LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THINGS ALWAYS HAPPEN FOR A REASON
Sir, According to the official line Bel Ombre is getting a brand new port. It will have a fishing port design to facilitate the activities of fishermen in that part of the world and will also have recreational facilities for other residents of the district. Environmentalists were up in arms because it seems that the protected site where enthusiasts have been looking for pirates’ treasures for the last one hundred years will be engulfed by the ongoing reclamation. They have nothing to worry about trust me. The site is to be spared according to the people working on the site. There is, they say, a similar treasure hunting expedition going on
But, what is now hot news spreading like wild fire is the real reason behind the Bel Ombre mini port project. According to a very reliable source the project has been conceived originally for the benefit of none other than ‘Corvina’. ‘Corvina’ is very much involved in the ongoing hotel projects on
Just when certain fishermen and people of Bel Ombre thought they had good reasons for having given the incumbent a vote, they discovered the real reason for the port development in their district. The people of Bel Ombre have been misled by the juice minister and his friends at State House. Don’t kick yourselves too hard guys, we will have a chance to put things right. The National Assembly elections will present us with the prefect opportunity to set the record straight. Next time we need to think before we leap!
A native of Bel Ombre
FOR A LACK OF BETTER NEWS
Sir, The Seychelles Nation, for a lack of news to make the newly elected President look good, has gone into the business of recycling news churning it in different styles, changing the headline and photograph and serving it to their unsuspected patrons.
The front page article in the Seychelles Nation issue No. 158 (22/08/06) and the front page article of the previous day’s issue No. 157 (21/08/06) are too similar in content to be an oversight or a coincidence. It is a deliberate manoeuvre to give the impression that the ruling party is hard at work doing more than it is actually doing. Sooner or later the reading public will see through this kind of false representation. Hopefully it will help see this Administration for what it is, a fallacy.
Nation reader
WHAT IS MICHEL PREPARING US FOR THIS TIME?
Sir, If you watch the TV news closely and you try to read between the lines, you will realize that the government of President Michel is, slowly but surely, preparing the Seychellois people for some difficult times ahead.
On Wednesday night, SBC TV carried a news item on a training programme being carried by 3 French experts for the Special Support Unit and the regular police on how to deal with crowd disturbance.
When the French experts were interviewed they gave the impression that the training was meant for anti-terrorist situations. But Mr. Matombe from the SSU painted an entirely different picture. He seemed to be suggesting that the training was a way to get the SSU and the regular police to speak the same language when confronted with crowd trouble situations such as riots.
Crowd trouble is practically non-existent here, if you discount the stampede that frequently takes place at our supermarkets whenever a shopping item that has been missing from the shelves for a long time finally makes an appearance. So what riots? Why should the Seychellois now start running riots when they know that the ‘gard bate’ attitude remains deeply engrained in the psyche of our police and paramilitary units?
Does the government know something we don’t? Do they expect crowd trouble ahead and if so why? The answer may have something to do with the imminent devaluation of the rupee that President Michel has promised the IMF.
News leaking out from the SPPF hierarchy suggests that Michel’s Government has already seasoned a nice of piece of tuna steak for the grill. It was just a matter of winning the national election as the final straw, and now the grilling is expected to start fairly soon. This specialty dish has been cooked since September 2004 and left on the back burner. According to those sources, the government, has already agreed with the IMF to proceed as follows:
Phase One
85% devaluation from the current SR5.56 to US$1 for the first 9 months (SR10.30/US$1)
Phase Two
65% devaluation of SR10.30 after the 10th month of phase one (SR17/US$1)
Phase Three
35% devaluation of SR17 after the 16th month of phase one (SR22.95/US$1).
This is how serious the projected scenario will be in the next 24 months of Jj’s kosto, competence, rule. It is only, then that, the Jj spirit will permeate life in the Seychellois social and economic fabric in all shapes and sizes. Ah, Si mon ti konnen! or better still ´Si nou ti konnen’, will be a phrase that will take on a new meaning in our vocabulary.
Regrettably, for those businesses exposed with foreign denominated liabilities, the end result will be massive bankruptcies linking to all sectors of the economy.
It is not too late to turn back the clock. The people of
Name withheld
Editor’s note: Your figures sound incredulous but then again there is a school of thought that only the SPPF knows the true depth of the economic hole that they have dug for our country!