Christopher Gill's Column

Boom, Doom and Gloom After One Year!

Christopher GillAntoine Onezime, a traditional SPPF and journalist by profession, cornered Mr. President James Michel in an exclusive SBC interview this week, in what appeared to be an ambush triggered by simply being fed up with Big Brother telling us lies. The interview of course, had prepped questions, but Mr. Onezime could not resist questioning the President to the point of shattering the fake props Michel was trying to project to the Public. While Michel tried to project the image of Seychelles Booming, Mr. Onezime questioned him and reminded him of the Doom and Gloom we are facing after just 365 days of Michel’s Presidency. Michel was noticeably shaken and resorted to using his hands and fingers to help him talk himself out of the mess. The hands and finger thing did not help much.

 Fake The Boom!

Mr. President fielded the questions while he sat back in his newly acquired winged leather chair with wooden neck rails routed precisely to place emphasis of regal importance on the person sitting in the chair. These Executive Chair designs come from corporate America and are designed to make the Boss look as if he knows what he is saying without really knowing what he is saying. Many companies at the turn of the Industrial Revolution failed because old style company personnel chose to listen to mad men only because they sat in a winged leather chair when they spoke.

A person’s authority does not come from a chair but from the strength of his character and wisdom to do what is right towards his People. Our ship of State is not different. A leader must never forget his people to please his new friends that power brings him.

According to Michel, Seychelles is booming. He claims that we are building up a Reserve faster then we can spend the money. Mr. President says that last year we had a 5.5% growth rate and this year, we will achieve 7.7% growth rates.  Mr. President says unemployment is negligible and Seychellois are benefiting from investments. As Mr. President blows his fake balloon, the slightest questioning from Mr. Antoine Onezime bursts Michel’s balloon and sent him fluttering about. It never pays to fake progress. In fact there is interest in Seychelles, but we are heading for an implosion because Mr. President has not kept his promises.

 BOOM vs GLOOM  

According to Mr. President and the SPPF Seychelles has been Booming since 1995. People of Seychelles open your eyes. If the Boom has reached you, vote for SPPF. If the BOOM has failed you, change your vote now. Do not wait for SPPF to give you more poison to drink from their cups of failures and lies. Mr. President tells us that we have a reserve of over 110 Million Dollars. If Mr. President is truthful, why does the Governor of the Central Bank not pay off Pipeline money owed since 1994 amounting to the same 110 Million Dollar? This money is for goods that already entered the country, we have already used, but the suppliers have not been paid yet. If we are doing so well Mr. President, why does Randolph Payet tell us that our Tuna catch is 40 % down for the year? Why is Tourism arrivals up 12% but not revenues from the same Industry?

 Bond Is Gloom Not Boom

The Bond, Red; the Bond, don’t forget the Bond. How much have we paid in interest for the first 365 days of your tenure as Mr. President for that debt? In his review of work, Mr. President forgot to mention the Bond which he has signed and indebted Seychelles in a streamlined manner. In case he forgot, in his first 365 days of work, Mr. President took out a Junk Bond of $200 Million payable over five (5) years. The money was used to pay regional banks for overdue debts, lift the Reserves, and pay for food. He has not made any payments yet on this Bond. Interest on this Bond sucks our blood everyday Seychellois wakes up and goes to work to repay these debts. If Mr. President does not pay this Bond back soon, interest can reach $100 Million in a few years.

Mr. President has counted his eggs before they hatch, relying on IOT revenue to pay the Bond. But as Randolph Payet told us, IOT catch landings of Tuna is down 40%. Hence Mr. President cannot rely on IOT revenues to pay the Bond. What is worse is that Tuna is now considered an endangered species worldwide. This also means the price of Tuna loins will sky rocket while we keep on consigning our catch to canned tuna fish and dog food segments. The additional consequence of this SPPF foolishness is that foreign vessels will continue to exploit our tuna and trans-ship them elsewhere where it is more profitable to do so. Mr. President makes the mistakes, we, the People of Seychelles, will pay in the Millions and Millions for his follies. But he gets to keep the fancy chairs of course. Since announcing our new fishing port last year, Mr. President has remained silent on that critical component of developing our fisheries. While we try to fix the water pumps on Coetivy Prawn Farm, Mozambique nets our prawns in our ocean for huge profits.

Seychellois open your eyes. Your future is being exploited today and you are not in it. We must all retake control over our future. Be you SPPF, SNP or DP, if you are a Real Seychellois, you are endangered in these islands. Under SPPF your children will become third class citizens in your own Country.

Mr. President walked through Point Larue housing projects recently that had come to a standstill because the contractors were out of building materials. Algae were noticeably growing on blocks. He said Seychelles was Booming! If we are so successful under Mr. President, why is it that only Indian Contractors and Communist Chinese Contractors have access to cement and timber? Tell us about that side of your Boom, Mr. President. Why can’t big SMB supply us with any timber and affordable milk.

Why are projects being given only to foreign contractors and Real Seychellois are being displaced in the Seychelles construction industry and being told to go to SENPA to apply for a license?

If the first 365 days tell us anything, it tells us that SENPA will become the new umbrella for Seychellois Business. Mr. President has already promised to open a SENPA office in each District. The Raffles, the Hiltons, fancy hotels, fancy housing developments like Eden Island and Pinnacle Property Investments, Banyan Tree, will be for foreigners. Seychellois will become victims of SPPF Apartheid over the next four (4) years. If we do not want to be happy and clean the streets, SPPF will ask us to leave. 

 What Happened To Our Strong Rupee?

Mr. President campaigned on the mandate to keep our Rupee strong. He was elected to keep this promise. In his interview, he has deceived the People of Seychelles and ignored the campaign promise made to us. In fact, since his Election in August last year, the Rupee has devalued another 40% against the Euro. Mr. President’s ignores his promise and sits back and tells us to adjust to the changes, life is tough. Mr. President  says critics say we are developing too fast. Expatriate imports are developing too fast under Mr. President. Real Seychellois are being left to the side of the road in Mr. President’s development plans.

Fast Development and Corruption 365 Days

If developing too fast means Arab companies are announcing their Multi Million Dollar projects before EIA’s are submitted and Planning Authority has approved plans, then yes, we are developing too fast Mr. President. another word for this type of development is : Corruption. Transparency International has recently said we are more corrupt today than 365 days ago.

We have been fooled. Mr. President has played the card of being interested in our well being, but in fact has sidelined Seychellois and regulated us to the public assistance lines. If we go in the line we are good Seychellois. If we do not want to stand in line and live off handouts we are bad Seychellois.

Mr. President says he is creating a “KATALYZZZZZ” for more development. Perhaps Pemba Choppy can do us the honors and tell us what “KATALYZZZZZ” means in her next  Kolok and whether or not it is a word or can become a word this year. As Mr. President tries to razzle and dazzle us with these funky words, all he was saying was, “ I am trying my best to sell our Country to the cheapest bidder and trying to close the beaches to prevent us good Seychellois from ever drowning again in the future”. That’s what  “KATALYZZZZZ”  means. Seychellois open your eyes. You who are still a supporter of SPPF, see what your leader is doing to our Country. He is wholesaling Seychelles to the lowest bidders. When James Mancham courted the Arabs in the 1970’s he made them pay their way at top prices and brought them in a little at a time so we could all benefit most from their investment. His approach to development and the progress he brought to Seychelles and our history makes him a national hero in our history books, second to none.

 Access To More Foreign Exchange

Mr. President has promised access to more foreign exchange. Just ignore that one. At least with Rene he was upfront when he would tell us  “the Foreign Exchange you earn belongs to us SPPF”. I could live with that. At least he was an honest communist and did not spend much time on and about what you usually find next to Foot and Mouth Disease: a lot of cow dung!

With Rene, your money belonged to him. With Michel, your money will be squeezed out of your pockets every which way you can imagine. Michel will devalue the Rupee as he has done over 365 days already; he will impose more taxes on your money like GST 12% plus another 7% plus another 3% etc.... Michel will raise the price of fuel and break another promise. Michel will increase bus fares and taxes on cars. The end results will be the same: theft of your hard work and sacrifice all your life. That money will go into Government of Seychelles accounts for him to mismanage and waste.

 Michel Wants To Empower The Districts

In classic dogmatic communist style, Michel has told us to go to the District Branch Offices for our problems. Do not go to town. Michel was elected as “President of All Seychellois” and he promised to be there for all of us. Remember that promise anyone? From my own experience, it takes no less then six (6) weeks to receive a written response from Michel’s Office. If the President’s Office takes six (6) weeks to respond to a letter, and there was not much conclusive in the letter, how long will a Minister take? How long will a Branch Office take? Mr. President admittedly also told Mr. Onezime that the District Offices are not professional enough, yet he wants us to take our problems and concerns there. Michel was elected to be there for all Seychellois, not just the special ones with new Passports. District Offices are SPPF bastions of incompetence and do not work for all Seychellois. Seychellois, today we see Michel wrapping the communist chains around us. Watch him carefully as he razzle-dazzles us with his chains.

The District Branch Offices have no political mandate to address People’s problems. MNA’s have no authority in these Offices. The Branch Administrator answers directly to the Central Committee of SPPF. They are in effect a political apparatus and Mr. President wants to use them to squeeze Seychellois into submission of his communist will. While we sit in line at the District Office, he can be free to frolic in Lear Jets across the Arabian desserts seeking out sweets for loved ones and selling our Country to the lowest bidder willing to pay his Seven Star Hotel Bills.

 Our Doom and Gloom - Human Resource

Just when Mr. President thought he had sailed through the 365 Day Interview, Mr. Onezime slammed dunked him with one question, “Ah, what about the Human Resource problems we have, Mr. President?”. The question came like a single axe blow to a great mighty tree. Thump! Presidential Aura and Presidential Chairs were all out the window. No amount of camouflage could help Mr. President mask him from this question. Mr. Onezime had destroyed him, but he was supposed to be helping the poor soul along.

The Truth is that the SPPF have been directly and solely responsible for destroying our Human Resources over the years. Today they believe our Human Resources are our greatest asset.

Who routinely tells Seychellois if they do not like it here to leave? It is the SPPF. Who chased our best Doctors and Lawyers from these shores? The SPPF! Who stole land belonging to hard working productive Seychellois people? The SPPF! Who sends our children overseas to be educated and once educated, they realize that the SPPF are just a bunch of communists retarding our progress as a People and so then choose not to come home? The SPPF! Who squeezes the cottage industry to the point where these hard working industrious people have to become beggars? The  SPPF! The same type of entrepreneurial spirit found in the cottage industry is the backbone of many successful countries. But here, they are third class citizens in business. Thank you SPPF! Who wiped out our Carpenters and Skilled Masons only to replace them with Asians and Communist Chinese and send our own skilled labor into a state of mental depression because they have become displaced under SPPF? Who allowed drugs into the Country to destroy our young men and women and make our society dis- functional? The SPPF! Who spends money on Discos twice a week in the Districts when we need Rehabilitation Centers in each District to fight off drug addiction and help our youth and middle age men and women cross the line of addiction? SPPF! In a phrase, SPPF has directly, without aid, destroyed our Human Resources. Today, Mr. President has given up on us and his plan is to just replace us with expatriate workers and whoever will tow the line for a Passport.

Mr. President wants a University for himself. He wants to send us to University, but in Seychelles. Mr. President does not trust universities overseas. They open up the minds of students and make them too smart. When they come home, the students are a problem for him and SPPF. You can run but you cannot hide from Truth. Even in your University of Seychelles, Truth will surface on the Farquhar Campus. Then you will have student riots. Then you will tear gas them and shoot them. Later, you will go on SBC and say, the students  tear-gassed themselves, beat themselves, and shot themselves. They are dangerous! Then you will close down the university cancel bursaries, and ask Minister of Education to give you a new batch of students that are serious and want to learn and value education; like you did with the National Assembly. Then you will get exactly what you tried to get rid of.   

Seychellois, open your eyes. You who are SPPF, your leaders are deceiving you. They are destroying our society to pay their debts and get rich personally off the effort. They do not want to work hard for success. They want you to work for them. This is the Golden Rule of all communists.

After Mr. President finished his 365 Day Interview, I immediately sought out my little Nelson Mandela (Madiba) Book for solace in a moment of my own speechlessness and then I found the right quote for Mr. Michel on the subject of  talk.... Speaking on Rhetoric, Nelson Mandela said, “ On Talk.... Rhetoric is not important....Actions Are”.

 So Mr. President, Talk is not important; so much for the interview on 365 days, actions are important according to Nelson Mandela. For you, over the next 365 Days, that means make the Rupee strong again and bring down the cost of living as you promised us before you were elected. Do not find excuses....walk the talk!

 May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois!

August 10, 2007
Copyright 2007: Seychelles Weekly, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles