It is estimated that more than six hundred (600) people, all tourists, visited Farquhar Island in 2006. This is a staggering number of people by any standard to visit an island without approved tourist facilities. This information further confirms that some kind of tourism operation was indeed in existence on the island. Furthermore, we have been able to establish from a source within the Immigration Department that since January this year and until very recently, early July, 2007 - every other week ten to twenty passengers, travelling as a group going through immigration control at the airport, gave the address of a big man (powerful) working with the Internal Domestic Cronyism society of Seychelles as their place of residence during their stay in Seychelles; these individuals (the visitors) were mostly from Mauritius.
In fact the immigration authority checked on the gentleman in question to establish the size of his mansion on the hill. It was determined that he could not be accommodating the visitors at his home and that they must be going somewhere else. Now we all know where these people were going; on fishing vacations on Farquhar Island to the tune of almost € 2000 per head. If indeed 600 individuals paid € 2000 each during 2006 for their fishing trip on Farquhar, it adds up to €1,200,000; that is a staggering one million two hundred thousand euros, worth sixteen million eight hundred thousand rupees (SR16,800,000) on the black market. This is the kind of money that was being denied to the country’s coffers on a yearly basis. We are not sure for how long this operation (hotel) has been going-on on Farquhar??? It could well be ten years, we don’t know, and the money accumulated over this period would be worth twelve million euros (€ 12,000,000); a mind boggling one hundred and sixty eight million rupees (SR168, 000,000) on the parallel market.
This money could have gone towards paying for medicines or medical facilities for our hospitals saving the lives of hundreds of people who have died needlessly over the years because of the lack of proper medical amenities or medicines in the hospitals. Alternatively, this money could have gone towards the constructions of thousands of houses for people without a roof over their heads. Furthermore, this money could have contributed enormously toward educating our children, especially the financing of our students studying overseas who never receives their monthly allowances on time because of the shortages of foreign exchange. They get their money “once in a blue moon”. This is the measure of this situation; its repercussion on society is immense considering the present state of our economy.
President Michel, on assuming the presidency in April, 2004, promised a departure from these sorts of activities; he promised good governance, transparency and accountability. “Judge me by my actions” the President challenged the populace. We are only there years into President Michel’s reign; already we have seen most of the promises he made wrecked either by himself or by people he has appointed to serve the country. And he does nothing!