Christopher Gill's Column

Christopher GillTotally Out of Control

Last year I wrote two articles on crime to alert SPPF and the Public as to Governments failure to effectively deal with crime. One article was titled “Let’s Talk About Crime” and the other “We’re Out of Control”. SPPF has grappled with crime and most recently we have been over-run by a wave of drugs making it to our streets, schools and neighborhoods. Home burglaries and crime against tourists are at an all time high. When we talk to Government paper pushers about the problem, it seems that they are tired of hearing about it and do nothing, really. Mr. President has created NDEA to deal with drugs, but judging from the tactics he is using, I am not sure he will be very successful. As NDEA takes root in Seychelles, we might as well take that piece of wood they carved the Preamble of our Constitution on, and pass it around to double for a cutting board to clean fish.

Crime Is Getting Organized

While SPPF Government tries to differentiate between its head and its tail, crime in Seychelles is fast getting organized. It is no longer having to deal with the boy down the street who steals our mangoes and bananas. Today, thieves are grouping into gangs. Leaders are usually tied to a continuous flow of drugs to keep gang members content. They break into hotels; rob clients of belongings while they sleep. They take hard currency and convert it on the Black Market with contract workers and shop keepers, and hit a jackpot.

In one incident on Praslin last month, a group made off with euro 14,000.00 from one hit. They are alleged to have converted the money on the Black Market at 20.0 - 1.0 = Sr. 280,000.00, not bad for a group of bums that have the ability to organize a core cell of men and transportation for one night. While Police are told to curb consumption, stop patrolling to save fuel, thieves are having the time of their lives. For them, it’s a party on our backs.  

 On The Beach

While Commercial Banks complain when you ask them for hard currency, on the beach, any beach, young men and women trade in hard currency daily. They process thousands of Euros per day on any given day. The Banks just sit quietly, pay the electricity bills and take it in the pants. The Government has tried but unsuccessfully, to curb the Black Market. Money generated from Black Market is used to supply shops with food, clothing, medicines which the Country uses. On SBC a few months ago, merchants admitted that the Black Market was responsible for 90% of all the goods they import into the Country which consumers buy to keep their families going through these very difficult times.

Interestingly enough, Mr. President has imposed a completely different perspective on the Black Market. Rene unsuccessfully tried to stamp it out with road blocks, a foreign exchange squad, which knocked on your door late at night and entered homes and ripped searched everyone and everything from top to bottom. Mr. President has embraced the Black Market as a necessary evil to keep the Country going while the banking system collapses. As the banking system has failed to meet the needs and demands of Consumers, Seychellois have turned to the Black Market to survive. As SPPF is faced with the need to survive, they will override Mr. Presidents’ pretence and start searching for hard currency again at the Airports, homes and with road blocks. More of the same old stuff soon coming our way.

Only last year, the Euro was trading at 11 Seychelles Rupees on the black. This year it has hit an alarming rate of Euro 1.0 for Sr20.00. As the Central Bank of Seychelles devalues currencies even further in the coming weeks, if there are insufficient hard currency supplies in the Commercial Banks to cope with demand, then the Black Market is likely to go to Euro 1.0 Sr. 25.00 or even 30.00. Unless SPPF can find a lot of cash fast, this prolific Black Market whose birth lay in the nest of Rene’s One Party Dictatorship and Michel’s mismanagement as Minister of Finance, then President....will soar; even if SPPF has tried to reduce liquidity in the system, through MERP. Why? Because People need to eat! If they cannot earn enough to eat, they might just start stealing, especially if they watched you do it all their lives. Ever thought of that SPPF? As they steal they take their winnings to the Black Market.

 Police Resources Are Lacking

Our Police Force is not properly equipped or educated well enough to combat crime. We all know that. Nor are they paid well enough to want to display any energy to combat crime. It is a dark picture indeed and it has been so for over 25 years under SPPF. Crime has been with us for a long time. But the difference now is that crime today runs the show, not a Dictator and or an Army.

Police entry officers earn 3,200.00 per month. After 20 years on the Force, an Officer is lucky if he earns Sr.6, 000.00. How can we be serious about fighting crime SPPF with salaries like that?

Our Officer lack adequate education and proficiency in fundamentals, let alone knowledge of how the law works and the functionality of the Criminal Code. We need to get back to basics SPPF. Initiate night school classes for the Police Force. Quick step them into shape instead of making them march in parades all day. Get real SPPF. Set a structure of rapid promotion for proven proficiency of Officers. Make sure before Officers engage with the Public they are proficient in reading and writing effectively.  They need to have effective courses and be hands on in Criminology. Officers must understand the law. The Force must develop an attitude of Crime Prevention and not be complacent with crime response only.

You SPPF Government must provide the resources to do that and not hold back funds. If you do not have the money, cut your Budget in your ministries to make the Police Budget a priority. Why? because so far you have promised to make it a priority and you have failed to do so. You SPPF have systematically let the People of Seychelles down - 25 years on crime. When you do that, you threaten our Tourism Industry as well, in case you did not know. I assume you did not know that. If you do not believe me, go look up some blog by Tourist who have been robbed in Seychelles on the Internet. If you cannot do that, hire an expert from Ireland to do it for you and ask him to file a Report. Then put it on the shelf to collect dust as it is usually the case with all your reports, SPPF.

Police do not even have a Police Officer in charge of them; they have an Army Officer running the show. This makes the Seychelles Police Force the equivalent of a paramilitary force. If a Country, no matter how small and unique it is, has a paramilitary force for civilian policing, then guess what, SPPF? You have a military State. Did Mr. President ever figure that one out when he made the appointment? I did not think so. So much for having a Democracy, SPPF. Your voting booth is nothing but a charade.

 Government Panics and Breaks Democratic Norms

After being beaten over and over in the war on drugs and the battle against crime, the SPPF Government of Seychelles has resorted to severely curtailing citizens’ democratic rights under the Constitution of Seychelles, with the introduction of a series of laws in the National Assembly. Regrettably the Opposition which is entirely SNP approved the amendments with SPPF.

Among the new laws, a suspect accused can now be put on trial in Seychelles in his absence. Ridiculous. But true. Under the new National Drug Enforcement Agency, it is against the law to publicly mention the name of its members. Ridiculous, but it is true. They have also extended detention time from 3-7 days to 30 days. Ridiculous but true. They have introduced “Forced Labour” for drug convicts instead of rehabilitation and education. Ridiculous. But true. They have taken away the right to “remission” for drug convicts. Ridiculous. But true. Now officials will have ample time to torture culprits to make up for Police incompetence.

The irony of all these new laws is that they cut Seychellois citizens’ rights rather than extend them. SPPF will use drug legislation to attack the Tourism Industry players that oppose them. They will beat the People of Seychelles to a pulp to make room for foreign investors. Now let’s see who the Escobars are according to SPPF.

Under the EDA SPPF protected world class criminals no questions asked. Under these Amendments, they will hunt many real Seychellois beyond the underworld of drugs.

No one would like to see drug lords behind bars more than myself, but when Government legislates ambiguous legislations, which can be used to attack decent hard working Seychellois, we must express concern. To remain silent makes us jointly and severally liable to the destruction of our society along with SPPF, the main conspirator. As the only Opposition in the National Assembly SNP, joins SPPF and give them a hand to hang us and reduce our rights, we have only ourselves to blame. After all, even Mont Fleuri put them there!

 Word To Fathers

 I appeal to all Fathers in Seychelles, do not abandon your children and make them suffer a life without any guidance. Take your responsibility, raise your children and look after them with all your ability. Do not think for a moment SPPF will care for your children or look after them for you, it will never happen. They have already given away your children’s playground to their Russian and Arabs friends.

 May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois

August 8, 2008
Copyright 2007: Seychelles Weekly, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles