderly: Will do it right away Sir, no need to worry. We need to be tentaculous… err… sorry tenacious (this Irish whiskey is a bit harsh on the thought process this morning). You have to forgive me but it is the biggest St. Patrick’s Day (week) ever! We now need some more excitement like Boss used to do during his reign. A shake up here and there is now long overdue…

JenPA: I fully support this way forward Sir. We need to show some decisive action from now on. There are some not so gay elements that need to be purged from the system.

President: Indeed I had the same dream! I will soon be retiring some ministers, especially those that are tainting our clean image. I do not want to be associated with the word fat cats. I would rather prefer the leaner, wiry types like my man Orderly or a nicely curved and sexy looking type like you JenPA. Nice tight pants too which shows off your butt… I like that!

Orderly: Sir we need to flex those muscles about from now on to intimidate those rogue elements such as Danny Boy who feels that he can take matters in his own hands since he is the boss’s blue eyed boy. I gather that your last meeting with him almost ended up in fist fights. Are you OK Sir? I can see that you are still a bit shaken from this incident.

President: Well he tried to vent off his aggression but you know that I am well protected with JAM (the Irish wolfhound) and my pumping iron, steroid eating bodyguards. Boss is now jealous that I have two blue eyed boys in you guys. We now need to put all this behind us and focus on our own political survival and our stay in State House beyond 2011. I am getting fed up of committees that get my head spinning. I now want one on ones with influential individuals and get my message directly to the people.

JenPA: Sir I have done some ground work and got some of the kids of Jj Spirit to conduct a survey and it seems that your popularity is at its lowest and there is no way out of this hole. The poll says you are even lower than George Bush before he left office. They want you to meet all the demands of the Opposition before you come to their districts to address them. We need to be careful as we are treading on dangerous territory right now. The mood of the people is one of bitterness since the IMF program is biting them in the butt! You might end up with a rotten egg or a cream pie on the face. This is the price one has to pay if you want to embrace a pluralist democracy.  Maybe kissing a few butts would help right now, if you know what I mean.

Orderly: Indeed Sir! Or you might have to duck a shoe or two like Bush! And our growing muslim community are not too tolerant at the moment.

President: Well you guys are moulding me more into an Obama right? I have one of the greatest speech writers in JenPA and everyone loves him for his impeccable manners on our overseas trips. He comes from a model family my man and he has a more sober demeanour. None on your vices of Irish whiskey or tobacco indulgence – he is a role model for our youth my man, ex-champion swimmer. And he is not scared and ill at ease when carry my briefcase around. Sometimes, it is just great to have an Adam by your side instead of a bitchy Eve!

Orderly: Yes Sir. You have some of the best brains around you. I am sure that Boss approves of this affiliation with ex-lady Geva nee Adam. Although I must stress again that us Butlers are quite smart too!

President: Well guys, let’s get to work! JenPA, please get a better assessment of the pulse on the ground as our MNA lackeys have done their usual suck-up job and defended my call for unity in these troubled times. So I am sure there is already a reversal in public opinion.

JenPA: Not to worry Sir. With your State House ‘spin doctors’ on the offensive, our planned district consultations and the various talk shops to open up the dialogue, we are on the right path of offering a more pluralist democracy to our people. Don’t worry if Ramka does not want to participate.  After all, his family originated from troubled Madagascar, unlike us brainy ones who came from France and Reunion.  After all, even the Michel name came from France.

President: It did?  Hmm, maybe I can get asylum in France like Baby Doc one day when all hell breaks loose!  Ah, a French chateau, le bon vins, foie gras, baguette, Carrefour, Paris, Champs Elysee…Mon Dieu, je suis Francais!  Vive la liberte, fraternite et egalite!

The briefing ends with Mr. President dreaming about a Napoleon outfit to replace his old Army suit… then making a mental note of the various conditions that the leader of the Opposition made to him as ultimatums to be met before engaging in real dialogue. He needs to find other ways around this as Boss will not allow any change in these areas. It will mean the end of the hegemony of SPPF in Seychelles… and we are too implicated like Mugabe to just let go…maybe it is time for me to stop being an Atheist and simply find Jesus and confess my sins and repent before it’s too late! 

Four Seasons Hotel Tax Concessions - Ministry of Finance gives preference to foreign businesses

Here we go again!  The SPPF Government and its Ministry of Finance has pulled out all the stops and given the new Four Seasons Hotel at Petite Anse Mahe every tax concessions under the sun, to the detriment of local Seychellois hotel owners and obviously in total contradiction to the Tourism Incentive Act (TIA) which was supposed to create a level playing field for all tourism establishments.  

What a load of B.S.  Lies, lies and more lies from cuban-trained Minister of Finance Danny Faure, who just a few weeks ago told the trade that all incentives were the same for Seychellois and foreign investors.  And to think James Michel in his State of the Union address had the guts to tell us that he wants the Seychellois people to work harder.  Yes, we will work harder, pay more taxes while our foreign investor counterparts get the red-carpet treatment.  

Can you imagine a hotel getting 20 cars at ZERO trades tax, while all other Seychellois continue to pay up to 225% tax on a new car!  Car hires are closing down due to the attrocious trades tax on cars, and even taxi drivers are barely able to make a living since hotels no longer use their services.

This is another example of Michel saying one thing to us, and doing just the opposite behind closed doors.  Michel and Faure, you are both a disgrace to our country, and you should step down.  As for small "j" Belmont the ghost Minister of Tourism who only shows up for cocktails, he should seriously go back to farming!

Check this letter from the Ministry of Finance, signed by no other than Ronald Cafrine, on behalf of Principal Secretary Ahmed Afif.  Now can someone tell us where Afif and Cafrine received their instructions from?  Of course, the rumour is that Albert and Mooky were the real estate brokers on this Four Seasons property in the first place... can you see where this is leading? Wonder what their commission was, or whether they both received a villa in exchange!

United States Report on Seychelles - 2008 Human Rights Report

Read this amazing report on Seychelles, written by the United States - State Department.  I don't believe that Albert and Michel will be suing Obama and United States anytime soon.

This report proves clearly that we have a totally corrupt Government in SPPF!  Note especially the reference to the Plantation Club Hotel & Casino.  This is the hotel that corrupt James Michel promised to his Arab Sheikh friends so they could turn it into a haven to fly in their underage prostitutes (good Muslims indeed)!  Michel, the big corrupt "J" pimp made sure that his corrupt judge counterpart (who is now Chief Justice) handed down the unbelievable verdict against the rightful owners.  

As they say, "caveat emptor" or buyer beware.  When a new Government takes over one day, the Arab Sheikh will have to find a new venue for his prostitutes and will have to hand back his ill-gotten gains to the rightful owners (the Davidson family).  Here's an excerpt from the report:

"The liquidation and subsequent sell-off of the Plantation Club, formerly the country's second largest hotel, raised suspicions of government corruption among many local press outlets and business institutions, including the chamber of commerce. The former owner of the hotel claimed that he was threatened into selling the hotel by a businessman with ties to the government. On September 4, the person who is now chief justice ordered the hotel sold, and the local press speculated that the government appointed the chief justice to his position because of his order. The purchasers of the hotel were the lowest bidder, a newly formed group allegedly led by the same businessman with close government ties who threatened the previous owner."

Click on this link for more: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/af/119022.htm

Seychelles has lost its morals

SEYCHELLES HAS LOST ITS MORALS

The destructive effects of over 3 decades of SPPF rule – the NYS

When the ‘pti group dimoun’ overthrew the democratic government of the barely elected (not even one year) Independent Seychelles Coalition government that was supposed to take us into a new beginning, a new departure after years of political confrontation was dawning on our beautiful little Paradise. The architect of this Coup D’Etat made his first LIE to the people by saying that he had been called upon to form a new government.

ALBERT RENE, today 32 years older decided that he would implement his own dictatorship on our small islands and decide the fate of all its citizens. According to him, he wanted to reverse what colonialism had done to Seychelles in the past and install a more ‘equitable society’. This society which he experimented with was based on a communist ‘utopia’ that we would all partake in what the country had to offer us. In doing so, he chased all those with the money that could invest and create wealth for its people and opted for assistance and welfare from failed communist states such as Russia, Cuba and North Korea.

Nationalisation was the order of the day. All businesses were taken over to be managed by a central system composed of Rene’s own self appointed cronies. And of course with himself as Chairman and strongman of most of them, no one could overrule him. He based his philosophy of providing the basis for all the people from education to housing and health. This was being paid for through a budget via tax systems but the poor Seychellois did not realise this. He had obviously realised that Seychelles has a very strategic location and played the Americans (who had a tracking station at La Misere) with the Russians who wanted to expand their foothold in the Indian Ocean.

Knowing that the prime barrier to his utopian state was the Catholic Church, he tried to dismantle this institution in several ways and ended up tearing down the Seychelles College and the Regina Mundi Convent schools which were the top academic institutions of our society open to those who could afford to pay to get in but primarily the brightest of our students who could attend through bursaries. Ironically today, most of the people in key positions running the country and playing ‘dodo’ to the same SPPF system that destroyed these institutions are the bureaucrats / technocrats keeping the country afloat (apart from Sosis who burst!). It is also ironic that it is this same generation that showed Albert Rene that they were not scared of his violent tactics and opposed the NYS system through two days of peaceful marches until the grounds of State House. The will of this generation was there to avoid this catastrophe but unfortunately the ones that followed were not equally determined and were trapped into other lies that it would not be compulsory – which it turned out to be.

Millions were spent on so called NYS camps with the likes of Danny Faure (freshly back from studying in communist Cuba) as the head of this terrible experimentation that has inflicted a lot of damage on the youth of today. Some were even sent to Desnoufs by boat in the howling ‘vann swet’ to pick up birds eggs which today even Glenny with an IDC plane can barely bring back to Mahé. The experiment did not last too long as little Francis & Geva decided that he could not handle the environment and the President’s son paid for it with his life. How sad! Kids at a vulnerable age of their teens when they need to have their parents having a closer eye on them, sent to mystery camps where they could only be seen once a month. Heaven knows what went on in these camps as the teens became sexually active in a ‘laisser fair’ environment (learning more or less what Albert Rene was preaching as his model society). Rumour has it that a lot of these young chicks were plucked from the rooster so that the ‘coq du polailler’ and several other studs could assess their potential growth.

From Ste. Anne 1 to Ste. Anne 2 and Port Launay to Cap Ternay our vulnerable youngsters endured an experiment that has cost this country a fortune and tainted the lives of many parents and their beloved children. Many will remember that it was equality for all at the camps and some had to sneak in a little snack once in a while when they went home and all other horror stories still persist. Albert had to give in on creating this model society that he could control forever. So the camps were left to rot away and Danny Faure got his first gallons!

Most of the kids who had been trough this experiment had difficulty to fit back into their home environment and society. Their further education continued till Polytechnic which was basically another Seychelles College and Regina Mundi Converted under one roof. As we were communists, this was build by the Chinese. When you are a staunch supporter of Albert Rene you do happen to go very far, irrespective of the blunders or the little bit of grey matter you have between your ears. Danny moved on to become a teacher in political science at the Seychelles Polytechnic (to maintain his efforts in enforcing this communist dogma). With Albert being his mentor and Cuba being his utopian society, he rose to the ranks of continuing with the youth experiment – The SPPF Youth Organisation (young pioneers etc…) – where he  is well know for his chants of ‘bere, bere, bere’! His devotion to the party was unwavering and Albert Rene trusted him with the communist model by promoting him as a National Executive Committee -, Member of the SPPF Central Committee, Principal Coordinator of the SPPF Secretariat, and Principal Executive Co-ordinator of the SPPF Secretariat.

From 1993 to 1998 he was appointed as Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly. Having defended the government in a ‘pluralist’ assembly for the first term, he moved to the rank of Minister for Education. In that role, he still believed that the communist utopia could service in a multi party democracy and did everything in his power to halt the re-emergence of private schools which are now ironically producing the future leaders of this country.

There are a few exceptions of people who have been through the NYS system and are faring pretty well today. But it sad when you talk to several families whose children have been traumatised by this experiment and today have barely a future apart from hanging around the ‘ghettos’, the ‘lapire’ joints or acting as drug pushers. This is the model society Albert Rene and his pupil Danny Faure has left us with in the 21^st century. No wonder the SPPF rallies are all about free booze, insults and more free booze.

Now that you are the Minister of Finance Mr. Danny Faure, it is your duty (and you are 110%) well placed to give us an account on what this bogus experiment of trying to create puppets with no brains you were orchestrating in the early ‘80’s has cost this country. Now that we are under the IMF microscope, the failure of such a white elephant rests squarely on your shoulders. Or perhaps your side-kick Marie Louise Potter can come to your rescue with her squealing voice in the Assembly. She was after-all another pawn in Albert Rene’s ploy to keep his communist utopia going. Cuba has just celebrated 50 years of the so called socialist revolution but I doubt if Seychelles will be fortunate enough to see it through to 2011. Otherwise, as you rightly said during the budget speech reply in the assembly, “si fodre desann, nwa desann”!!!

State House Anytime Now - Corn from Mugabe

State House Anytime Now

Corn on the cob from Mugabe and postcard from down under

With the various logistics problems during the Christmas rush, delivery of some couriers and letters has been coming in late. Orderly comes into the President’s office with a postcard from Australia and a package coming from Zimbabwe. He is scared that the package might be a booby trap from old uncle bob and gets JAM to properly sniff it and Orderly to open it.

Orderly: Sir, it contains a special multi coloured corn on the cob and a note from Robert Mugabe which reads as follow, ‘Dearest James, as African leaders who have withstood the powers of the colonialist to this day, I send you this symbolic piece of maize which is the symbol of our struggle. I believe that your country is going through hard economic times but do not despair my friend. The secret is not to let go. The principle that we believe in will always stand. All you have to do is plant this cob into the gardens of State House and it will flourish all over the country and soon will solve all your animal feed problems. I have found that the best way out is to blame the unknown. We have now discovered that Gordon Brown is spreading cholera inside our country to wipe us all out! But our strong will and resilience will see us through. Give my very best regards to Albert whom I believe is getting stronger by the day and having a good life between the shores of Seychelles and his ranch in Australia. Keep well my friend and ride the storm, don’t let them fool you into any power sharing like Morgan is trying over here. Sincerely yours, Bob”

President: Well, that’s nice of him! I hope it is not one of the genetically modified species of maize which he was bad mouthing all the other countries about. Let’s give it a try. Get the gardener to plant it somewhere and we will see what the outcome will be.

Orderly: Bur sir, if it works out to be true, then we will be invaded by the species and it will kill all our endemic trees and plants. We will lose our status as a leader in protecting our own environment species.

President: Orderly, it is now a question of survival. We had several noble principles that we have abandoned over the years. We have allowed buildings of hotels in our national parks and soon we will have bungalows over water like in the Maldives. So if we have an invasion of the species then we can get Joel and his team to exercise better control and let the damn thing grow so that we can solve our economic crisis. The wave of the future is bio fuels and we can become a leader in this field.

Orderly: I get your drift Sir. Soon all the State House cars will be running on bio fuels and we will be setting the example. Apparently the tankers have also been built to carry bio fuels.  

President: This is the future my man. And you will see at Obama’s inauguration that he will raise this issue and by then we will be a few miles ahead. And if we do succeed in getting this flourishing in our lands like Mugabe says, we will invite Obama to see for himself how such a small island state is doing its share in cutting back on the dependence of fossil fuels.

Orderly: Sir the second missive is from the old man in Australia. I am a bit perplexed at what he has written as it seems to be back to front…

President: I told you that he is close to being senile Orderly. Let’s have a look… it seems to have pictures of koala bears, kangaroos and all these endemic Australian species. Is there a message in here as well?

Orderly: Well I have tried to decipher from the scribbles and he seems to be advocating that we are all like these endemic species sharing a little piece of Paradise and he would not want anyone of these species to die (as it has happened in the past). So his advice is to go back to our colonial days, take some of Mancham’s ideas and slowly bring us to the days when we first started our Independence in 1976. Now that we have achieved most of the ideals we had set ourselves we can remove ourselves slowly and let a new generation take over. He likes your ‘Koste Seselwa’ theme and in fact wants all the Seychellois living overseas to come back and partake in what the SPPF has built. Communism has collapsed and we should not insist on a continuation in that direction.

President: Man the guy has mellowed out! He was accusing everyone of being senile at his birthday party and it seems that these travels do him a lot of good. You know when you are living on a territory where you have not committed any acts of wrongdoing, you have a clear conscience. This is why I also love these travels as it allows me to clear my head. I also need to start enjoying life. I have a young wife and new baby whom I hardly spend time with. I need to reflect upon that a little more seriously.

Orderly: By the way, he also says that he hates to see guns anymore and we should turn ourselves into a friendlier nation. There are too many people going around in these camouflaged uniforms and we are getting bad image of being a military state. The fear is over he insists that you are well liked and no one will do you any harm. So there is no need in hiding behind all these men and their ammunition.

President: Well, very well intentioned words indeed. I hope he means it. I will take stock of this and we will incorporate this in our ‘State of the Nation’ address. Can you imagine the ideal society where everyone is embracing one another, no violence, only love, peace and freedom? He has a point Orderly; this is the new model society I want to create for Seychelles. We are already a docile and peace loving nation. And it is true that seeing the army patrolling around with the guns and uniforms is not a good image for us.

Orderly: OK Sir, we will get going together with your newly appointed Secretary of State on the finer details of the State of the Nation address. It has to be on a very reconciliatory tone so that everyone will take stock of the harsh realities of the next few years and start forging ahead for this model society we want to create…

Orderly takes his leave and mulls over some magical words that he can incorporate in the speech, very much needed to pacify a desperate nation who will either enjoy the riches of the corn on the cob and bio fuel from Uncle Bob or will see the kangaroos don their boxing gloves for a slugfest.  

State House Anytime Now - Pou Koste pa pou Koste?

State House Anytime Now

Pou Koste pa pou Koste??

Orderly has a very good feeling about this year’s theme. It was launched with much fanfare recently and gave the right impression to the people at large. This President is really modelling himself as the ‘Seychellois Obama’! Now that he has nominated his various boards and ‘camouflaged’ it with a few names from the other camp, the deal is on. They will all have to Koste and forget about our economic woes. Even Mancham with his idea of a government of National Reconstruction is already a dead rat!

Orderly: Sir, now I understand why you have instructed Danny to inflate the State House budget from 20 to 30 million this year. You are getting cleverer and more cunning by the day. Even the old man seems to think that you are getting a firmer grip on things. I have just been advised that you are setting up your MNA team for the next elections and weeding out those that have lost hope or cajole those that are now sitting on the fence. We all know that it is only Mitzy who will die in that chair come what may, with her large selection of red dresses.

President: What do you mean Orderly? We still have control over both the TV and press media and there is no way anyone can bring the true picture of our failings to the people. I had the radio matter expedited very early by the courts and we have bought off the people at Regar to tone them down so that we can see some freedom of the press on the surface. I will now make it a point to ensure that the leader of the opposition meets with most of the diplomatic corps to give him some importance and also sing the ‘Koste’ song to them!

Orderly: But sir, we still need to figure out how to deal with those guys at Weekly. They seem to see through everything we do. They would also want to see some changes but those that are fundamental in bringing in a real democracy of accountability and transparency. Not those cosmetic ones that we are orchestrating from State House.

President: You do not have to be too worried about that Orderly. Our message goes to the grassroots via SBC, Nation and a free People. They still have to struggle with printing in Mauritius. My administration has taken a lot of cues from these guys and hence you will see some cleaning up this year. I am slowly getting rid of those tentacles that seem to be shackling down the Jj Spirit. Mukesh is now gone, out of the picture…

Orderly: Indeed Sir, and if you believed in God, Glenny might have followed as a few weeks ago one of the IDC planes that he was in made a belly landing  as the landing gear failed. I tell you the fat cats indeed have nine lives. We now have to pray for the little boy’s toy helicopter to stall in mid air on its regular trips to Zil Pasyon.  

President: We will slowly put them out of the picture my boy. As soon as the old man collapses we will have our own team running the show and we can call it the new ‘transparency and accountability’ team of the President for all Seychellois – James Alix Michel. Then I will give them the full story of how I had my hands bound and my eyes blindfolded all this time that the old man was around… You see, I have even cajoled some of the opposition members to join up in this Koste exercise. Even our friend Georges had the honour to present the revised constitution to me at the launching ceremony!!

Orderly: Indeed Sir, I can see that you are already planning for the future. MNA Volcere from Praslin got his wish to visit Rodrigues by picking up his tickets (business class) at Air Seychelles – courtesy of State House. This is indeed the Jj spirit at work – greasing them to ensure that they stay loyal and start the campaign going. The last time you were on your favourite Ile des Palmes you brought Liz along as part of the entourage as she wanted be in the limelight but incognito! She had those cool goggles shades on and no one even noticed her…

President: I am also cleaning up on other fronts Orderly. The police force will soon be headed by my Irish confidants. Since I have invited them to do the famous Reily report, they all want to extend their stay in Paradise. So you see, you get a two for one deal. You ask them to do a report, they execute it with professionalism and then you offer them a job. Since they are already retired what better deal can they ask for? So you get them to shut up and execute what you want them to do and they all report directly to me. In this case I have control of everything. It comes as a blessing in disguise for the Irish you see as they are all retired and a fat salary in forex in a Paradise like Seychelles is a bonus. Even the old man could not exercise so much control of this country on all fronts.

Orderly: I get your drift Sir. Indeed brilliant strategic thinking. We go back to the colonial days when the police force was under the direct command of the Governor. Now that the army is a bit ‘wobbly’ and the old man’s bogey men will soon be retiring, it is best to breath in some new life in the police force and push the army back to their barracks or reinforce the navy to do a better job at preserving our ‘blue gold’.

President: You are really my intellectual sidekick Orderly. I am so glad that I plucked you out of the Maison Queau de Quincy. My last trip to Abu Dhabi for the Energy conference was viewed as a milestone. The speech (thanks to you guys on my team), was applauded by all the invited dignitaries and they all wanted to know how a tiny country like Seychelles copes with all these grand ideas of alternative energy. The desalination plants program was a grandiose idea of the old man and millions have disappeared into numerous pockets. We have to come up with better and more renewable sources. Soon we will have all these windmills on our mountains harnessing all this wind power. We even have made experiments with ‘labour koko’ and it is a great source of energy (you remember the Selwyn Gendron experiment!). We can also revive that.

Orderly: I heard a passing comment from the old man that you should start setting up an office either in Doha or Abu Dhabi! I think he is starting to get irate with all these trips you are doing in the gulf and coming back empty handed. Look at this surveillance plane we got from them in 2007 and it is only now in 2009 that it is fully operational. Don’t tell me that these loaded Arabs could not give it to us fully equipped with cameras and all the sophisticated gear all in one go. We gave this guy all this land for one rupee and the least he could do was give us at least 2 or 3 F-16 fighters!

President: I know Orderly! These guys as so tight fisted… They are great with their hospitality (I’ve had enough of their dates and strong coffee), welcoming you like a king and when you leave it’s just a measly couple of million dollars! This is not enough to bail us out. But they are also having their own problems. Business has come to a halt in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is bailing them out. So we might not see any Arab investment here for a while now. Our best bet is to massage Siva a little bit more…

Orderly: No worries Sir. You will soon have to come out with the truth about where all this money has gone and hopefully it will be around the time for the next elections and you will chastise those that have paid themselves fat bonuses. The Jj foundation will have taken root and the new generation will see you as the only hope for the future. Remember that we are modelling ourselves on the Obama campaign. With all the internet facilities we are putting at their disposition, there is no chance at missing out on the message… while we continue with our monthly ‘Renkont avec Prezidan’ on SBC for the older grassroots.

The President fully endorses Orderly’s assessment and orders him to tap into a few more of his Irish contacts to fill in some other key positions in government. The best way to run this country should be modelled on the colonial days. Get key loyal officers to execute the Governor’s orders. The President has always imagined himself as a Governor (as he surrounds himself with pictures of past governors in his office) and perhaps after this failed struggle and busted economy that has gone on for 32 years, it is time to re-adopt a colonial system… James Michel style…

State House Anytime Now - In the land of Adam & Eve

State House Anytime Now

In the land of ADAM & EVE

With 2009 already here, it is time to hit the ground running. So the calendar of 08 events has to be repeated and shuffled with a few new gimmicks to portray that the President will always live up to his words through good and bad times. The first outing is to his favourite island where he met and wooed his current Eve in the Garden of Eden…

President: Orderly, we have started our rounds to the districts in style and very early this year. And of course I chose my favourite island Praslin which has been so close to my heart ever since meeting my sweetheart there. The Praslinois have this great affection and respect for me as I have chosen one of their very own as first lady…

Orderly: Indeed Sir. You have managed to re-unite our people as you will remember the days during the eighties when they wanted to have a ‘Republic of Praslin’ and to be divorced from the oppressive regime of the old man. There was such a movement at that time and even the family from the first lady’s clan were forceful advocates of this new republic.

President: Well this was one of the biggest jokes as they would have never be able to withstand the mighty army and security apparatus that we had set up. The ‘Republic of Praslin’ was a stupid idea floated by some brainless idiots who at that time were supplying Mahe with most of the tomatoes and other vegetables. But where are they today?

Orderly: It seems that the controversial Eve Island is now the pride and joy of most of the people from the island. The public school has now taken root there, the Eve Complex will soon attract the small entrepreneurs and shortly SEYPEC will be building its own depot for storage of fuel and gas like we have on Mahe. I am informed that a ferry terminal is also in the works and passengers of Cat Cocos will enjoy better comfort. Praslin has been a bastion for the SPPF and Mitzy is the undisputable queen.

President: We are also looking at more projects Orderly. The Social Security building is onto its second phase. We have opted to be a ‘facilitator’ government and therefore we have turned ourselves into builders and rent out space and collect revenue. This is the biggest line of business today my man – property. We launch ourselves into real estate and facilitate small businesses to flourish – collecting a lot of money in the process.

Orderly: This is the most brilliant idea Sir. Never thought of that myself! But we have to be extra careful that we have full transparency and no corruption involved as it will all turn out as the Social Security Building in Victoria which cost more than double and has only ‘Supa Save’ and a few other small add-ons on the ground floor. It is more of a white elephant than anything else. I noted that the Eve Complex on Praslin has been painted pink so if it does not work out as planned it will be called a pink elephant!

President: We are also using our Jj Spirit foundation to spread knowledge and our policies, aspirations and philosophies to our youth. They are our future and we need to start nurturing them from a very young age. Providing them with an internet café at Grand’Anse is an opening to the world. And who better to open this facility then ADAM himself, my main man appointed to head the Jj foundation.

Orderly: Indeed, the spirit seems to be with him. You have invested a lot in the young boy I sense that you are preparing a successor there. I know that the old man has shared some of his wisdom with you. The Seychellois will always go for a ‘white’ man as their leader and you are just the interim between the old man and the future leadership. He does look a bit like the old man himself!

President: He is currently playing a key role as my PS and doing a fine job. Indeed, the old man once told me that our people will never vote for a black man as they have all been subdued by a colonial past. I am keeping my options open as he is cunning and might blow up one day and try to give Danny boy the seat. That is why I have put him in charge of the Jj foundation. He will be the image of our youth and replicate exactly what the old man did in the colonial era.

Orderly: Sir but don’t you think that times have changed? Look at the USA, they just had their first black president and our little yo-men are very much in the American mould.

President: It will take some time before this kind of wave hits our shores. Our population needs to be better educated in the various aspects of rights, liberties and most of all, thinking with their own minds! Why do you think Wavel has failed all this time??

Orderly: Well he has made an ass of himself throughout his political career. We baited him with the money the last time around and now he is finished.

President: The strategy for 2009 is to bring the ADAM name more to the fore. We have started well with Captain Adam. Our drugs squad is even called ADAMS!!

Orderly: Yes Sir. I get you. He does look more presentable than all the pretenders and seems to have a bright future under your wings. He is a fast learner and I am sure he will be able to ride on the Jj Foundation popularity to build his own power base.

Orderly salutes the President and make his way to his office with a poetic thought in his mind… hmmm the theme of togetherness rings well with Adam and Eve in Paradise! So if we play our cards right and ride the economic tsunami, come the next elections; either the new boy on the block takes over or he becomes the understudy to the President and the baton is passed over…